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Placement disruption and dislocation in South Australian substitute care

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 February 2016

Paul H. Delfabbro ,
James G. Barber  and
Lesley Cooper
James G. Barber
Affiliation:
Social Administration & Social Work
Lesley Cooper
Affiliation:
Social Administration & Social Work
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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the degree of disruption experienced by 235 children aged 4–17 years placed into substitute care in South Australia during 1998–1999. Key measures of disruption included: the frequency of placement changes, the number of children forced to change school, the geographical distance from birth families, and the amount of planned contact between children and families during the placement. Parental contact was reduced when children were victims of abuse, but more likely when children were placed because of parental incapacity. Changes in school were more likely when children were older or were placed a long way from their families. Geographical dislocation was, as expected, more likely to be a feature of rural placements, although there were no rural-metropolitan differences in the nature and frequency of family contact. The implications of these findings for future research are discussed.

Type
Research Article
Information
Children Australia , Volume 25 , Issue 2 , 2000 , pp. 16 - 20
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2000

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