Field Of Child Welfare Research Articles

Social Media and Child Welfare: Policy, Training, and the Risks and Benefits From the Administrator’s Perspective

The field of public child welfare faces special challenges as it interweaves the use of social media into practice. Social media can assist agencies in meeting demands of practice such as communication, preservation of important family connections, identification of kin, and service coordination with caretakers and community partners. It also presents risks with respect to privacy, confidentiality, and safety. To look at the role of social media in child welfare practice, we began by examining the literature on social media use and how agencies are responding to the risks and benefits of this technology. We then report the findings from an exploratory national survey of training administrators (n=14) that suggests states vary in both policy development and training with respect to social media in child welfare work. We further report on state training administrators’ views of the perceived risks vs. benefits of the use of social media in various case management tasks and in enhancing the well-being of youth in out-of-home care. Agencies would reduce their liability risks and at the same time benefit their staff and clients by developing policies that offer guidelines to protect agency and staff privacy and safety, as well as client privacy and safety. Agencies may also promote the well-being of youth in out-of-home care by providing adequate information to staff and care-givers regarding the safe use of social media to create and maintain appropriate connections.

Somebody’s Gotta Be There for These Kids: Importance of Service Orientation for Sustaining Public Child Welfare Workers

ABSTRACTResearch has long indicated that both employees’ perceptions of external support and their own dispositional factors tend to predict satisfaction, intent to stay, and retention. However, the dispositional factor of service orientation has received minimal attention in child welfare or social work research. This article furthers the research on service orientation by utilizing quantitative surveys to test relationships between service orientation and key organizational variables and then exploring qualitative results to gain a more nuanced perspective on how service orientation inhabits the work-related experiences of study participants and its relation to worker retention projections in the field of child welfare.

Noncompletion of Evidence-Based Parent Training: An Empirical Examination Among Families of Children in Foster Care

ABSTRACTChild welfare have historically experienced high dropout rates. As evidence-based interventions (EBIs) spread to the child welfare field, treatment noncompletion could interfere with successful outcomes. Using a mixed methods approach, this study investigated the differences between completers and noncompleters, and reasons for treatment noncompletion of an EBI for families of children in foster care. The sample comprised 315 families randomized to receive Parent Management Training, Oregon Model (PMTO). Researchers examined clinicians' discharge notes to explore reasons for noncompletion. Using data collected from a battery of assessments, bivariate logistic regression compared completers and noncompleters on demographics, socioeconomic factors, children's social-emotional functioning, and parents' functioning. About one third of families were noncompleters. Single fathers and parents with lower socioeconomic status were more likely to drop out. By contrast, parents with lower functioning on child behavior and parenting trended toward higher completion rates. Formidable challenges were parental substance abuse and mental illness. Results suggest parent training may require tailoring for specific subgroups and pairing with strategies for enhancing early engagement and reducing treatment barriers. Future research is needed to include parents' views on noncompletion and to more closely examine the influence of specific factors, such as severity of parental mental illness and substance abuse.

The Motivations behind Child Welfare Work

This report seeks to explore the findings of a qualitative research study concerning the motivations behind child welfare work. Child welfare is a major field within the social work profession that demands a great deal of expertise and effort from workers. Professionals employed as case managers within the child welfare field are held accountable for a wide variety of social work roles, often placing these individuals at risk of emotional trauma and high levels of work-related stress. Due to this, workers who remain in the field for extensive periods of time often experience strong sensations of purpose relative to their work. Our study found that child welfare caseworkers were motivated by altruism and a deep desire to improve the lives of their clients. They were also kept motivated by the successes that came from time to time. While trials seem to be experienced on a regular basis, child welfare caseworkers generally found their work to be a positive presence within the families they serve. Further research is needed to expound upon the findings of this study.

Framing the ‘child at risk’ in social work reports: Truth-telling or storytelling?

