Background: In child and adolescent psychiatry, many patients are placed in welfare institutions or foster care.
Objective: It is important to study their progress in the long term and to examine the psychological and social care arrangements as well as their impacts.
Population And Methods: This qualitative study designed to identify potential prognostic factors relating to the outcome of children placed in a welfare center or foster care before the age of 4 years was based on the analysis of 34 case histories of children placed in a welfare center or foster care in Angers.