Using administrative data in child protection research - Re-entry to out-of-home care among looked after children in England: Analysis of administrative data

Objectives: In England almost one-third of children in out-of-home care (OHC) exit the system each year, yet factors associated with different modes of exit (such as age, ethnicity, etc.) are not well-described. Evidence on... [ view full abstract ]

Objectives: In England almost one-third of children in out-of-home care (OHC) exit the system each year, yet factors associated with different modes of exit (such as age, ethnicity, etc.) are not well-described. Evidence on the proportion of children who re-enter OHC is also lacking. Previous studies have had limited follow-up periods and used relatively small samples. This study aimed to use routinely-gathered administrative data to describe variation in modes of exit from OHC and estimate the rate of re-entry to care within five years.

Methods: Administrative records for a one-third sample of children exiting OHC between 1st January and 31st December 2007 (N=5,061) were obtained from the Department for Education’s social care dataset. Survival methods were used to measure re-entry to OHC within five years, overall and for each mode of exit.

Results: The majority of children who exited OHC returned home without further supervision (47.2%); however, this proportion varied by age from 35.7% of under 5 year olds to 63.8% of 11-15 year olds. Re-entry to OHC could be explored for 3,988 children, excluding those who died, moved, were adopted or sentenced to custody. Overall, 37.7% of children (n=1,504) re-entered OHC within five years. Re-entry rates varied by child and care characteristics; for example, 45.9% (950/2,391) of children placed with their parents under supervision re-entered OHC within 5 years compared to 5.9% (19/320) of those who exited via special guardianship orders.

Conclusions: Re-entry to OHC is common among children in OHC in England; almost 40% re-entered within five years of exit. Further work is required to understand the factors associated with re-entry to OHC and the effects of repeated movements into and out of the care system on children’s outcomes.