Small Children in Care: A Danish Longitudinal study Anne-Dorthe Hestbæk, Senior Researcher The Danish National Institute of Social Research Copenhagen

The Danish National Institute of Social Research 2 The longitudinal study  Any child born in 1995 placed in care  1st data collection in 2003 (7-8 years old)  N = 576 cases  Follow-up every 3rd year  2nd data collection in Nov.-Dec  Newcomers in care will be included

The Danish National Institute of Social Research 3 Research objectives 1.Which risk and protective factors are children in care exposed to? 2.Child welfare/child protection interventions during childhood and adolescence 3.Developmental outcomes of the children 4.Connection risk – protection - interventions - outcomes

The Danish National Institute of Social Research 4 Background of the study  Lack of research based knowledge  Dramatic increases in child welfare expenditures  The quality of social child protection work is questioned  The outcomes of care are questioned

The Danish National Institute of Social Research 5 Theoretical inspiration Research on risk, protection and resilience, a.o.:  Sroufe, Rutter, Quinton (UK)  Werner & Smith (USA - Kauai study)  SDQ-scale (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, tested and validated in several countries)

The Danish National Institute of Social Research 6 1st data collection Interviews with the parents of children in care 2.Questionnaire to carers (foster families, residential institutions etc.) 3.Questionnaire to social workers currently in charge of the children’s cases

The Danish National Institute of Social Research 7 2nd data collection 2006  Questionnaire to the carers (foster care, residential care, boarding schools etc.)  Survey-based interviews with the children (web-based or personal)  Register data on children and parents

The Danish National Institute of Social Research 8 Parents interviewed about…  Demography  Ethnicity  Socio economic situation  Physical and mental health of child and parents  Child welfare/protection interventions  Placement career  Social competences (SDQ-scale)  School performance (cognitive competences, etc.)  Network, peer relations, leisure activities, etc.

The Danish National Institute of Social Research 9 Comparison groups Children in care compared with ongoing longitudinal, representative study on 6,000 children born 1995:  Comparison group I: All 6,000 children  Comparison group II: Children from the most socially disadvantaged families

The Danish National Institute of Social Research 10 Overall conclusion  Families with small children in care dispropor- tionately socially disadvantaged in every respect compared to:  The families of the whole ‘95 cohort  The socially disadvantaged families with children not in care  Families with children in care in general (0-17 years)  Multiproblem families:  Characterised by cumulation of severe problems

The Danish National Institute of Social Research 11 Results on demography Longitudinal study of children in care Sub-sample of socially disadvan- taged families Longitudinal study of child develop- ment and welfare Teenage parenthood 28- 4*** Unplanned pregnancy 5923***12*** Single-parent household 5233***12*** Mother given birth to four or more children 27 3*** More than three marriages/cohabitations 146***1 Child lost contact with pa- rent not living in the family *** Death of one/both parents 7 -1***. -

The Danish National Institute of Social Research 12 Results on socio-economic situation Longitudinal study of children in care Sub-sample of socially disadvan- taged families Longitudinal study of child development and welfare No education after compulsory schooling *** Less than 9 years of schooling155***1 No vocational training or education *** Parents experienced unemployment spells or been out of work during the last three years 5848*8*** Parents publicly supported by pre-pension schemes 227***1 Household gross income less than 150,000 DKK a year 3720***2

The Danish National Institute of Social Research 13 Results on school performance Longitudinal study of children in care Sub-sample of socially disad- vantaged fami- lies Longitudinal study of child development and welfare The child attends a lower class level than expected of the age 4537*24*** The child performs poorly in Danish 116*3*** The child receives special preschool education 243***1 The child does not like the school 54 1***

The Danish National Institute of Social Research 14 Results on health & leisure Longitudinal study of children in care Sub-sample of socially disad- vantaged fami- lies Longitudinal study of child development and welfare The child has at least one diagnosed illness/handicap *** Total SDQ-score within abnormal range 5326***9 The child has not parti- cipated in organised leisure activities within last year ***

The Danish National Institute of Social Research 15 Too much instability The younger at first placement, the longer the child will stay in care The longer the period of placement, the more instable the care career

The Danish National Institute of Social Research 16 Factors associated with instability FactorP-valueOdd Ratio Child ethnic minority origin*1.9 Single-headed househould*1.4 Living in poverty 2003***1.7 Receiving pre-pension schemes**1.9 No education beyond highschool**2.0 Treated for substance abuse*1.6

The Danish National Institute of Social Research 17 Parents’ indicators of strain 1.No education after compulsory schooling 2.Socially excluded from the labour market 3.Diagnosed mental illness 4.Are or have been substance abusers 5.Been placed outside home as a child

The Danish National Institute of Social Research 18 Children’s indicators of strain 1.Has a diagnosed severe illness or a handicap 2.Fall behind children of the same age in school 3.Total score at the SDQ-scale within the abnormal range 4.Does not participate in leisure activities

The Danish National Institute of Social Research 19 Parents’ and children’s strains combined The parents’ level of strain Low (0 indicators) Medium (1-2 indicators) High (3-4 indicators) Total Low (0-1 indicator) Medium (2-3 indicators ) High (4-5 indicators) Total The child’s level of strain

The Danish National Institute of Social Research 20 Social policy perspectives A need for:  Intensive and prolonged interventions to the parents, targeting the complex combination of poverty, distress, and limited parenting capacity  Highly specialised interventions for the children (medical, psychiatric, educational etc.)

The Danish National Institute of Social Research 21 Extras

The Danish National Institute of Social Research 22 Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire 25 items attributes covering 5 scales:  1 scale on pro-social behaviour (5 items)  4 problem-oriented scales (5 items each)  emotional problems  conduct problems  hyperactivity/inattention  peer relationship problems

The Danish National Institute of Social Research 23 Carers interviwed about…  The child’s score on SDQ scale  Cooperation with parents  Cooperation with Child Protective Services  Efforts to preserve the culture of children with ethnic minority background

The Danish National Institute of Social Research 24 Themes of interviews with social workers  Formal decisions  Interventions  Legal basis for decisions and interventions  Cooperation with parents