Future Child Welfare Research Articles

Navigating Challenges and Leveraging Technology: Experiences of Child Welfare Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic

This qualitative study explores the experiences of child welfare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic through virtual interviews, focusing on the challenges and adaptations in their work and support systems. Participants reported significant difficulties in maintaining a healthy work–life balance, heightened stress, anxiety, and increased workloads due to sick leaves and burnout. This study highlights the dual role of technology as both a stressor and a crucial tool, with rapid integration posing challenges while also enabling continued support for children and families. Despite these challenges, workers demonstrated resilience and creativity, developing innovative solutions to navigate the new landscape. The findings underscore the importance of robust support systems, clear communication, and equitable access to technology. This study suggests integrating lessons learned during the pandemic into future child welfare practices to enhance resilience and adaptability in the face of future crises.

Distinguishing profiles of adversity among child protection investigations in Ontario, Canada: A latent class analysis

BackgroundChild welfare-involved families have diverse and multi-faceted needs. Families who experience poverty and are investigated by the child protection system may represent a particularly vulnerable group. ObjectiveThis study aims to understand the unique profiles of need that exist for families who experience poverty and are investigated by the Ontario child protection system. Participants and settingData from the Ontario Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect 2018 (OIS-2018) was used. The OIS-2018 is a cross-sectional study which collected information on investigations conducted in Ontario, Canada in 2018. MethodsA latent class analysis was conducted to identify and describe distinct classes of adversity among a representative sample of child protection investigations. Indicators of child, caregiver and economic adversity were used. ResultsThis study found evidence for eight distinct classes of adversity. With the exception of a low adversity class which emerged, the identified classes were characterized by distinct profiles of cooccurring adversities and there were several classes where indicators of poverty were probable. Investigation dispositions varied greatly by class. ConclusionsThe findings highlight the importance of ensuring an optimal fit between the distinct needs of investigated families and the child welfare interventions provided. Services and supports that are tailored to the specific constellations of cooccurring adversities that families face may be more effective in reducing the need for future child welfare involvement and/or more intrusive child protection responses. It is likely that investigated families who experience poverty would benefit from a range of economic and concrete supports.

Early assessment of the risk of child welfare involvement for preventive purposes

BackgroundTo prevent child welfare involvement by timely referring families to preventive interventions, it is essential to assess the risk of child welfare involvement in the general population as early as possible. ObjectiveTo examine whether child welfare involvement can be predicted by demographic, socioeconomic, and criminal history factors. Participants and settingData of 131,532 children and their parents were retrieved from Statistics Netherlands. Child welfare involvement comprised supervision orders, court-imposed guardianship, and/or out-of-home placements, that started in the year following the assessment of risk factors. MethodsAUC values were calculated to establish the predictive validity of individual factors for future child welfare involvement. A decision tree classification technique with a split-sample validation approach was used to develop and validate a predictive model. ResultsAn accumulation of risk factors proved to be highly predictive of child welfare involvement in the year following the assessment of the risk factors. The risk increased exponentially as the number of risk factors increases. The presence of four or more risk factors yielded a 10 times higher risk for child welfare involvement, and the presence of six or more risk factors yielded a 21 times higher risk relative to the absence of risk factors. The predictive model showed that above an accumulation of risk factors, the presence of specific risk factors further increased the risk. ConclusionsBoth the predictive model and the mere accumulation of risk factors can help professionals to estimate the risk of future child welfare involvement, which is important for timely referring families to preventive interventions or assistance.

Implementing smartphone technology to support relational competence in foster youth: a service provider perspective

ABSTRACT The field of child welfare continues to search for effective ways to mitigate risks foster youth often encounter. Research discoveries about the importance of attachments and relational competence for foster youth support greater well-being. However, little is known about the use of smartphone technology and companion software in foster care as a method in promoting relational competence. This qualitative implementation study sought to explore the perceptions of child welfare providers and other stakeholders regarding how smartphone technology facilitated the ability of foster youth to become more connected with trusted adults. Research results reveal challenges associated with child welfare officials’ purposeful issuance and utilisation of smartphones. Stakeholders and providers viewed these challenges as learning opportunities. Three critical themes uncovered—relationship building, youth empowerment, and normalcy—provide direction for how smartphone technology might be more efficiently tapped relative to future child welfare initiatives.

