This report summarises evidence from the last ten years of the Pathways of Care Longitudinal Study (POCLS). POCLS is the first large-scale prospective longitudinal study of children and young people in out-of-home care (OOHC) in Australia. The child developmental domains of interest are physical health, socio-emotional wellbeing and cognitive/learning ability. The report provides a summary of key findings and identifies key implications for policy and practice.

Key findings

• Ten years after entering OOHC, half of the children and young people had high needs in at least one developmental domain – socio-emotional, verbal or non-verbal.
• Placement in relative/kinship care was associated with a 'persistently low difficulties' in children and young people’s socio-emotional trajectory.
• Children and young people with a disability had poorer outcomes across physical, socio-emotional and cognitive domains, regardless of their placement type.
• Aboriginal children and young people who had cultural connections through socialising with their birth communities were less likely to have socio-emotional and behavioural problems.
• Placement stability was associated with younger age at entry to OOHC, relative/kinship care, and carer satisfaction in their caring role.
• Children and young people in residential care fare poorly.