Understanding the demographics of children in care as well as available homes is a critical step before products and services are configured.  In partnership with DCS, The Contingent conducted a Gap Analysis for the State of TN.    

Concept

Children entering foster care without available kin are frequently separated from siblings, placed in congregate care, or sent far away from loved ones. These non-ideal placements are caused by an insufficient supply of foster homes, which is especially acute for children with certain needs. 

Because non-ideal placements are a direct metric of child outcomes, observing where and how frequently they occur gives a clear signal of process breakdowns or foster homes shortages. By measuring non-ideal placements, we can more specifically target interventions, like recruitment campaigns and process improvements, where children need them most.

Defining Adverse Placement

We define a non-ideal placement as: (1) placement in congregate care without specific treatment plans, (2) separation from siblings, or (3) non-relative placement out of a child’s community (i.e. county, zip code, school, or tribe). We also measure the relationship between the percentage of children from different racial/cultural backgrounds and the percentage of foster homes available to serve them as another component of recruitment and placement goals.