Rethinking evidence-based and evidence-informed practice: a call for evidence-informed decision making in social work education and child welfare practice

ABSTRACT Child welfare workers are tasked with addressing families’ complex needs while navigating community systems, organizational policies and legislation. While Evidence-based and Evidence-informed Practice (EBP; EIP) are woven throughout child welfare systems and discussed in social work education, they are rarely applied to everyday service. This paper is a reconceptualization of EBP/EIP into Evidence-informed Decision Making (EIDM); a framework proposed for everyday child welfare practice. EIDM promotes the examination of multiple factors and their integration into everyday decisions, case plans, and service through critical thinking. This paper is targeted towards educators facilitating the knowledge and skills required for promoting critical thinking and developing future child welfare workers’ practice.

Job Expectations and Career Goals of Title IV-E Child Welfare Social Workers with Varying Levels of Work Experience: How Do They Differ?

ABSTRACTA comparison of three groups of Title IV-E child welfare workers revealed significant differences among all groups on job expectations and career goals. New workers reported most positive expectations for their jobs, and greatest interest in child welfare careers and in pursuing educational goals. Seasoned workers expressed least positive expectations and least interest in future child welfare careers and educational goals. Findings may assist universities in student selection and curriculum. Child welfare agencies may benefit in areas of recruitment, training, and policies. Realistic job previews might moderate high expectations for new workers and reduce unmet expectations for experienced workers.

Delineating disproportionality and disparity of Asian-Canadian versus White-Canadian families in the child welfare system

ObjectiveThis paper builds upon the analyses presented in three companion papers using data from the 2003 and 2008cycles of the Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (CIS-2003 and CIS-2008) and the Ontario Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (OCANDS) to examine disproportionality and disparity of child welfare involvement for Asian-Canadian children involved in the child welfare system. MethodsThis study used CIS-2008 data adjusted by Census child population data to examine rates per 1000 and three disparity indexes (population-based disparity index [PDI], decision-based disparity index [DDI], and maltreatment-based disparity index [MDI]) to determine the representation of child maltreatment investigations for Asian-Canadian versus White-Canadian children involved in the child welfare system. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine the odds of case closure for substantiated child maltreatment investigations, and whether Asian ethnicity remained significant while controlling for child demographics and household composition, case characteristics, and clinical concerns. ResultsThis study found that Asian-Canadian children were underrepresented in the child welfare system compared to White-Canadian children (13.9 per 1000 Asian children in the Canadian population vs. 36.1 per 1000 White children in the Canadian population). Child welfare involvement for Asian-Canadian children are almost 2 times more likely to close after an investigation than White-Canadian children. The three disparity indexes (PDI, DDI, MDI) showed substantially different results with respect to the representation of child maltreatment investigations involving Asian-Canadian versus White-Canadian children for physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, emotional maltreatment, and exposure to domestic violence. ConclusionsDisproportionality and disparity are complex phenomena. The variation in results derived from different methods of calculating representation suggests the need for greater clarity and consistency in the definitions and methodology in examining racial disparity in child welfare research. Some methodological considerations for future child welfare research with Asian-Canadian populations were discussed.

Preparing Future Child Welfare Professionals to Strengthen Couple Relations

Preparing Future Child Welfare Professionals to Strengthen Couple Relations

Posthumous Reproduction (PHR) in Israel: Policy Rationales Versus Lay People's Concerns, a Preliminary Study.

Israeli policy concerning PHR has been decided upon in an expertocratic manner, leaving the voice of the public unheard. Based on 26 semi-structured in-depth interviews with 13 Jewish-Israeli young couples, this preliminary study provides the first empirical data regarding lay attitudes toward PHR in Israel. Findings suggest major dissimilarities between the policy and lay people's wishes and rationales. While policy is built on the "presumed wish" assumption, supposing all men living in a loving relationship wish to have their partner carry their child post-mortem, this was empirically unsupported. However, the findings suggest that many interviewees were willing to defer to their surviving spouse's wishes to have their post-mortem child, sometimes even against their own wish, indicating a support for presumed consent. Respecting the wishes of the dead, a dominant argument in the bioethical discussion in Israel and beyond, was mainly irrelevant to informants, whereas interviewees considered the future child's welfare, a concern overlooked by Israeli policy. Likewise, while posthumous grandparenthood is on the rise in Israel, it clearly contradicts the wishes of the majority of this study's informants. Nonetheless, existing policy is not expected to raise any opposition, due to the extreme liberalism of the participants and their support of reproductive autonomy.

