Surprisingly little published research has explored the factors which determine the type of child welfare facility into which children are initially placed when they are first removed from the care of their parents. Almost no research has examined the organizational processes within the child welfare system that affect this placement decision.
This paper reports on a multinomial logit analysis of the factors that are associated with the initial placement of foster children. The study finds that caseload level factors (such as the rate of caseload growth, and the availability of foster homes) have an effect on where foster children are placed even when one controls for the individual characteristics of children. The results have important implications for child welfare policy and practice because they indicate that foster care outcomes for individual children are based not only on children's individual characteristics, but also on caseload level factors.
Barth, R. P., Courtney, M. E., Berrick, J. D., & Albert, V. (1994).
From Child Abuse to Permanency Planning: Child Welfare Services Pathways
and Placements. New York: Aldine de Gruyter.