Decision maker perceptions of the optimal out of home placement

Background It is well known that matching children to the optimal out of home placement is fundamental for their safety, stability, and their long-term outcomes in a range of areas, including health, mental health and... [ view full abstract ]

Background
It is well known that matching children to the optimal out of home placement is fundamental for their safety, stability, and their long-term outcomes in a range of areas, including health, mental health and education. Despite this, little is known about the decision making processes that lead to placement or how varying decision maker beliefs about what constitutes the optimal out of home placement may influence this decision.
Objectives
The aim of this study was to identify what decision makers consider to be the optimal out of home placement, and understand how this may influence their decisions about where children are placed.
Method
This study forms part of an ongoing program of research that seeks to identify and measure the factors influencing decision making about where children are placed in out of home care. As part of this study child protection practitioners and legal practitioners working in the Australian out of home care sector completed an online survey regarding their perception of the optimal out of home placement, and the facilitators and barriers to achieving this placement in their practice. Qualitative analysis of survey responses was carried out using a grounded approach.
Results
There was considerable variation on responses, with participants describing the optimal out of home placement in a number of different ways. Some participants defined the optimal out of home placement by its characteristics or by the characteristics of the caregivers. Examples included a safe, stable or loving environment, or a placement with carers well trained in responding to complex behaviours and who relate positively to the child's birth family. Other participants defined optimal by type of out of home care, considering kinship, foster or residential care to be the optimal placement for children. These varied definitions were also reflected in the diversity of facilitators and barriers identified to matching children to the optimal out of home placement.
Conclusions
Variation in decision maker perception of the optimal out of placement may influence decisions about where children are placed in out of home care. Identifying and understanding this variation will be important for the development of a workforce that has a shared goal when making decisions about where children are placed. This will ultimately contribute to improved understanding of the placement decision, and the development of policy and practice that leads to the consistent placement of children in out of home care.