 Placement trajectories that lead to permanency for children placed in out-of-home care by child protection services 
In April 2021, the report of the Laurent Commission highlighted the importance of ensuring that every child has a family for life and the need to quickly provide emotional stability on a permanent basis. In Quebec, the options considered as permanent are reunification, adoption, guardianship and placement until majority. Attributes of the placement trajectory such as placement moves and reunification breakdowns are usually studied in silos, which hinders a comprehensive understanding of the trajectory. The present study aims to test for the existence of trajectory patterns among children in care and then assess whether these patterns are associated with permanency status that is observed 9.5 years after entry into services. A provincial cohort consisting of children reported to child protection services in 2008-09 and then placed in substitute care was used (n=2892). Clinico-administrative data from protective services are mined to build the cohort and describe the placement trajectory through 2017. Latent profile analyses reveal five trajectory profiles: short and stable; long stabilized; instability in care; emergency reunification breakdown; and severe generalized instability. Some of the profiles lead to distinct permanency statuses, identifying levers for preventing instability trajectories. In particular, the results highlight the need to better support family reunification and to accompany the environments that receive young people during adolescence to promote their stability in placement.