Summary In the field of child welfare and protection, the notion of the ‘child at risk’ implies a central ground and legitimation for intervention yet is extremely ambiguous, since it can be constructed in radically different ways in practice. This construction process might involve challenges to professional assessment and intervention, since dealing with this complex notion is about more than tools, (risk) management and protocols. We focus on the practice of writing reports as an exemplary practice in which social workers exercise their power while assessing and constructing the child as ‘at risk’. Two approaches of social workers in interpreting the complexity of situations where children are potentially at risk are considered: truth-telling and storytelling. We report on a qualitative study conducted with 152 social work students in which we explore how they construct reports. Findings In our analysis, we identify three major issues in the construction of the ‘child at risk’ when social work students approach report writing as an open-ended and reflexive practice of storytelling: recognisability, comprehensibility and stigmatisation. Applications The normative judgment processes in social work are complex, determined by the analysis of situations in which the child may potentially be constructed as being at risk. Dealing with this complexity therefore requires reflexivity of social workers regarding their perceptions and interpretations at stake in practice. We argue that normative judgment in risk assessment should be an essential area for exploration in social work education.

Child Welfare Field Education for Stipend Students

Child Welfare Field Education for Stipend Students

Childhood adversity, sense of belonging and psychosocial outcomes in emerging adulthood: A test of mediated pathways

Childhood adversity is a complex issue with the potential for lasting effects over the developmental trajectory. Research has confirmed that people who experience significant adversity, hardship and trauma in early stages of development are at an increased risk of a range of negative outcomes at later stages of the life-course, including increased psychological distress and dysfunction, decreased likelihood of educational engagement and an increased risk of early parenthood. However, distal events exert their influence on later outcomes through various proximal mechanisms. One such postulated mechanism is a sense of belonging. This study investigated the role of sense of belonging as a mediator between experiences of adversity in childhood and psychosocial outcomes in emerging adulthood, amongst a sample of 254 young people receiving a range of social services throughout Australia. Results of three mediation analyses confirm that the path from childhood adversity to psychological distress and educational engagement is only weakly mediated by sense of belonging. No other statistically significant relationships were found. These results indicate that additional mediators are likely needed to more fully explain the effects of childhood adversity on psychosocial functioning in emerging adulthood. The paper concludes with a discussion of the relevance of belonging for practice in the field of child and youth welfare.

Exploring Factors Associated with Educational Outcomes for Orphan and Abandoned Children in India.

India has more than 25 million orphan and abandoned children (UNICEF, 2012). The burden of care for these OAC is on caregivers that are often ill equipped to meet their needs due to inadequate assets. Previous studies suggest that in communities with limited resources, OAC residing with non-biological caregivers are more at risk than those fostered by a biological parent. This study explores the association of caregiver and child characteristics with OAC educational outcome in India. The analysis was conducted using hierarchical logistic regression. The findings have implications for practice and policy in the global child welfare field.

Inconvenient Truths

David Stoesz offers a sweeping critique of the Children’s Bureau and social work education by claiming the existence of a “child welfare cartel.” He also attacks the quality of social work education and research, which he claims has poorly invested government funding and helped create the unmitigated failures of the American child welfare system. However, closer examination reveals that many of his claims, while dramatic, are actually ill conceived and unsupportable. We attempt to clarify and inform readers about some significant aspects of the field of child welfare and the contemporary responses being made by the federal government in partnership with social work educators and researchers.

Child welfare workers and social justice: Mending the disconnect

While professional social workers are clearly obligated to pursue social justice, controversies abound surrounding what that means in theory and practice. Perhaps nowhere are the paradoxes inherent in practice for social justice seen in sharper contrast than in the field of child welfare. Intended to protect the rights of children, child welfare systems themselves have been characterized as instruments of oppression. This article hopes to enrich that discourse through an examination of how these issues are conceptualized and acted upon by front-line child welfare social workers. Through in-depth interviews with 25 child welfare workers, and 3 focus groups, in two Canadian provinces, and employing grounded theory strategies for data collection and analysis, we have explored understandings of the social justice mandate and how it is expressed in practice. Participants in this study conceptualized social justice in terms of both wider societal goals of fairness and equality, and of the quality of interactions and relationships between social workers and those with whom they work; conceptual emphasis on one or the other of these we found to be associated with differences in practice. We reflect on the implications of each of these emphases for effectiveness in advancing social justice aims in the child welfare context, and make recommendations regarding a grounding for educators and practitioners in theoretical orientations that includes attention to the linkages between macro and micro opportunities to advance social justice.

