Permanency outcomes in legal guardianships of abused/neglected children

Families in Society

Volumn 80, Issue 6, 1999, Pages 561-568

  Henry, Jim ^a  

^a WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY   (United States)

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[No Author keywords available]

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EID: 0033241627     PISSN: 10443894     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1606/1044-3894.1786     Document Type: Article

References (39)

1. Permanency Outcomes in Legal Guardianships of Abused/ Neglected Children by Jim Henry Legal guardianships for abused/neglected children are often utilized by the child welfare system to create permanency placements. This descriptive study explores the permanency outcomes for abused/neglect children in legal guardianships. Five hundred forty-five family court guardianship files from two southwestern counties In Michigan were reviewed. The findings indicated that successful permanency was dependent on the reason the guardianship. Legal guardianships established following adjudicated child abuse/neglect (seventy-seven) in family court had a permanency disruption rate of 29%. Guardianships established after child abuse/neglect occurred (thirty-six), but prior to adjudication, had a permanency disruption rate of only 9%. Reasons for the disruptions and potential explanations for these statistically significant differences are examined. Jim Henry is assistant professor at Western Michigan University, School of Social Work, 1201 Oliver Street, Kalamazoo, MI 49008. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Jim Henry at this address or at james.henry@wmich.edu
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