One-third of foster kids in Quebec who reunited with their biological families after being in the care of protected services had a reoccurrence of neglect, abuse or underwent child behavioural problems within five years, a new study shows.
According to a study looking into Quebec’s 16 youth-protection centres, researchers discovered that 33 per cent of the 4,120 children -- aged 17 or younger -- who had been in child protective services in 2008 or 2009, re-entered the system within five years after being returned to their biological families.
The children then required further assistance from the child protective services system, due to a reoccurrence of either being maltreated, abused or the child having behavioural problems. These reoccurrences could occur due to physical neglect, physical or sexual abuse, or violence.
Examples of the behavioural problems the children developed include: drug abuse, suicidal thoughts or attempts, running away, causing vandalism, or having aggressive behaviours, among others.
Lead author Sonia Helie, an associate professor of social work at the University of Montreal, said the study’s findings are “quite worrisome.”
“The 33 per cent is quite a high number over five years … Lots of things can happen over the five years. There will always be some families with very high needs, which will cause more challenges to the system,” Helie said.
“Children aged three to five years old were most at risk of being abused or neglected again. This was due to their vulnerability and constant care that they need,” added study co-author Marie-Andree Poirier.
Poirier said the number of times a child tried to reunite with his or her biological family had impact on a possible reoccurrence.
“It’s not instability with regards to the foster families with whom the child has been that plays a role, but rather the back-and-forth between the biological family and other settings,” Poirier said. “We believe that young children are more sensitive to the outcomes of failures to reunite the biological family, and that this has an effect on their sense of attachment.”
Quebec’s child protection system prefers to reunite the child with his or her family, the study noted.
The research suggests that the reunifications with family failed in one-third of the cases because the kids may not have received enough help once they returned home from government services and agencies.
“This highlights the importance of making good preparations before reunification occurs to ensure good follow-up, by adding services to help the family adjust,” Helie said.
The study -- entitled “Risk of maltreatment recurrence after existing substitute care: Impact of placement characteristics” -- will be published in the November edition of Children and Youth Services Review.
