citation

Child safety at reunification: A case-control study of maltreatment recurrence following return home from substitute care
Tamara L. Fuller

The study examined the factors that predict short-term (i.e., within 60 days) maltreatment recurrence among 174 families with children returning home from their first stay in substitute care. From a variety of child, caretaker, placement, family environment, and service provision characteristics, seven variables uniquely added to the prediction of maltrement: 1) child age, 2) caretaker mental illness, 3) number of placements, 4) type of placemnet, 5) length of time in placement, 6) number of children in the home at reunification, and 7) the interaction between household structure at reunification and the presence of siblings returned home with the index child. The implications of these findings for child welfare practice and future research are discussed in detail.