In residential care, foster care and home-based programs, most children show improvement on clinical and functional outcomes after program participation.

For youth in residential care, foster care and transitional living programs, child risk factors were more strongly related to outcomes than parental risk factors.

Children who have longer stays in treatment demonstrate greater clinical improvement.

As the numbers of prior placements increase, positive outcomes decrease.

In residential care programs, children who have been adjudicated delinquent demonstrate better clinical outcomes than children adjudicated as CHINS (Child in Need of Services – Indiana’s child welfare). They also are more likely to have positive discharge decisions and have better educational outcomes.

In foster care and transitional living programs, children adjudicated as CHINS had more positive discharge placement outcomes. For children in foster care programs, CHINS adjudication was also associated with increased lengths of stay; however, discharge was more frequently in accordance with the permanency plan.

In an analysis of the three residential care program types, children in programs with staff- or locked secure units showed positive clinical outcomes, more so than children in other residential program types.

In Home-Based programs, positive changes were seen in children identified as CHINS across both clinical and functional outcome measures.

Differential outcomes were found between Caucasian and minority children.

In sum, the relationships that exist between these variables are complex, and these are examples of some of the interesting findings. Further analyses are planned to help further identify specifics of these relationships, and to provide additional information for treatment planning to hopefully benefit those who provide and receive services.