Reuniting children with their biological families after out-of-home care. A pilot project investigating their everyday life and challenges.

This study investigates reunification of children with their biological families after placement in out-of-home care. Even though reunification is a known phenomenon and is undertaken in 39 percent of the placement cases... [ view full abstract ]

This study investigates reunification of children with their biological families after placement in out-of-home care. Even though reunification is a known phenomenon and is undertaken in 39 percent of the placement cases within five years after the placement (Ubbesen et al. 2012), research in the field is neglected, especially in the Scandinavian countries. Scarce knowledge show that children reunited with their biological families are relatively disadvantaged compared to children in care (Egelund, Hestbæk & Andersen 2004; Egelund et al. 2008; Lausten et al. 2013), 46 percent of the 11-year-olds do not participate in leisure activities, and 14 percent of the 15-year-olds declare that they do not go to school. In addition many risk factors, individual (e.g. self-harm behavior, criminal behavior, or use of illegal drugs) as well as contextual (e.g. mothers with psychiatric diagnoses, unemployed mothers or mothers defined as poor), are still present in the reunited child’s life.

The aim of this pilot project is to investigate the reunification process from three angles. First the project comprises a qualitative study, where seven young people are interviewed about the experiences and challenges – in both their everyday life and their school life – that have been connected with the reunification with their biological families. Second we study, qualitatively, how the case work handling reunifications best ensure stable returns to the family. Third the project comprises a quantitative analysis on DALSC-CiC (Danish Longitudinal Survey on Children – Children in Care) providing an overview of reunifications in Denmark. Furthermore it describes the reunited children on several background factors and describes their everyday-life and school-life on several factors, e.g. completion of lower-secondary school and continuation in upper-secondary school.

Preliminary findings suggest that a stable home-coming is dependent upon the quality of the preparation before reunification as well as the support after reunification. Gradually increasing the time the child or adolescent and the biological family spend together before reunification ensures that both parties are ready for the reunification. Therefore, to secure a stable home-coming in the period after reunification and a continued home-staying, the young people need more systematic support in handling their everyday life than what have been offered so far.