Who will go back home? Factors associated with decisions to address family reunification from residential care

Abstract

One of the goals that can be addressed when a youngster enters residential care (RC) is family reunification, but this is not possible or recommended in all cases. The objective of this work is to determine the factors associated with deciding to address family reunification from RC. The sample consists of 281 youngsters aged 6 to 18, of whom 27.8% had a family reunification plan. The information was extracted from the administrative files, through the "Sistema de Evaluación y Registro en Acogimiento Residencial" (SERAR [Evaluation and Register System in Residential Care]; Del Valle, & Bravo, 2007). Logistic regressions were conducted, which showed that some variables, such as instability during RC, the presence of physical neglect, having entered the child protection system at age 15 years or older, and very long stays, decrease the likelihood of addressing family reunification. On the other hand, parents’ incapacity to exercise parental control as one of the reasons for separation increases the likelihood of addressing family reunification. Some family variables are also related to the likelihood of addressing reunification. These results are discussed in relation to the scientific literature, due to the existence of differences between countries in decision-making in child welfare. There is a need to work on some factors preventively to prevent youngsters from entering RC.