ACF Study Finds Higher Rates of Post-Adoption Instability

Post-adoption instability may be more common than previously thought, according to a recent study released by RTI International under an Administration and Children and Families contract. According to the report, about a third of children adopted from foster care experience some form of either formal instability (including reentry to foster care) or informal instability (including running away or leaving their adoptive home before the age of 18).

Previous studies estimated that the cumulative rate of any post-adoption instability event over 10 years ranged from about 5 to 20 percent. The RTI study differed primarily because it was not based solely on administrative records, which are focused primarily on formal instability. It instead surveyed a representative sample of 383 children adopted from foster care and their adoptive parents, which enabled the researchers to capture a broader range of both formal and informal instability events.

The report confirmed earlier findings that most children and youth who exit foster care to adoption do not later reenter foster care. In the survey, an estimated 8 percent fit this description, with another two percent experiencing termination of their adoptive parents’ parental rights (for a total of 10 percent experiencing some form of formal instability event). However, the report also found that 30 percent experienced some form of informal instability, including running away, homelessness, leaving the home prior to their 18th birthday, and living with a non-relative adult. About six percent of the surveyed children experienced both kinds of instability. Overall, a third (33.16%) of these children experienced one or both.

Risk factors for instability in the study generally tracked the findings of prior literature. Factors associated with both formal and informal post-adoption instability in the study included:

• less nurturing adoptive family relationships during childhood; and

• the presence of child behavior problems early in the adoptive relationship.

Risk factors associated with informal stability in the study included:

• older child age at the time of adoption;

• child sex assigned at birth (being female), and

• less parent-child closeness prior to the adoption.

Other risk factors cited in the broader literature have included the child’s level of prior maltreatment and various caregiver-related factors such as mental health difficulties and unrealistic expectations. Protective factors include the provision of post-adoption services, youth involvement in the decision to adopt, kinship relationships, and support from family or friends.

Other research has also found that post-adoption stability can be positively affected by the provision of needed services. For children adopted from foster care, these services are typically provided by child welfare agencies. Such services can include mental health services, educational supports, support groups, parent training, respite care, and financial subsidies. However, most studies find that half, or less than half, of these families receive these services.

The RTI study found similar overall usage patterns, but it found that families that experienced some form of instability were more likely to receive such services (75%).  The most commonly received services among the families surveyed were financial assistance (67%) and mental health services (62%).  Other services included educational supports (46%), support groups (18%), job training or independent living skills training (19%), drug or alcohol treatment services (6%) and other supports for parents from the child welfare system (32%).

Previous research indicated that the two most common barriers to accessing these services are families not knowing where to find them or what services are available. The RTI study found similar results in its survey of adoptive parents and children.  Additionally, a previous RTI report also found that “families are often reluctant to contact child welfare agencies when they need assistance or support because of stigma associated with child welfare involvement. Furthermore, families often reach out for help when they are in crisis, and it is too late for child welfare agencies to effectively intervene."

Finally, although the previous literature suggests that such services do help address post-adoption instability in general, relatively little is known about the effectiveness of each of the specific services. Further research is needed to identify the most cost-effective, high-impact services that could help bend the curve and reduce post-adoption instability events overall.

The study’s authors will present on their results at VFA’s member meeting in October.

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