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Permanency Outcomes In Legal Guardianships Of Abused/Neglected Children, James Henry

Social Work Faculty Publications

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 …