Study Finds Children With Adverse Childhood Experiences Have More Difficult Time With Foster Placement

A new study has found that children in foster care with greater cumulative exposure to adverse childhood experiences were significantly more likely to experience placement instability. The study, “Adverse Childhood Experiences and Foster Care Placement Stability,” which will be published in the December 2021 issue of Pediatrics (published online Nov. 15), notes that, nationally, one in five U.S. children (21.7%) report exposure to two or more ACEs, and recent research has demonstrated that children in foster care are at heightened risk of cumulative adversities, when compared to their non-foster care counterparts. The study sample included 2,998 children, 6-18 years old, who entered foster care between Oct. 1, 2015, and July 1, 2019, in Kansas. Compared to children with 1-5 ACEs, when controlling for all other variables, children with 10 or more ACEs had increased odds of experiencing placement instability (31%). Children with 6-9 ACEs had 52% increased odds of experiencing placement instability. ACEs and foster care involvement, along with placement instability, have been shown to have negative, long-term health and well-being consequences, the authors note.

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The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 67,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults.