Antecedents to Child Placement in Residential Care: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Individual studies suggest most children and youth in residential care centres (RCCs) have living parents, and parental death is not the primary antecedent to placement in residential care. The goal of the present review was to examine the literature to better understand the primary antecedents to placement in RCCs overall. One hundred thirty-two studies, including 60,683 children in 47 nations meet eligibility criteria for inclusion for the overarching review of antecedents of placement. Primary information sources for this review were the Academic Search Complete, PubMed and ProQuest Central databases. Studies were included that reported on antecedents to placement for children living in RCCs for the purpose of care. Fourteen antecedent themes were identified from the literature. Regional trends for antecedents were assessed. Globally, the most frequent antecedents were parental death, maltreatment and health of children or parents. Understanding antecedents to placement is vital for preventing unnecessary separation of children from parental care, for facilitating appropriate family reintegration and for creation of the most appropriate and effective options for alternative care when necessary.