NCJ Number
80818
Date Published
1982
Length
249 pages
Annotation
Results of a systematic examination of child care agencies and their involvement with out-of-State residential care for children are presented for Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.
Abstract
In addition to a description of study methodology in each State and the organization of youth services relating to out-of-State placement policies, survey results focus on (1) the number of children placed in out-of-State residential settings, (2) the out-of-State placement practices of local agencies, (3) detailed data from Phase II agencies, (4) the use of interstate compacts by State and local agencies, (5) the out-of-State placement practices of State agencies, and (6) State agencies' knowledge of out-of-State placement. The States and the agencies within them differed markedly in both the manner and frequency of arranging out-of-State placements in 1978. The organizational structure and the attendant policies also varied widely from State to State. Yet, all State governments had major responsibilities for regulating the placements of children across State lines for residential care. The methods used by State agencies for performing these responsiblities and their relative levels of effectiveness in achieving their purposes can be determined in the State profiles. Consequently, the State profiles are suggestive of alternative policies which agencies might select to change or improve the regulation of the out-of-State placement of children within their States. For the overall discussion of the national survey and other State profiles, see NCJ 80815-17, 80823, and 80828. (Author summary modified)