Permanency-Focused Supervision and Workers' Self-Efficacy: Exploring the Link.

Child welfare agencies are charged with the mission of establishing timely legal permanency for all children in out-of-home care. National data indicate that the field of child welfare continues to struggle to fulfill this mission. Pragmatic strategies to improve permanency outcomes are essential. This study used cross-sectional data (N = 427) to examine the relationship between workers'self-efficacy in making permanency decisions and the supervision they receive. Child welfare supervisors monitor and mentor their supervisees' work and are responsible for practice outcomes, including establishing timely permanency. Supervision also contributes to the self-efficacy of frontline child welfare workers. Findings suggest that when supervisors focus their supervision on permanency outcomes, workers report a higher level of self-efficacy in making permanency decisions. This finding provides encouraging implications for child welfare agencies in developing innovative approaches to improving permanency outcomes while relying on existing resources.

Youth with Behavioral Health Disorders Aging Out of Foster Care: a Systematic Review and Implications for Policy, Research, and Practice.

This systematic review aimed to (1) identify and summarize empirical studies on youth with behavioral health disorders aging out of foster care and (2) address implications for behavioral health policy, research, and practice. We identified previous studies by searching PubMed, PsycINFO, EBSCO, and ISI Citation Indexes and obtaining references from key experts in the child welfare field. A total of 28 full articles published between 1991 and 2014 were reviewed and summarized into the key areas including systems of care, disability type, transition practice area, study methods, study sample, transition outcome measures, study analysis, and study findings. Considering how fast youth who have behavioral health disorders fall through the crack as they exit foster care, one cannot understate the importance of incorporating timely and appropriate transition planning and care coordination for youth who have behavioral health disorders aging out of foster care into the usual case management performed by behavioral health systems and service providers.

Alumni of a BSW-Level Specialized Title IV-E Program Voice Their Experiences in the Workplace

This study surveyed 289 alumni of a specialized Title IV-E program that prepares undergraduate social work students for careers in public child welfare, examining factors such as turnover rates, adherence to strengths-based practice principles, perceptions of work conditions, and intent to stay. Findings indicate that graduates of this program were less likely than other caseworkers to leave their positions. Most maintained adherence to strengths-based practice principles, reported satisfaction with the work, felt supported by colleagues, and intended to stay in the field of child welfare. Based on alumni comments, ways that agencies can retain such workers are suggested.

California’s Title IV-E Partnership: A Statewide University–Agency Collaboration—Characteristics and Implications for Replication

University–agency partnerships funded by Title IV-E encourage students to enter the child welfare field by providing student stipends, thus supporting child welfare agency workforce development. This article examines the literature and historical roots of Title IV-E and other partnerships, identifies common structures and outcomes, and discusses the extent to which a structured development and change process supports the California partnership’s core mission to integrate the education and practice communities in child welfare. The partnership is teleological in nature, using a social exchange approach to advance mutuality and a full spectrum of benefits for universities and agencies. Models and best practice elements are presented as examples of how university–agency partnerships may enhance child welfare service delivery.

Caseworkers' perceptions of the strengths of the child family and community

AbstractThe 2002–2011 reforms of the social welfare system in Serbia produced changes to the assessment model in the field of child welfare. In addition to risks and needs, the new model considers the strengths of the child, family and community, marking a significant innovation for social welfare services. This paper aims to examine the perceptions of caseworkers regarding the strengths of the new assessment model that is used in social welfare centres in Serbia. Based upon a representative, stratified and random sample of 347 records of children who were referred to alternative care during a period of intense reform (2006–2011), notes taken by caseworkers were collected and analysed. The results indicate that strengths were poorly identified at the onset of work with the children, but improvement followed later in the process. This finding leads us to the conclusion that there are serious challenges and difficulties in transitioning from the problem‐oriented model to the new strengths‐oriented approach in the Serbian social welfare system.

