Child Welfare Practitioners Research Articles

A Systematic Review of the Literature Regarding Family Context and Mental Health of Children From Rural Methamphetamine-Involved Families: Implications for Rural Child Welfare Practice

This review of the literature aims to guide practitioners concerned with ameliorating the psychosocial effects for rural-dwelling children from homes where methamphetamine is used or produced. Although a substantial body of research exists regarding the environmental dangers and physical health risks to children from methamphetamine-affected homes, there is a paucity of research regarding child psychosocial outcomes. This article summarizes the published literature examining family contexts and psychological and behavioral consequences for children. Implications of this body of knowledge for child welfare practitioners, limitations of the studies reviewed, and future research directions are discussed.

Implementation of an evidence-based intervention to reduce long-term foster care: Practitioner perceptions of key challenges and supports

Although a growing literature defines significant components of systematic and effective implementation of evidence-based interventions (EBIs), little information exists about real-world successes and setbacks from child welfare practitioners' perspectives. This study sought to identify key challenges and supports during implementation of an EBI to reduce long-term foster care. Semi-structured, individual interviews were conducted with 28 child welfare practitioners implementing an EBI–Parent Management Training, Oregon Model (PMTO). Transcripts were coded and analyzed using theoretical thematic analysis. Member checking was used to confirm identified themes across interviews. Using six implementation factors to organize the results, multiple facilitators and barriers were identified. Study findings suggest that implementation of EBIs in child welfare should consider promoting and ensuring: (a) a learning culture with effective communication, rapid improvement cycles, and timely feedback loops; (b) frequent, direct, supportive, and high-quality coaching and supervision; (c) strong leadership and organizational fit; and, (d) strategies for tailoring the EBI to the child welfare setting, including responses to families' multiple and complex needs and practices for effective client engagement.

Interventions in Chronic and Severe Neglect: What Works?

In 1984, a paper published by Wolock and Horowitz in the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry drew attention to what they described as ‘the neglect of neglect’ in the prevailing understandings of and responses to child maltreatment. Thirty years on, this expression still resonates even though child neglect has moved out of the shadows and become a central concern for child welfare practitioners and policy makers, and the focus of much research activity. But, while considerably more is now known about the aetiology, identification and assessment of neglect, effective interventions have proved harder to develop. Why is this so, and what can we do about it? The papers in this special issue help us to consider these two questions in more detail. We take as a starting point that child neglect is a complex phenomenon with a range of possible inter-connecting ‘causes’, and that continuing chronic neglect has been shown to have a range of adverse effects on children’s health, development and wellbeing. These effects are wide-ranging, cumulative and damaging over the long-term. If neglect is unlikely to be mono-causal, it seems equally unlikely that any one intervention is going to be successful across the board. Therefore, a variety of intervention responses will be needed, including early intervention strategies that attempt to engage families as soon as neglect is identified, but also encompassing later intervention responses that can be used with families where early identification has not been possible and/or where neglect has become entrenched. This special issue gives us a chance to draw together some reflections on current knowledge and some new ideas about ‘what works’ in practice with families where neglect is a feature of family dynamics. The challenges of developing appropriate responses to neglect are perhaps most usefully understood from a transactional ecological perspective (Brandon et al., 2008) that recognises the complex interplay of factors that can compromise parents’ abilities to offer satisfactory care to their children. Such an approach can also help to make sense of the relational difficulties of this work, in terms of engaging parents in the intervention process. While we know that the long-term effects of neglect are pernicious, practitioners need also to be aware that neglect can be fatal. In the paper that opens this special issue, Brandon et al. (2014) present the results of a study that re-analysed data from 800 serious case reviews (where deaths or very serious maltreatment are examined in detail) in England, interrogating in-depth anonymised information

A First-Hand Account of Title IV-E Child Welfare Initiatives in Social Work Education and Practice

This article describes the personal experiences and insights of a child welfare practitioner and professor derived from 20 years of involvement in IV-E agency/university partnerships. The author describes perspectives from her work in IV-E programs in multiple contexts (federal, state, and local). Included are descriptions of important historical events and changes in IV-E programs that have served to facilitate or impede successful child welfare practices and the education of IV-E students. Emphasis is given to the importance of: (a) communicating the complexity of work in child welfare particularly by IV-E students; (b) the challenge of sustaining effective IV-E partnership programs; (c) designing and implementing sound IV-E program evaluation procedures; and (c) understanding the political and policy-driven contexts framing current CW practices.

