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Children who enter the out-of-home-care system must deal with a variety of family systems. At a minimum, they experience living with their biological families and at least one set of substitute caregivers. These children face multiple attachments, the loss of important relationships, and confusing loyalty conflicts. As a result, attachment, separation, loss, and continuity of family ties become crucial themes in child welfare practice with them [Siu and Hogan 1989]. Few tools exist, however, to assess and process the impact of placement experiences on the lives of children in care. Borrowing from the widely used family genogram, the placement genogram offers promise as an assessment and intervention tool for children in out-of-home care.
This article describes the placement genogram and its potential uses in child welfare practice. First, a traditional family genogram is constructed using a case example. The placement genogram is then introduced using the same case. A description of several uses of the placement genogram follows.
THE FAMILY GENOGRAM
The family genogram has become a widely accepted and valuable social work tool in family assessment [Hartman 1978; Hartman and Laird 1983; McGoldrick and Gerson 1985]. As a visual representation of clients' current and extended family systems, it helps workers and families identify intergenerational family patterns, themes, myths, expectations, roles, and losses. In addition, it helps workers and families compile a chronology of important family events. Most importantly, perhaps, it provides a multigenerational context for exploring family problems.
Families creating genograms with their workers have an opportunity to discuss important events in family history and their impact on family functioning. All family members can see how each has been affected by others in the family system and how each affects others. Important family themes, set forth graphically, are more difficult to dismiss and ignore [Hartman and Laird 1983]. For all of these reasons, family genograms have become an important tool to help child welfare workers understand children in placement [see, for example, Sandmeier 1988].
THE CASE
A report from ten-year-old Aaron's school brought the C family to the attention of child welfare authorities. The school reported that Aaron's attendance was sporadic and that his father had not responded to requests for a meeting. A Child Protective Services (CPS) investigation elicited the child's history, presented...