Foster care research in the US and Australia: An update

This article reviews recent reform, research and trends in foster care (family foster care, kinship care and group care) in the US. In presenting this data attention is drawn to the lack of comparable Australian materials. Practitioners are also cautioned against embracing US initiatives too eagerly as the time lag in the transfer of information means that these developments may have been modified by research findings by the time they come to notice in Australia.