The placement movements of 235 children entering foster care over a 12-mont
h period were followed up 4 months after referral into care. Baseline and f
ollow-up measures of the 170 children who were still in care at follow-up w
ere also compared. Results indicated that adolescents with mental health or
behavioural problems were the least likely to achieve placement stability
or to display improved psychological adjustment in care. In fact, unsatisfa
ctory transition to foster care was found to be so prevalent among these ch
ildren that conventional foster family care should be considered unsuitable
for them. The paper concludes that there is an urgent need for a wider ran
ge of alternative care options for the adolescent population.