Study
Fowler and colleagues (2018) conducted a randomized controlled trial to assess the impact of Family Unification Program (FUP) on foster care placements in Chicago, Ill. Eligible families included intact families, under investigation for child maltreatment by the child welfare system, whose inadequate housing threatened to result in out-of-home placement for one or more of their children. Families were required to meet eligibility criteria for the FUP, which stipulates that families must have 1) inadequate housing that increases the risk of child removal from the home, 2) a household income below 30 percent of the area median income for similarly sized families, and 3) at least one household member who is a U.S. citizen. Additionally, public housing rules prohibit the acceptance of caregivers who have debts to any housing authority or who have a criminal history. The child welfare system also requires all families to live within the geographic area served by the Chicago Housing Authority when referred for FUP. Child welfare–involved families working toward reunification with children already placed out of home were excluded. The child welfare system provided immediate referrals for FUP to eligible families, and the study authors enrolled this eligible population of intact families between August 2011 and July 2013.
The final sample comprised 178 families. Both the control and treatment families received housing case management through the Housing Advocacy Program (HAP), which uses community-based services to provide families with guidance, education, and direct assistance to address inadequate housing that threatens family stability. In addition to these services, treatment families received FUP. The families were evenly divided. Of the total sample, 89 were assigned to the control group (HAP only), and 89 were assigned to the treatment group (HAP plus FUP). There were 257 children in the control group, with an average age of 6.5 years. In the control group, just over half of the children were female (50.6 percent), and 71.6 percent were Black, 14 percent were Hispanic, 10.5 percent were white, and 3.9 percent identified as other. Control families had an average of four children per household, and 19.1 percent had prior foster placement. The FUP group also had 257 children, with an average age of 6.28 years. Approximately 47 percent of the children were female, and 74 percent were Black, 9.1 percent were white, 3.1 percent were Hispanic, and 13.8 percent identified as other. FUP families had an average of four children, and 15.7 percent had prior foster placement. There were no statistically significant differences between the groups at baseline.
The researchers obtained data from child welfare administrative records. They collected information from 36 months before and after random assignment. The researchers used intent-to-treat analysis at the family level to evaluate the effects of FUP on the rates of formal out-of-home placements. They did not conduct subgroup analyses.
