Effects of a Voluntary Hosting Program for Child Welfare Involved Families

The number of children who are removed into formal foster care in the USA remains stubbornly high. To address this concern, child welfare agencies are seeking safe ways of diverting low-risk cases from formal foster care to informal alternative care. However, little is known about the outcomes and wellbeing of children who spend some time in informal placements, particularly in the homes of unrelated caregivers. The current study reports results from a pre-registered, experimental evaluation of Safe Families for Children, a voluntary hosting program for children whose parents are being investigated for child maltreatment. Drawing on a Bayesian paradigm, it analyzes the effects of the hosting program in both formative and summative randomized controlled trials conducted in downstate Illinois. Findings indicate that the intervention deflects alleged and indicated victims of maltreatment from the formal foster care system to the voluntary alternative care of host families. The program demonstrates positive or null effects across a variety of child welfare outcomes, including subsequent episodes of indicated maltreatment and return to or maintenance in the parental home. Findings from this work contribute to the ongoing debate about the benefits and risks of informal non-kin care as a preventive alternative to the removal of children into formal foster care.