Background: People with severe challenging behaviour are vulnerable to exclusion from local services and removal to out-of-area placements if locally available supported accommodation is insufficient to meet their needs. There are concerns about the high costs and potentially poorer outcomes of out-of-area placements but relatively little is known…

Using longitudinal data from the National Survey on Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW), this study investigates entry into intensive or restrictive settings during a 36-month study period. Specifically, this analysis examines entry into treatment foster care, group homes, residential treatment, and inpatient psychiatric care for youth placed…

We examined Treatment Foster Care (TFC) in residential trajectories for youth with psychiatric disorders and aggressive behavior. We analyzed residential placements of a statewide sample of youth during the 12 months preceding and following admission to TFC. Prior to TFC, the majority of youth were residing in more restrictive settings (group…

The paper reports on changes in the size and type of operation of residential facilities for persons with mental retardation in the United States over a recent decade (1977-1987). It also reports current (June, 1987) variability among states along these same dimensions. The decade saw a decrease of 9.6% in the number of mentally retarded persons…

This booklet presents a set of Child Welfare League standards for group home foster care services for children and adolescents provided through authorized public or voluntary social agencies. Group home services, as described in the standards, have characteristics of both foster family and institutional services, offering a relationship with a…