Matching children and substitute homes: some theoretical and empirical notions

AbstractMatching describes the process of selecting the substitute home for a child who needs to be placed away from the care of his/her birth parents. However, very little theorizing is done about matching and there is also a lack of systematic investigation into models of practice currently in use. Most importantly, very little is known about front‐line matching practices in different socio‐historical child welfare contexts. This paper aims to explore the concept of matching by addressing it theoretically and empirically as a decision‐making practice in social work. Based on the analysis of phone interviews (49) and focus group interviews (five groups with 18 child welfare practitioners) in Finland, we claim that matching includes a high degree of navigation: decision‐making balances between professional discretion, legal norms and principles, subjective views of the children and their parents as well as the economic and bureaucratic conditions of the service provision administration in the municipality. Navigation is shadowed by uncertainty and compromises. The analysis suggests that the notion of matching needs further analysis as it plays an important role in child welfare decision‐making. The interplay between front‐line practice and the socio‐historical context needs to be further addressed.

An Exploration of the Knowledge Base Used by Irish and U.S. Child Protection Social Workers in the Assessment of Intimate Partner Violence

Child welfare practitioners in many countries now have increased responsibility for assessing intimate partner violence (IPV) as part of their child risk assessment process. Much research-based knowledge has accumulated about IPV and its impact on children that can inform this process. This exploratory study examined the extent to which research-based knowledge in IPV is influencing what child welfare practitioners explore in relation to IPV during their assessment process. Using a focus group format, two cohorts of child welfare practitioners, one located in Dublin County, Ireland, and one from the New York City metropolitan area, were asked what information they deem critical to explore about IPV, why they explore this content, and how they explore it. Results indicated that a wide range of information about IPV was reported as gathered by both groups, however, explicit research knowledge was not identified as a major influence for exploring these areas. Standardized IPV risk assessment instruments were also not reported as used by any of the participants. Other influences, such as practice experience, social work education, and legal or regulatory directives, had a much greater influence on the social worker's information gathering process in relation to IPV than research.

Acting Like It Matters: A Scoping Review of Simulation in Child Welfare Training

Simulation-based training is often used to prepare health practitioners and is increasingly employed to train child welfare workers. This scoping review systematically searched the published and grey literature for studies that evaluated training for child welfare practitioners and used simulation methods that included standardized actors. Three studies met inclusion criteria, all documenting improvement in participants' use of specific skills. Other outcomes were mixed, possibly reflecting the heterogeneity of samples, study methods, measures, training of actors, theoretical frameworks, and content areas. Though results were mostly positive, the small number of studies indicates a substantial need for further research.

Intergenerational transmission of abuse: Implications for parenting interventions from a neuropsychological perspective.

Neuroimaging provides robust evidence to demonstrate the functional and structural deficits in childhood and adult survivors of child maltreatment. These deficits mirror the neurocircuitry involved in parenting. Despite this, research into the mechanisms behind the intergenerational transmission of abuse fails to acknowledge the contribution of brain development on future parenting ability. A discussion of the cognitive, social, and emotional deficits of child and adult survivors of childhood maltreatment is presented. This is followed by a critical overview of how current parenting interventions fail to take into account the neuropsychological mechanisms behind the intergenerational transmission of abuse. A conceptual model of the neuropsychological transmission of childhood maltreatment is presented. This model will allow child welfare practitioners to gain a greater understanding of the specific deficits of individuals who have experienced childhood maltreatment and how parenting interventions may be enhanced for this population. This represents one step forward in breaking the cycle of the intergenerational transmission of childhood maltreatment.

What's on Their Minds? The South African Child Welfare Academic Agenda from 2001 to 2010

Social work teaching and research is assumed to impact significantly on practice, readying students for employment and investigating areas relevant to practice. In South Africa, the historic divergence between the academic agenda and population needs is significant. In a context of transformation towards developmental social welfare, this paper investigates the extent to which tertiary education as well as research agendas match what South African child welfare practitioners have identified as priorities in the field. In a study examining trends and drivers in South African child welfare, it was found that the curriculum was largely being informed by the same trends that shaped practice. However, the research agenda differed markedly from the issues concerning practitioners. Also, practitioners thought that new graduates were ill-equipped to deal with practice demands in resource-poor and transforming (post-apartheid) environments. It is recommended that South African academics and practitioners ensure that child welfare curricula, academic enquiry and practice demands overlap more closely in order to better prepare novice social workers and provide leading research. With globalization and the increased need to respond to diverse populations, it becomes critical that social work education is reviewed both in the north and south to ensure its relevance for practice.

Family group decision making: Measuring fidelity to practice principles in public child welfare

Abstract This study describes the development and validation of a short, self-administered fidelity measure used to capture the perspectives of a range of individuals participating in a family group decision making conference. Exploratory factor analyses suggested either a two or a three factor solution. Findings from confirmatory factor analysis supported a three factor model that includes sets of practices yielding: (1) Productive Decision Making; (2) Family Group Inclusion; and (3) Professional Supportiveness. These results provide direction to public child welfare practitioners and policymakers about the importance and the feasibility of attending to multiple perspectives in assessing program delivery.

