Child Welfare Research Research Articles

Honoring Family: Using parent partner expertise to strengthen a child welfare coaching program

Increasingly, the child welfare system is acknowledging the importance of incorporating parent voice and expertise into changes in child welfare practice, policy, and research; however, there is limited knowledge on how to incorporate parents’ expertise into program-level change. This study sought input from parent partners on the shared principles of a statewide coaching program for child welfare supervisors. Two focus groups were conducted, an initial focus group (n = 17) and a member checking focus group (n = 14). Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings included three key themes: (a) understand parent context, (b) activate engagement, and (c) bridge principles and practice. Strategies for incorporating parent partner input into the coaching program are discussed.

Assessing a measure of organizational environment among Indigenous child welfare agencies

BackgroundOrganizational environment is an important construct for child welfare agencies striving to support agency workers and provide the best care possible for their clients. Many assessments of organizational environment present difficulties for child welfare agencies, as they are often proprietary, costly, and may not fully cover important dimensions of organizational functioning. The Comprehensive Organizational Health Assessment (COHA) is a freely available assessment of organizational health that has been used in child welfare settings, but has not yet been tested with Indigenous child welfare agencies in Canada. ObjectiveThe aim of this article is to discuss the development and testing of a modified version of the COHA, the Comprehensive Organizational Environment Assessment (COEA). MethodsThe COEA was developed based on an extensive literature review, input from child welfare researchers, and guidance from an anti-colonial practitioner and community liaison. The COEA was completed by workers from three Indigenous child welfare agencies in Canada ResultsThe COEA was further refined and internal consistency was examined using polychoric correlations and ordinal alpha. The COEA showed strong internal consistency and convergent validity across select scales. ConclusionsThis study highlights the use of polychoric correlations and ordinal alpha when examining the reliability and validity of ordinal-level items. Findings can be used to better understand the assessment of organizational environment for Indigenous child welfare agencies.

Risk and protective factors for African American kinship caregiving: A scoping review

BackgroundAfrican American children are disproportionately placed in kinship care, specifically with kin caregivers who have pressing service needs given their relatively poor physical and mental health, and low economic status. Kinship caregivers often face challenges, however, they also show resilience when raising relative children. Although the literature has examined risk and protective factors that affect kinship caregiving, no scoping review has been conducted to summarize these factors as they relate to African American kinship caregivers. ObjectivesThis study aims to summarize the risk and protective factors that affect African American kinship caregiving. MethodsTwenty-six studies were identified from this scoping review. A data template was used to extract information on data/sample, research methods, and risk and protective factors. ResultsThis review found that the risk and protective factors in the identified studies can be summarized into four types: child, caregiver, relationship, and legal, cultural or social issues. Caregiver factors were examined from the perspective of physical and behavioral health, parenting, and resources. The most common risk factors were caregivers’ low social economic status or great financial need, and caregivers’ physical health. The most common protective factor was caregivers’ spirituality or religion. DiscussionThis review helps to better understand the risk and protective factors for African American kinship caregivers. Policies should be informed by African American kinship caregivers’ unique qualities to provide useful cultural solutions. Evidence based interventions should be developed and provided to African American kinship caregivers to improve their parenting abilities and to provide them with additional resources and supports. Implications for child welfare research are also presented.

“I read about it in that book” – towards a child safe approach to literature

ABSTRACT A reluctance to speak about child sexual abuse that occurs in domestic settings complicates the dissemination of accurate prevention information to families. Fiction can provide context that assists to translate evidence-based prevention strategies in everyday ways, but to do so safely necessitates careful consideration of ethics. Five modern works of fiction were analysed to determine how intrafamilial child sexual abuse was elucidated and how the novels aligned with empirical findings. The results are considered with respect to developing a child safe approach to literature – a framework for critiquing literature that prioritises children's rights to safety over authorial rights to creative expression. Consideration is also given to how child welfare organisations, practitioners, policy makers and researchers might harness a child safe approach to fiction to disseminate accurate prevention information. PRACTICE IMPACT STATEMENT This review of modern works of fiction about intrafamilial child sexual abuse considers how the abuse is represented by contemporary authors. Reviewing fiction through a child safe lens permits critical examination of the myths reinforced or dispelled by the work. Adopting a child safe approach to fiction potentially affords practitioners, researchers, agencies and advocates an avenue to disseminate accurate prevention information that can reach individuals in everyday settings.

