Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #111104

Jung Min Park, PhD, School of Social Work, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1207 W. Oregon Street, Room 340, Urbana, IL 61801, David S. Mandell, ScD, Center for Mental Health Policy and Services Research, University of Pennsylvania, 3535 Market Street, 3rd Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19104, (215) 662-2504, mandelld@mail.med.upenn.edu, and Phyllis Solomon, PhD, School of Social Work, University of Pennsylvania, 3701 Locust Walk, Philadelphia, PA 19104.

Although children in mental health treatment are considered to be at great risk for foster care placement, only a few empirical studies have examined this relationship, and all have been cross-sectional in design. This cohort study followed children in inpatient psychiatric care to examine the probability and correlates of subsequent foster care involvement.

The study group comprised 1,660 children between the ages of 6 and 15 years, who were eligible for Medicaid for at least 12 months between 2000 and 2002, and who had their first Medicaid reimbursed inpatient psychiatric stay during the study period. Among children with no foster care history prior to their first inpatient psychiatric episode, nearly one out of five was placed in foster care within 3 years of their first episode. Approximately 50% of these children were placed in foster care within 1 year and additional 30% within 2 years. Older children and children diagnosed with externalizing disorders were more likely to have been placed in foster care.

These findings suggest that children in inpatient psychiatric care – particularly certain subgroups – are at very high risk for placement in foster care. These children in particular may benefit from integration between mental health and child welfare systems and continued follow-up, not just with the child, but with their families to reduce the risk of out-of-home placements. Costs associated with these interventions would be offset by the considerable public costs associated with placement in the child welfare system.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant in this session will be able to

• Recognize the association between inpatient psychiatric care and foster care involvement
• Identify the timing of foster care placement among children with inpatient psychiatric care
• Discuss the ways to intervene to reduce risk for parents-child separation and for placement in foster care.

Keywords: Child and Adolescent Mental Health, Mental Health Services

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.

Recorded presentation