Using research and outcome data to improve educational services and supports for young people in care: A case study of a local children's aid society in Ontario

Abstract Poor educational outcomes for children in out-of-home care have become an increasing concern for researchers and child welfare practitioners. Data available through the Ontario Looking after Children (OnLAC) project has helped raise awareness of this issue for practitioners in the province of Ontario. This paper discusses how OnLAC data is helping to shape interventions designed to improve educational outcomes for youth-in-care in one Ontario child welfare organization. Blending ideas from Outcomes Based Accountability and a continuous feedback loop, Family and Children's Services of the Waterloo Region (FCS Waterloo) is using the research literature on key educational outcome factors and OnLAC data to focus efforts to improve educational outcomes.

Institutional predictors of developmental outcomes among racially diverse foster care alumni.

Child welfare practitioners are confronted with the responsibility of relying on best practice to ensure children in foster care transition successfully into adulthood after leaving the foster care system. Yet, despite recent reforms and efforts to address their needs, research clearly shows that foster care alumni are still more likely to experience negative developmental outcomes compared to adults in the general population. The purpose of this study was to better understand how child-serving systems of care adequately prepare racially diverse foster care alumni to thrive. Controlling for gender, age, placement instability, and circumstances of exit from foster care, study findings highlighted salient racial and ethnic differences relative to which factors predicted the odds of mental health, education, and employment outcomes. Implications for developing and implementing culturally sensitive, evidence-based prevention and intervention programs to promote positive developmental outcomes among racially diverse foster care alumni are discussed.

Supervisor training to support principle-driven practice with youth in foster care

Abstract In 2005, the Children's Bureau (CB) published a funding opportunity announcement (FOA) titled Training of Child Welfare Agency Supervisors in the Effective Delivery and Management of Federal Independent Living Services for Youth in Foster Care. This FOA built on the work of 12 projects funded by the CB in 2000 that focused on the development of training curricula for child welfare practitioners. A key finding from these earlier projects was that in order for supervisors to support the casework efforts of their staff, they need training on youth development to better understand the unique developmental and service needs of youth in out-of-home care. This article summarizes and analyzes findings from the six Supervisor Training demonstration projects funded by CB in 2005. These projects developed, implemented, evaluated, and disseminated training curricula for public child welfare agency supervisors that were designed to strengthen the supervision provided to child welfare staff working with older youth in foster care and/or in independent living programs. The training increased supervisors' ability to provide guidance and oversight to youth workers in several areas, including working with youth to develop and maintain permanent connections. This article shows how these projects bridged the gap between research and practice by using sophisticated training interventions to implement a set of core principles. These principles were identified by the Muskie School of Public Service at the University of Southern Maine and the National Resource Center for Youth Services at the College of Continuing Education, University of Oklahoma, as being associated with successful youth program designs regardless of the types of services provided: 1. Positive youth development; 2. Collaboration; 3. Cultural competency; and 4. Permanent connections. The article summarizes key program interventions, describes their evaluation designs, and presents the projects' process and outcome evaluation results. A summary of key findings analyzes changes in supervisory knowledge and practice, and the transfer of skills and knowledge to independent living workers and the youth with whom they worked. A summary of common challenges, successful strategies, and common lessons learned is presented, along with an annotated bibliography of grantee products that are available to the public. In addition to the projects' final reports, this article is based on published reports from the site visits CB made to the projects in this cluster, and a synthesis of findings from the projects.

A Model of Foster Care Advocacy for Child Welfare Practitioners

This article presents a model of foster care advocacy that practitioners can use in their practice. It outlines three domains to intervene in assisting youth in care: preparing for advocacy (assessing foster parent potential), advocacy with service providers (courts, social services, schools, health and mental health systems, interdisciplinary teams), and advocacy with macro systems (agencies, law, community). Specific strategies of advocacy, as well as a discussion of the model's application to practice, conclude the article.

Promoting Evidence-Informed Practice in Child Welfare in Ontario

Practice and Research Together (PART) is an Ontario-based research utilization initiative, the core function of which is to distil and disseminate practice-relevant research findings to child welfare practitioners. This article addresses (a) the mission and goals of the PART program; (b) the key components of the program design; (c) the conceptual foundations of evidence-informed practice (EIP) as it relates to the program; (d) the successes and challenges of implementation to date; (e) the results of a comprehensive evaluation; and (f) areas for future research and development. Key findings of the formative evaluation include Link PARTners (LPs—organizational representatives) feeling isolated in their role in promoting organizational change; front-line practitioners reporting that they have little time or resources to use the program materials; supervisors stating that they support the concept of EIP but lack the skills and abilities to move these ideas forward; and executive directors are requesting more evidence to promote organizational and systemic change.