Introducing a new data resource for comparative child welfare research: The ROCKWOOL-Duke global child welfare database

The Rockwool–Duke Global Child Welfare Database (RDGCWD) is a cross-national aggregate longitudinal data resource created to facilitate comparative research on children’s involvement with child welfare systems (CWS) and child protective services (CPS) across national contexts. The basis for the RDGCWD is harmonized data collected from national and transnational child welfare and statistical agencies on three types of contact: maltreatment investigation, substantiated maltreatment, and out-of-home placement. The database covers 44 countries for the period 2000–2020 with 33 country–year observations of children investigated by CWS/CPS, 104 country–year observations of investigations by CWS/CPS, 194 country–year observations of CWS/CPS confirmations of maltreatment, 66 country-year observations of children maltreated, 233 country–year observations of children entering out-of-home care, 402 country–year observations of children residing in out-of-home care at a specific point in time, and 55 country-year observations of entrances into care. Interested researchers can access the data at the National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect (NDACAN).

Development of a Measure of Child Welfare Practice Excellence

Purpose: Many elements contribute to practice excellence within child welfare services, yet there are limited measures available to assess these elements. This article describes the process of developing and pilot-testing a measure of child welfare practice excellence. Method: The Elements of Child Welfare Practice (ECWP) measure was developed following an extensive literature review, with input from child welfare research experts and an anti-colonial practitioner. The ECWP was part of a comprehensive online survey administered during site visits with three Indigenous child welfare agencies in Canada. Results: Polychoric correlations and ordinal alpha revealed the ECWP had strong internal consistency and convergent validity. The ECWP had three subscales related to the importance and delivery of practice elements, and workers’ perception of their practice. Conclusions: This measure showed the potential to be useful in assessing the degree to which child welfare workers intend to and actually engage in elements associated with practice excellence.

What matters for child participation - The role of valuation-based dialogical participation for children living in kinship care in England

According to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child a child has the right to be heard and included in all matters that affect them. Child participation in child welfare research, policy and practice also has instrumental and intrinsic value. However, participation and voice, especially with children, remain contested in how they are applied and theorised. This paper is an extract from research on what matters to 19 children living in kinship care in England. It focusses on the children’s reflections on what child participation means for research, for child welfare services, and for family life. This was the first study to combine a dialogical participative approach with critical realism. Multiple methods such as child-led tours, photo-elicitation, and visual methods were used to capture the children's valuations of their lives and participation. Theory-building alongside the child participants provided empirical certainty with an interpretivist awareness of subjectivities. Analysis of the children’s reflections reveal that voice and agency must be theorised as relational. Furthermore, the children desire inter-generational dialogical spaces to contemplate different views, explore what matters, and out their inner conversations. The children wish for discussions that listen to tensions rather than try to resolve them. Also, appropriate discussions that acknowledged interdependence aligned with the children feeling safe and cared for.

MISSING THE MARK: THE IMPORTANCE OF FINANCIAL ANXIETY IN FINANCIAL SKILLS TRAINING FOR FOSTER YOUTH

It is well established that many former Canadian foster youth struggle with financial issues after aging out of care. Much of the financially focused intervention literature speaks to financial literacy training within independent living programming (ILP) or financial empowerment within individual development accounts (IDAs). These important programs offer educational modules to address financial skills or increase youth access to savings. Yet they are not sufficient, as neither addresses the emotional side of personal financial decision-making. Growing up in poverty can create emotional challenges related to money, such as financial anxiety. Financial anxiety affects quality of life in complex ways. Using three clinical composite profiles of youth aging out of the youth protection system in Quebec, this paper highlights some of the complex challenges faced by foster care alumni in dealing with economic insecurities. It is our proposition that we must be more mindful of current and former foster youth’s financial well-being and adapt financial literacy training accordingly. Further, these programs must be assessed for short- and long-term efficacy. Neglecting to measure and address financial anxiety for foster youth and alumni of care risks setting them up for preventable hardships and failures. This paper thus proposes that Canadian child welfare organizations and research teams must further develop this area of inquiry and intervention.

The Inclusion of Spirituality/Religion in Child Welfare Practice: Strengths and Barriers

ABSTRACT In public child welfare, the acknowledgment of spirituality/religion is ignored in the child welfare research and practice literature. It is believed that for many families, cultural competence requires the acknowledgment and inclusion of spirituality/religion. The purpose of this qualitative study was to determine the role of spirituality/religion in engaging, assessing and intervening with African American families involved in child welfare. This article specifically focuses on key themes expressed by child welfare staff. Key themes include the value of including spirituality/religion in engaging, assessing and intervening with families and the barriers to the inclusion of spirituality/religion in child welfare practice. Implications for policy and practice change and future research in this area are discussed.

