Department of Economics, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA.
Eval Rev. 2013 Feb;37(1):3-34. doi: 10.1177/0193841X13487536. Epub 2013 Jun 4.
This study assessed the effects of unified family and drug treatment courts (DTCs) on the resolution of cases involving foster care children and the resulting effects on school performance.
The first analytic step was to assess the impacts of presence of unified and DTCs in North Carolina counties on time children spent in foster care and the type of placement at exit from foster care. In the second step, the same data on foster care placements were merged with school records for youth in Grades 3-8 in public schools. The effect of children's time in foster care and placement outcomes on school performance as measured by math and reading tests, grade retention, and attendance was assessed using child fixed-effects regression.
Children in counties with unified family courts experienced shorter foster care spells and higher rates of reunification with parents or primary caregivers. Shorter foster care spells translated into improved school performance measured by end-of-grade reading and math test scores. Adult DTCs were associated with lower probability of reunification with parents/primary caregivers.
The shortened time in foster care implies an efficiency gain attributable to unified family courts, which translate into savings for the court system through the use of fewer resources. Children also benefit through shortened stays in temporary placements, which are related to some improved educational outcomes.
本研究评估了家庭和药物治疗法院（DTC）一体化对解决寄养儿童案件的影响，以及对学校表现的影响。
第一步分析是评估北卡罗来纳州各县是否存在家庭和 DTC 一体化对儿童在寄养中所花费时间的影响，以及在离开寄养时的安置类型。第二步，将同样的寄养安置数据与公立学校 3-8 年级的青年学校记录合并。使用儿童固定效应回归评估儿童在寄养中的时间和安置结果对数学和阅读测试、留级和出勤率等方面的学校表现的影响。
在设有家庭综合法院的县，儿童的寄养时间较短，与父母或主要照顾者团聚的比例较高。较短的寄养时间转化为阅读和数学期末考试成绩的提高，表明学校表现有所改善。成年 DTC 与父母/主要照顾者团聚的可能性降低有关。
寄养时间的缩短意味着家庭综合法院带来了效率的提高，通过使用更少的资源为法院系统节省了成本。儿童也通过临时安置时间的缩短受益，这与一些教育成果的提高有关。
