In close proximity: the impact of distance between biological mothers and foster parents on the longitudinal mental health outcomes of children in foster care

Geographic Information System (GIS) was used to estimate the proximity between first foster home placements of children in Cook County, Illinois (N = 90) and their homes of origin. Proximity on its own was not associated with longitudinal internalizing symptoms trajectories using the Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS), but the interaction between placement (kin versus non-kin) and proximity was significant. Children placed in a non-kin home further away from their biological mothers experienced relatively worse internalizing symptoms trajectories, suggesting that casework practice should attend to the social losses of children placed further from their homes of origin and without family.