Exploring children's everyday life: An examination of professional practices

In this article, we discuss an everyday life approach as a basis for professional collaboration with children in light of the present day emphasis on children's rights. Everyday life is both a theoretical concept and an object for exploration. We present approaches, results and experiences from the research project “Talk with Us” – Professional practices and children's participation. The aim of the project was to study how professional practices could be formed to support children's participation in their everyday life, as well as in professional practices. The article draws on empirical material from the child welfare field. The project has dealt with the questions of how to talk with children in professional practices, what to talk about, and why the children should be engaged verbally, aspects of professional practices which are highly intertwined. However, in both the research literature and policy documents most attention is given to the question of how one develops professional skills in talking with children. By contrast, this article focuses on the question of what, the content of the conversations. The subject of examination is of importance for illuminating the kinds of knowledge that might be generated, and important for the consequences that that knowledge can have for the services the particular child is offered, in other words, how “the case” is constituted. Knowledge of what happens in the particular child's everyday life, and how she/he makes sense of it, is crucial for the professional to be able to assist the child. Although the empirical material is from the child welfare field, we suggest that the issues discussed are relevant also for other professional contexts involving children.

The Personal Is Professional

Most frontline child welfare workers are female, as are most adult clients. The authors posit that caseworkers who are themselves mothers bring valuable perspectives and expertise to their work; however, their experience and wisdom as mothers is essentially invisible within the profession or at least within the professional literature. This mixed-methods study investigated how the experience of being a mother affects caseworkers’ relationships with client–mothers as well as whether they perceive the child welfare system valuing their unique perspective. Twenty-four participants from diverse positions within the child welfare field completed an interview protocol. Participants overwhelmingly responded that their parenting was informed by their work with families, that their experiences and wisdom as mothers was largely ignored by their agencies, and that their employers’ practices were often not family-friendly. There was variance in participants’ beliefs about whether the client–mothers experienced bias or empowerment within the system. Half of participants identified as feminist. Maternal ambivalence appeared not to be an area of shared experience between workers and clients.

Using Theory to Examine Fatal Child Maltreatment Among a Sample of Children Known to Child Protective Services

The purpose of this study was to use theory to test different models to predict fatal maltreatment: parental psychopathology, social/economic stress, and ecological theory. These models were tested using a subsample of children who were identified as “prior victims” in the National Child Abuse & Neglect Data Set from 2008 to 2012. At the multivariate level, the analyses suggest a statistically significant relationship between social/economic stress variables, including partner violence, inadequate housing, and financial problems. Repeated reports to child protective services and interactions between the age of child and financial problems often acted as protective factors. Implications for research and the child welfare field are discussed.

The Economic Conditions of Child Physical Abuse: A Call for a National Research, Policy, and Practice Agenda

Child physical abuse and economic hardship are two of the most pervasive social problems addressed by the social work profession. Despite empirical evidence that child physical abuse is associated with economic disparities, the field of child welfare lacks a national, coordinated agenda for economic hardship prevention. We review social scientific studies that demonstrate the links between child abuse and a range of economic stressors, including poverty, unemployment, and material hardships. Implications for research, practice, and policy are presented, which could enhance the financial well-being of low-income families at risk of child physical abuse.

Who owns the trauma? A Kleinian perspective on the dialogue between child protection social workers and the media

AbstractThe present paper makes use of the developmental model of movement between mental positions that was formulated by psychoanalyst Melanie Klein, aimed at understanding the dialogue that takes place between the media and social workers in the field of child welfare, centring around incidents of murder within the family. The basic concept in the paper is that when working with children who are victims of abuse and with their parents, and when reporting on them as well, the feeling of personal control is severely undermined, being associated with the loss of the hallowed social value known as ‘unconditional love of a parent for his child’. The paper illustrates these theoretical ideas by describing two cases that took place in Israel and recommendations are made regarding ways of promoting the dialogue between the professions.