Children in Out-of-Home Care: Entry Into Intensive or Restrictive Mental Health and Residential Care Placements

Using longitudinal data from the National Survey on Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW), this study investigates entry into intensive or restrictive settings during a 36-month study period. Specifically, this analysis examines entry into treatment foster care, group homes, residential treatment, and inpatient psychiatric care for youth placed into out-of-home care ( n = 981). It aims to determine at what point in their first out-of-home episodes and for what reasons youth entered such settings. As NSCAW used a national probability sampling design,this analysis provides national estimates about entry into intensive or restrictive settings for youth in out-of-home care. Twenty-five percent of youth ( n = 280) experienced an intensive or restrictive setting during their first out-of-home care episode; 70% were in either group homes (33.2%) or residential treatment settings (37.0%).About half of the youth with such placements (48.9%) were placed into intensive or restrictive settings as a first placement during their first out-of-home episode.