An examination of recent federal and philanthropic funding for child welfare research in the United States

This study identified the dollar value and research topics of federal and philanthropic grants made for child welfare research in a recent five-year period (2014–2018). More than $1 billion in child welfare research grants were identified and examined. Federal funding totaled $977 million and appeared to emphasize research related to evidence-based services and programs; child and youth behavioral health; behavioral health treatment; parent training and coaching; permanency planning and services; staff training; trauma-informed services; child developmental health; culturally competent services; case management; substance abuse treatment; birthparent services; systems reform and integration; implementation science and implementation evaluation; and adoption. Multi-state foundations funded $51 million in child welfare research, which appeared to emphasize mapping data related to child well-being; needs and services for adolescents ages 14–17 and young adults ages 18–25; independent living/transition services; education services; child and youth behavioral health; employment training/placement; systems integration/reform; child well-being indicators; research center support; needs and services for children ages 6–13; studies focused on urban areas; behavioral health treatment; building evidence on treatments and services; and juvenile justice, juvenile corrections, and juvenile probation. Foundations appear to fund areas that received fewer child welfare-related grants from federal agencies.

“Why is my skin so intimidating to you?”: Exploring social connectivity and racial identity of youth of color with foster care experience

ABSTRACT Social support, racial/ethnic identity, and foster care exposure are concepts largely understudied in child welfare research. With the rise of racialized violence against persons of color and the COVID-19 pandemic, these intersecting identities are of great importance. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 youth of color with current or past foster care exposure. Three themes were identified: 1) feeling uncomfortably me, 2) not equal in opportunity, and 3) skin as a threat. Increased mental health support by caseworkers and understanding collective racial trauma is needed to help foster youth of color as they strive to achieve self-sufficiency in emerging adulthood.

Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander children in foster care: A descriptive study of an overlooked child welfare population

To date, little to nothing is known about Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) children in foster care although they are overrepresented in some of the child welfare systems in the United States and experience challenges stemming from structural colonialism and displacement. To highlight this often-overlooked population in child welfare research, the current study applied an indigenous model to understand who the NHPI children are in foster care by descriptively examining their sociodemographic, family of origin, geographic characteristics, as well as their placement status with relatives or foster parents who identify as NHPI. Data came from the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis Reporting System with a focus on the 2018 entry cohort (N = 763). One-way analysis of variance and chi-square analysis were used. Results showed that NHPI children in foster care were school-aged, most commonly entered foster care due to neglect, and were most likely to be placed with relatives. Non-relative foster parents were more likely than relative foster parents to care for NHPI children with disabilities, sexual abuse histories, and parental incarceration. Within non-relative foster families, those where at least one foster parent identified as NHPI were more likely to care for NHPI children with behavior problems or parental illness, compared to non-relative foster families where no foster parent identified as NHPI. NHPI children in relative foster families experienced the least placement disruptions, but relative foster families tended to be more socioeconomically disadvantaged and a smaller proportion of them received monthly foster care payments than non-relative foster families. The results suggest that child welfare practitioners and policymakers should prioritize financially supporting relatives as part of ensuring NHPI children’s wellbeing and preserving their connections to family and culture.

Annual Credit Checks for Adolescent Youth in Foster Care: Factors Associated with Identity Fraud Victimization.

Child identity fraud, or the criminal exploitation of a child's personal data, poses serious risks and challenges for youth in foster care. Despite the 10-year history of a federal mandate requiring state child welfare agencies to conduct annual credit checks for adolescent foster youth (42 U.S.C. § 675), identity fraud has received scant attention in child welfare research. Analyzing a state-level administrative dataset with linked child welfare and consumer credit records, we employed hierarchical binary logistic regression modeling to analyze demographic and foster care placement factors associated with identity fraud victimization among a statewide population cohort of 1176 youth (age 14-17) in foster care in a mid-Atlantic state. In the model of best fit, covariates significantly associated with differing odds of identity fraud victimization included African American race (OR = 2.67, p < .001); two or more races (OR = 2.95, p = .003); and older age at credit check (OR = 3.49, p < .001). Youth with history of prior home removals (OR = 1.59, p = .059) were marginally more likely than youth with no prior home removals to experience identity fraud, controlling for all other variables.

Experiences of perceived support post discharge among foster care alumni: differences among LGBTQ+ youth and youth of color

ABSTRACT Social support is a key protective factor among transition age youth. Yet, for youth with lived experience in foster care, social support systems are frequently disrupted. This may disproportionality impact LGBTQ+ youth and youth of color, given their overrepresentation in foster care. Using data from the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative, we examined family and non-family support among foster care alumni (n = 1,377). Youth who identified as LGBTQ+ or were Black were less likely to report family and non-family support than their non-LGBTQ+ or White peers. Implications for child welfare and future research are explored.

