Frequency and predictors of placement moves for children and youth without parental care

Abstract

Providing stable placement is a priority task in the care of children and youth who are separated from their families. Numerous studies document that housing instability is one of the most difficult challenges faced by social protection systems in other countries, but there is a lack of information about the situation in Serbia. The aim of this research was to determine the frequency and predictors of placement moves of children and youth out of home care. Using a retrospective research design, the authors examined the history of placement of users in residential care institutions for children and youth without parental care, from the moment of removal from the family. The sample consisted of 133 users from seven institutions in Serbia, who were of both sexes (female 57,1% and male 42,9%) and aged from 14 to 20 years (AS=16,68, SD=1,82). Data on the placement history prior to admission to the residential care, as well as the characteristics of the users, their biological family and current placement, were obtained from the official documentation. The results show that 72,2% of children and youth from the sample had at least one placement change, and 6,8% experienced four or more moves. In most cases (53,4%) the changes are non-progressive in terms of moving to placement that is equally or more restrictive. This research confirmed the findings of previous studies that placement instability is associated with mental disorders of users, older age at admission and biological family structure. The paper discusses the implications of these findings for future research and points out that focusing attention on known predictors of placement moves can contribute to stability in the care of children and youth separated from their families.