The data revealed that discharge was delayed in 62 of the cases. Consistent with last quarters report, the primary reason identified for the discharge delay was difficulty locating an appropriate foster home. In some of these cases, the resources were not available in a time frame consistent with the 45-day discharge. Of the 32 children who remained in placement over 80 days, eleven were discharged to a foster home, five to a therapeutic foster home, four to a residential treatment facility, nine were discharged to a relative, and three returned to their parent. According to a review of LINK, once these children transitioned to their subsequent placement, the majority have been maintained in those placements.
All efforts continue to be made to keep siblings together when appropriate.
In some circumstances, children remained in placement longer to secure one placement, rather than accepting two placements, which would result in the displacement of siblings. It is interesting to note that, of the 32 children that entered care having already been committed to DCF, twenty had a length of stay greater than 45 days and fifteen of those children remained in care over 80 days. This demonstrates the difficulty of using SAFE Homes for children already in the system. Twenty-one of the children increased 10 points or more. The data representing this quarter's activity continues to be consistent with previous findings.