Family reunification in a social structural context

Using a multi-level discrete time hazard model, this study examines whether county level social structural characteristics affect the rate of family reunification, after adjusting for child attributes. Children who were placed in foster care for the first time during 2004 from 945 counties in 17 states are included. The county level characteristic examined included urbanicity, racial composition, percentage of female-headed households, proportion of households in poverty and foster care placement rate. The results show that with the exception of poverty, the other contextual variables affect family reunification, although the effects are most pronounced within the first six months of foster care placement.