Research and knowledge gaps in child welfare in the United States: A national survey of agency staff, allied disciplines, tribal leaders, and people who have experienced child welfare

This article provides the results of a survey of individuals with varied experience in child welfare, including constituents who have experienced child welfare; caseworkers, managers, and other direct service providers; policymakers and judges; Native American experts, advocates, researchers, and program evaluators. Survey respondents were asked to identify research questions that need to be addressed to support youth and families and to prioritize funding to address gaps in knowledge. A majority of respondents identified large evidence gaps in tools and instruments and agency policy and rules, but prioritized funding for research in areas that would prevent abuse or neglect. Respondents identified a need for research to better reflect the realities of their lives. Varied responses across stakeholder groups illustrate that it is important to build partnerships throughout the field not only to develop necessary and relevant evidence, but also to facilitate acquisition, translation, and application of the evidence in the field.

Black Kin Caregivers: Acceptability and Cultural Adaptation of the Family Check-Up/Everyday Parenting Program.

Black children join kinship care disproportionately and black kin caregivers often face financial, housing, mental health, and parenting challenges when caring for relative children. Few interventions have been developed specifically for kin caregivers, let alone Black kin caregivers. This study evaluated the initial acceptability of an evidence based parenting intervention and worked to culturally adapt it for Black kin caregivers. The intervention was delivered in a family camp format. Feedback from participant interviews were analyzed for this study. Participants felt that overall the intervention was culturally appropriate. However, they also proposed changes to the curriculum, as well as to the process and format of the intervention. This study experienced challenges in terms of participant recruitment and sample size, which was exacerbated by COVID-19-related safety concerns. Future steps regarding recruitment, content, and format are discussed. Implications for child welfare practice, policy, and research are also provided.

What Counts as Evidence in Child Welfare Research?

In this commentary, we respond to Barth and colleagues and critique their premise that Western-based research with population-level administrative data is the best and only valid evidence on which to base child welfare policy and practice changes. We offer an alternative viewpoint on what forms of evidence should be brought to bear as we consider re-envisioning the child welfare system, highlighting the importance of lived experience and the need to consider the evidence regarding all marginalized racial and ethnic groups. We argue that evidence should represent the perspectives of those with lived experience and that collaborative child welfare research can strengthen the validity of analyses and interpretations. We hold that Barth et al. ask and answer the wrong questions. We press for deeper critical reflection, a more nuanced intersectional lens, and urgent action to address structural and institutional racism in the child welfare system.

Family outcomes in alternative response: A multilevel analysis of recurrence

Alternative response (AR) is preventative, family-centered, strengths-based approach within child protective services (CPS). When AR is offered it typically creates a two-track system where low- to moderate-risk families are not subjected to a traditional, fact-finding response that concludes with a determination of child abuse/neglect. One area that continues to concern child welfare administrators and researchers is recurrence, or when a family returns to CPS. Yet, it is unclear whether AR families have the same or different predictors of recurrence than TR families. Using a multilevel analytic approach, the present study followed 17,741 families in one mid-Atlantic state for 18-months post-response to determine what child, family, and county-level predicted a reported re-investigation and a substantiated re-investigation. We found few differences in predictors at the child and family level but found distinct differences at the county level for AR families. Recommendations are provided for policy, practice, and research, including a suggestion for further inquiry on what makes an optimal AR track.

Reverse visitation between former foster parents and adopted children

ABSTRACT A crucial aspect of designing transitions from foster care to adoptive homes is whether to facilitate contact between the child and their former caregivers after the transition, a practice known as reverse visitation. There is almost no research available on the use of this practice and its correlates, despite it being widely recommended based on attachment theory. In this exploratory study, surveys were completed by adoptive parents, foster parents, or caseworkers on 205 children moving from a foster home to a separate adoptive home in a convenience sample in the State of Oregon. Children were in some form of contact with their former foster parents in 70% of the adoptions. They had in-person visits with their prior caregivers 49% of the time. Associations between these forms of posttransition contact and other variables highlighted characteristics of the foster and adoptive parents as influential. Implications for child welfare practice and research are discussed.

Centering unacknowledged histories: revisiting NABSW demands to repeal ASFA

ABSTRACT The Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 has now been actively implemented in the United States for 24 years and remains largely unchanged from its initial conception. Initial critiques of ASFA included questions around the ethics of its requirements and the efficiency of its proposed goals. Subsequent to the original adoption of ASFA into legislation, the National Association of Black Social Workers published a statement calling for its repeal due to the dire consequences experienced by Black communities. Although Black scholars and organizers continue to fight for the end of family separation, the call to repeal ASFA has garnered little attention from policymakers and child welfare researchers. This brief commentary reacquaints scholars with discussions around ASFA, highlighting the implications for Black communities and reiterating the importance of centering Black voices given recent calls for anti-racist practice, pedagogy, and research.