Study 1
Leon, Saucedo, and Jachymiak (2016) conducted a quasi-experimental design study to determine the effectiveness of the Family Finding program for youth in the foster care system. The study took place in Cook County, Illinois. Participants were considered eligible if they were between the ages of 6 and 13, and if they entered the care of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) in Cook County between October 1, 2011, and October 1, 2015. To achieve a fair distribution of cases, the clerk’s office at the Cook County Juvenile Court assigned cases to either a ground-level or concourse-level courtroom by using a computer software program. During the first year of the study, children of cases assigned to courtrooms on the concourse level received the Family Finding treatment, and children assigned to the ground level received care as usual. This assignment was reversed in the second year of the study and alternated in 6-month intervals during the third and final year of the study.
The study sample consisted of 458 children. Of those, 196 children received the Family Finding intervention, and the 262 children in the comparison group received care as usual. In regard to gender, 50.5 percent of the intervention group and 52.3 percent of the comparison group were female. In the intervention group, 63.8 percent were African American, 12.8 percent were Latino, and 14.3 percent were multi-ethnic. In the comparison group, 59.5 percent were African American, 19.1 percent were Latino, and 13.4 percent were multi-ethnic. Of youth in the treatment group, 84.7 percent had experienced neglect, 26 percent had experienced physical abuse, and 9.2 percent had experienced sexual abuse. In the comparison group, 70.6 percent had experienced neglect, 32.8 percent had experienced physical abuse, and 9.2 percent had experienced sexual abuse. There were no statistically significant differences between the groups at baseline.
Outcomes of interest included the number of kin and fictive kin found, how many positive attachment figures were found, proportion of relative placements to total placements, reunification rates, externalizing behaviors, and internalizing behaviors. Information on the child’s demographics and family was collected through the Illinois DCFS Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System (SACWIS) database. Externalizing and internalizing behaviors were evaluated using the Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths Scale (CANS). Each item on the CANS consisted of a 4-point Likert scale ranging from 0 to 3 to determine severity of specific behaviors. Placement history and time in care were determined by using the Child and Youth Centered Information System (CYCIS) and the Management Accounting and Reporting System (MARS).
Independent samples t tests, chi-square tests, and analyses of covariance (ANCOVA) were used to determine the differences between the treatment and the comparison groups such as the number of kin or fictive kin identified. Structural Equation Modeling was used to determine the likelihood that children’s placements would be with relatives. Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) was used to determine the effect of the intervention on longitudinal externalizing behavior and internalizing symptoms. The study authors did not conduct subgroup analyses.