THE HEALTH-CARE NEEDS OF CHILDREN IN FOSTER-CARE - A RESEARCH AGENDA

Health and mental health considerations present many challenges to the child welfare system and play a significant role in the care of child ren in out-of-home care. This paper reviews the unique health care nee ds of children in the out-of-home care system and the standards develo ped over the past decade to deliver comprehensive health care services to this population. Key policy and practice questions are raised for each standard to facilitate effective implementation of the recommenda tion. Future research efforts should concentrate on collecting and eva luating data from existing programs to aid in refining and directing p olicy and practice in the field of child welfare.