Rethinking the “Best Interests” of the Child: Voices from Aboriginal Child and Family Welfare Practitioners

In Victoria, recent reforms to the child and family welfare system, through the introduction of the Children Youth and Families Act (2005), have significantly strengthened the principle of the “best interests” of the child. Giving substance to the principle, this legislation defines a set of standards and a practice framework to guide its application. How this is to be applied is of particular interest to the Aboriginal child and family welfare sector, given that the principle of best interests has historically underpinned the removal of thousands of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families on the basis of their race (Bamblett, 2006). This paper presents the findings of a qualitative research study that aimed to identify an Aboriginal perspective on the best interests principle as it applies to Victorian Aboriginal children. In-depth interviews were conducted with six experienced Aboriginal child and family welfare practitioners. The outcomes of this study highlight the distinct cultural perspectives that inform Aboriginal child and family welfare practice and raise a number of concerns in regard to an ongoing ethnocentric application of the principle by mainstream service providers. Key findings of the study are discussed, including the importance of increasing understanding of Aboriginal child-rearing practices, recognising that there is a distinct Aboriginal understanding of what constitutes a best interests framework, and the implications of this for both Aboriginal and mainstream child and family welfare practice. The paper discusses these findings within the context of recent Victorian legislative reform, which promotes Aboriginal self-determination, and argues that more work is needed to ensure Aboriginal perspectives are incorporated into service provision to Aboriginal children and families if we are truly to meet the best interests of Aboriginal children.

Spirituality and child welfare reunification: a narrative analysis of successful outcomes

When children are removed from their families because of maltreatment, the child welfare system seeks reunification whenever possible. Despite the importance of this goal, little is known about families who are able to achieve and maintain successful reunification. This qualitative study conducted in-depth interviews with 15 families who completed their child welfare case plans, were reunited with their children and remained together for at least 1 year post-reunification. Narrative analysis using a combination of thematic and structural coding was completed to examine the strengths and process families discussed related to their successful child welfare outcomes. This paper discusses one of those strengths, spirituality, in greater depth. Specifically, 12 participants situated the strength of spirituality within their stories as an important narrative element they perceived as critical, leading to important changes. Findings highlight the benefits some families receive from their spiritual beliefs, practices and faith communities when working towards reunification, suggesting child welfare practitioners be prepared to identify and honour this family strength.

Challenges in implementing participatory practice in child protection: A contingency approach

In many countries, legislation and policy directives increasingly emphasize the rights of parents to participate in child protection decision-making. As these kinds of initiatives have become more widespread, literature has tended to presume that increased participation of parents in child protection practice is both feasible and desirable. However, despite demonstrated benefits of parents' participation, factors related to the statutory context of child protection work present challenges to translating the ideals of participation into reality. Findings from in-depth interviews with 28 child and family welfare practitioners indicate that effective parent participation is contingent on a range of parent and system factors. Parent factors include parents' willingness to engage with child welfare authorities, their demonstrated understanding of their children's needs, and their willingness to effect parenting changes in order to meet these needs. System factors relate to the power of the child protection system in relation to parents, and the extent to which workers have time for thorough case planning and for building relationships with parents. These factors are clearly interrelated, with some parent factors themselves contingent on parents' prior experiences of the child protection system. Practitioner suggestions for counter-balancing contingency factors as a means to facilitating parent participation are included.

Program theory and logic model to address the co-occurrence of domestic violence and child maltreatment

Social work and child welfare practitioners have long confronted the reality that child maltreatment and domestic violence often coexist within families. However, services for the victims of these types of family violence have been fragmented, forcing victims to go to multiple agencies for assistance. The purpose of this paper is to describe the program theory and logic model developed to guide evaluation of the St. Louis County Greenbook Collaboration to Address Domestic Violence & Child Maltreatment, together with an assessment of the use of this approach as applied to a comprehensive community initiative. Both the program theory guiding the collaboration and the logic model developed from the program theory are described. Data are drawn from qualitative documents produced in conjunction with collaboration participants. The findings suggest that a program theory and logic model approach to program planning is difficult to develop with large collaborations. Such methods may not be useful to program stakeholders. Further, attempting to use a graphic to portray a program may do a disservice to the complex ways in which many of the strategies and outcomes overlap in a community-wide collaboration.

From Research to Practice: Developing and Deliveringa Culturally Competent Trauma Curriculum for Child Welfare Practitioners After 9/11

This article presents the experiences of social work scholar-practitioners who developed and delivered a culturally competent trauma curriculum to child welfare practitioners in New York City in the aftermath of the World Trade Center terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. It explores the challenges in teaching practitioners culturally competent, evidence-based practice in general and trauma-related content in particular, offering orienting principles for integrating research knowledge with practice dilemmas. The case example of the Federal Emergency Management Agency project illustrates these principles, highlighting the opportunities that arise when research meets practice.