Zorc Catherine S, O'Reilly Amanda Lr, Matone Meredith, Long Jin, Watts Caroline L, Rubin David
Department of Pediatrics, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 34 Street and Civic Center Boulevard, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
Child Youth Serv Rev. 2013 May 1;35(5):826-833. doi: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2013.02.006.
Chronic school absenteeism and frequent school changes, particularly among younger children, may be antecedents for the high rates of school failure and subsequent dropout among youth in foster care. However, the relationship of foster care experience to absenteeism and school change has not been well studied.
This study examined the association of placement experience with absenteeism and changing schools among 209 urban children in foster care enrolled in public elementary schools.
A cohort of children aged 5 to 8 years who entered non-relative or kinship foster care from 2006-2008 were followed longitudinally for 2 years from entry into foster care. Children residing in foster care were categorized at the end of the study as early stable, late stable, or unstable, if they achieved a permanent placement prior to 45 days, between 45 days and 9 months, or failed to do so within 9 months, respectively. Children who reunified home were classified as a fourth category. Poisson regression, controlling for baseline factors, was used to compare days absent and number of schools attended across categories of placement experience.
Among the 209 children, 51% were male, 79% were African American, and 55% were initially placed with kin. One third of children reunified home; among children who did not reunify, one half was early stable, and a third was unstable. Adjusted rates of school absenteeism increased in stepwise fashion as children's placements became more unstable; children with unstable placements were 37% more likely to be absent than those with early placement stability (p=0.029). Children who reunified during the study demonstrated the highest rates of absenteeism; however, there was no significant difference in absenteeism before or after reunification. Number of schools attended increased as stability worsened, with the standardized rate of schools attended reaching 3.6 schools (95% CI 3.1-4.1) over a two year period among children in unstable placements.
The relationship between placement experience and school absenteeism and school change illustrates the need to better coordinate the educational experience of high-risk children in foster care. The secondary finding of high absenteeism among children in the process of returning home illustrates that educational challenges for youth may be equally if not more concerning among the greater majority of youth in child welfare who remain home with birth parents.
长期缺课和频繁转学，尤其是在年幼儿童中，可能是寄养儿童学业失败率高及随后辍学率高的先兆。然而，寄养经历与缺课及转学之间的关系尚未得到充分研究。
本研究调查了209名在公立小学就读的城市寄养儿童的安置经历与缺课及转学之间的关联。
对2006年至2008年进入非亲属或亲属寄养的5至8岁儿童队列，从进入寄养开始纵向随访2年。在研究结束时，寄养儿童如果在45天之前、45天至9个月之间或9个月内未实现永久安置，则分别被归类为早期稳定、晚期稳定或不稳定。与家人团聚的儿童被归类为第四类。使用泊松回归并控制基线因素，以比较不同安置经历类别的缺课天数和就读学校数量。
在209名儿童中，51%为男性，79%为非裔美国人，55%最初被安置在亲属处。三分之一的儿童与家人团聚；在未团聚的儿童中，一半为早期稳定，三分之一为不稳定。随着儿童安置变得更加不稳定，调整后的缺课率呈逐步上升趋势；安置不稳定的儿童缺课的可能性比早期安置稳定的儿童高37%（p=0.029）。在研究期间与家人团聚的儿童缺课率最高；然而，团聚前后的缺课情况没有显著差异。随着稳定性变差，就读学校数量增加，不稳定安置儿童在两年期间的标准化就读学校数量达到3.6所（95%可信区间3.1 - 至4.1）。
安置经历与缺课及转学之间的关系表明，需要更好地协调寄养中高危儿童的教育经历。回家过程中的儿童缺课率高这一次要发现表明，对于大多数与亲生父母同住的儿童福利青年来说，教育挑战即便不更令人担忧，也同样令人担忧。