North Carolina's Child Welfare Education Collaborative (NCCWEC): One State's Long-Term Commitment Toward an Improved Workforce

One state's Title IV-E child welfare social work education collaborative is delineated. This multi-year collaborative between public universities and the state's child welfare system has resulted in funding and field placements for 725 BSW and MSW students in 74 of the state's 100 counties. Further, 589 collaborative graduates have been hired in public child welfare. In addition, beneficial relationships among university personnel, local and state child welfare staff and administrators, and state legislators have enabled this collaborative to continue during difficult economic times. Finally, current challenges, lessons learned, and recommendations for future child welfare social work education initiatives are examined.

A combined motivation and parent–child interaction therapy package reduces child welfare recidivism in a randomized dismantling field trial.

A package of parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT) combined with a self-motivational (SM) orientation previously was found in a laboratory trial to reduce child abuse recidivism compared with services as usual (SAU). Objectives of the present study were to test effectiveness in a field agency rather than in a laboratory setting and to dismantle the SM versus SAU orientation and PCIT versus SAU parenting component effects. Participants were 192 parents in child welfare with an average of 6 prior referrals and most with all of their children removed. Following a 2 x 2 sequentially randomized experimental design, parents were randomized first to orientation condition (SM vs. SAU) and then subsequently randomized to a parenting condition (PCIT vs. SAU). Cases were followed for child welfare recidivism for a median of 904 days. An imputation-based approach was used to estimate recidivism survival complicated by significant treatment-related differences in timing and frequency of children returned home. A significant orientation condition by parenting condition interaction favoring the SM + PCIT combination was found for reducing future child welfare reports, and this effect was stronger when children were returned to the home sooner rather than later. Findings demonstrate that previous laboratory results can be replicated in a field implementation setting and among parents with chronic and severe child welfare histories, supporting a synergistic SM + PCIT benefit. Methodological considerations for analyzing child welfare event history data complicated by differential risk deprivation are also emphasized.

Differences and similarities in the attitudes of paediatricians, gynaecologists and experienced parents to criteria delineating potential risks for the welfare of children to be conceived with assisted reproduction.

Swiss legislation limits the provision of assisted reproductive medicine strictly to those infertile couples, who can guarantee future welfare of their child. Daily practice often makes it difficult to balance between avoiding the discrimination against infertile couples living in a borderline socio-economic or health situation on the one hand, and keeping to the stipulated maximal standards of future child welfare on the other. Obstetricians and neonatologists often criticize prior decisions made by physicians involved in reproductive medicine. Based on existing regulations about child welfare and on experts' opinions, thirteen hypothetical criteria for future well-being of children were formulated. These were presented to and assessed by 20 residents in obstetrics and gynaecology, 21 residents in paediatrics and 26 previously infertile couples having children with the help of assisted reproduction. Although some criteria were rated more important than others, evaluation of the assessments did not reveal any statistically significant difference among the three assessing groups. The lack of differences in the assessments of the hypothetical criteria among the three assessing groups related to the large variation in judgment among the various participants in each group, not to the acceptance or rejection of some of the criteria. The difficulty in defining applicable criteria for future child welfare is emphasized. A more differentiated approach in the assessment of infertile couples is needed and must be implemented in the legal regulations.

‘God, she's gonna report me’: the ethics of child protection in poverty research

The ethics of social research with children has been the source of considerable debate. In particular, issues of how to address potential disclosures of child abuse have been highlighted. What ethical implications are raised, however, when children are the indirect focus of the research? This paper explores the ethical dilemmas of conducting research with mothers about their experiences of caring for children. It is based on qualitative research with 30 mothers on low incomes. The paper concludes that strategies to tackle structural disadvantage as well as those that take account of individual risk are key features of future child welfare. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Genetic counselling issues and male infertility

In the past few years, the major genetic causes of male infertility have been elucidated and many of these can now be treated using intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). This has raised a number of wider issues in the families of people with this type of infertility. Coupled with the essential need for individual (or family) confidentiality, this type of treatment demands a very careful and sensitive counselling approach. The main requirement is for fertility and genetic teams to collaborate to provide a person-oriented approach to the application of two very complex and intimidating technologies. An apparent difference between established fertility approaches and those of genetic teams relates to individual informed choice. The fertility team must address ‘the welfare of the child’ as is encapsulated in the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) Act of 1990. Since the welfare of the child is a subjective matter, decisions are often made by reproductive medicine ethics committees in conjunction with fertility teams. This aspect requires further development to include the ethos of genetic counselling, which is based more on individual informed choice for couples who have been provided with accurate information about the impact of a condition on a possible future child. The different ethical emphasis is not as great as it might initially appear. Ethics committees are now placing much more emphasis on a couple's autonomy in individual situations and, correspondingly, genetic centres are providing much more information about the possible effects of a couple's decision on the welfare of future children.