Children placed with relatives and friends: Placement patterns and outcomes

Although placements with relatives or friends are increasingly used for children looked after by the state, little is known about how well these placements work or how they compare with placements with unrelated foster carers. This study is funded by the Department of Health and will provide a clear picture of the current use of placements with relatives and friends in a range of local authorities in the UK and the legal and administrative categories used for them. The study will also examine factors relating to the success or failure of these placements and determine whether there are particular circumstances in which these placements are either indicated or contra-indicated.

The first part of the study will be conducted in 4 local authorities through an analysis of case files. Relative or friend placements will be compared with those with unrelated carers on a number of dimensions. In the second part of the study a sub-sample of 50 children aged 5 or over who are in placements with relatives or friends will be selected and interviews conducted with the children, their caregivers, parents and social workers and a number of standardised measures will be used. The findings will provide detailed information about the benefits and disadvantages of placements with relatives or friends from the perspectives of the main participants and will examine which factors relate to the success or failure of these placements.