Public Child Welfare Agencies Research Articles

Inclusive Leadership to Address Discrimination and Improve Retention in Child Welfare: Examining Multiple Pathways

Inclusive leadership has been discussed as an effective approach to workforce retention and workplace racial discrimination by satisfying the demand for belongingness and uniqueness. However, scant research has investigated the relationship between inclusive leadership and retention in child welfare. Using survey data collected from child welfare workers (n = 2469) across three public child welfare agencies, the current study examined the direct impact of inclusive leadership on child welfare workers’ intent to stay at their agency, as well as its indirect impact on intent to stay by influencing workplace racial discrimination. This study also explored the moderation effect of inclusive climate on the direct and indirect impacts of inclusive leadership using the PROCESS Program for SPSS. The research findings revealed that the direct and indirect impacts of inclusive leadership on intent to stay were significant. The findings also suggest that inclusive climate strengthened the positive association between inclusive leadership and intent to stay. Overall, this study demonstrated the potential of inclusive leadership to enhance racial equity and workforce retention in public child welfare systems. Future research needs to explore how specific behaviors of inclusive leaders improve workforce retention and explore other factors that could explain the impact of inclusive leadership.

Adoptive parents’ perspectives on adoption adjustment and post-adoption support

ABSTRACT This study investigated adoption adjustment and the honeymoon period through the perspective of adoptive parents. Parents who had adopted a child from a public child welfare system participated in interviews seeking information on their post-adoption experience. Parents’ voices are critical to understanding adoption adjustment and post-adoption needs due to their firsthand experience. The findings in this study build on the understanding of when challenges arise for children and families after adoption and how adoptive parents perceive these experiences. Implications for practice include guidance for pre-adoption training and expansion of post-adoption support through public child welfare agencies.

A statewide integrated child welfare coaching and mentoring program: Mentored workers’ perception of quality, impact, and satisfaction

ABSTRACT Child welfare workforce retention and turnover have been increasing and chronic challenges impacting public child welfare agencies. One response has been the implementation of worker coaching and mentoring programs. In this study, we report the results of a survey of 63 mentored child welfare workers who participated in a recently implemented statewide mentoring/coaching program. Results showed high regard for assigned mentors and program quality. Further, workers attributed that mentoring positively impacted their own professional development and abilities to demonstrate the state’s practice model competencies. Program recommendations and implications for practice, policy, and future research are discussed.

Incorporating multiple data sources to assess changes in organizational capacity in child welfare systems

Three federally funded Child Welfare Capacity Building Centers provide services to build the organizational capacity of public child welfare agencies to help meet federal requirements, improve practice, and improve outcomes for children and families. The aim of this study was to explore capacity outcomes in five dimensions – resources, infrastructure, knowledge and skills, culture and climate, and engagement and partnership – achieved by child welfare jurisdictions who received Center services. Analyses describe the capacities targeted for improvement and the amount and type of services provided by Centers; assess the relationship between services and capacity increase; and explore whether that relationship differs depending on the jurisdiction’s level of foundational capacity. Data collected through surveys and a service delivery tracking system reflect the perspectives of service recipients and service providers. Results reveal jurisdictions typically targeted capacity outcomes in the dimensions of knowledge and skills and infrastructure and received an average of 28 hours of direct services to support their capacity-building efforts. Dosage of service was positively associated with achievement of capacity outcomes, though no interaction was found between service dosage and foundational capacity in the effect on outcomes. Methodological lessons learned and implications for future evaluations of organizational capacity building efforts are offered.

Development and validation of a predictive risk model for runaway among youth in child welfare

Existing predictive risk models in child welfare tend to focus on child protection and prevention of youth’s entry to the child welfare system. Less explored is the potential contribution of predictive risk models to improve the care and meet the placement needs of youth in the child welfare system. This study demonstrated how an empirical model predicted youth’s risk for running away from child welfare placement to inform preventive interventions for youth in care. We used administrative data on youth’s demographic, child welfare, and clinical characteristics to develop a Cox proportional-hazards model. The model predicted time-to-first runaway among 8,255 legal custody spells of 12- to 17-years-olds in the care of the public child welfare agency of one large Midwestern state over an eight-year period. We validated the model internally using 200 bootstrap resamples from the development sample, and externally using a more recent, but smaller sample of 1,836 legal custody spells for youth whose information was not used to develop the model. Internal validation indicated stable predictor estimates, significant predictors that corroborate with relevant empirical literature on runaway, and strong discriminative ability and prediction accuracy (bias-adjusted c-statistic = 0.78). Through external validation, we demonstrated one preventive application of the model by predicting the risk of running away within the first 90 days of a legal custody spell. The model maintained the expected relationships between model-based predicted risks of runaway and actual runaway, as evidenced by accuracy metrics of precision and recall. We conclude by describing how child welfare agencies can apply predictive risk models such as ours to identify youth’s placement needs and estimate system capacity to prevent runaway.

Promoting racial equity and antiracist practice in child welfare: perceptions of public child welfare administrators

ABSTRACT There is much discussion in the literature regarding the role public child welfare has played in disproportionately intervening with children and families of color, and debate regarding how this has impacted their wellbeing and the role systemic racism has played. The voice of individuals serving as regional and state-level administrators of public child welfare agencies regarding this topic and how to address existing inequities has been missing in this dialogue. This paper reports on semi-structured interviews conducted with sixteen such administrators regarding where they have observed these issues in their agencies and a wide array of strategies they believe have the best likelihood of promoting racial equity and antiracist practice in the child welfare system, with some describing approaches currently being implemented. Participants discussed what they need from community and university partners to support this work.

Child and Family Services Review (CFSR) and child welfare outcomes in the United States

ABSTRACT The Child and Family Services Review (CFSR), created by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS), was first implemented in 2000 to examine the effectiveness of public child welfare agencies and promote positive child and family outcomes across the nation. After providing a brief history of the CFSR, its methodology, and notable changes that have occurred over the past two decades, this study presents a review of the CFSR results for 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. This study is the first to compile results from all three rounds of the federal CFSR from 2001 to 2018 to explore nationwide child welfare outcomes over time. This study will provide information to support multiple child welfare stakeholders in their efforts to serve children and families and help public child welfare agencies and practitioners reflect on their own performance over time relative to other states to enhance their policy and practice and improve outcomes for children’s safety, permanency, and well-being.

The Impact of Information System on Interactions of Child Welfare Professionals with Managers and Clients

The use of information systems in public child welfare agencies of different countries is challenging primarily for frontline practitioners. This paper unveils how material information system properties are involved in the interactions of child welfare practitioners with their clients and managers. We analyze the properties on their own (functional requirements) and according to the perception of IS users (non-functional requirements). On the basis of the results of systematic literature review and ethnographic study of the use of information system at Lithuanian Child Rights Protection and Adoption Service during the COVID-19 pandemic, we identify the relation between the absence of functionality or its potential failures and data duplication problem. According to our study, data duplication leads to additional time consumption, affects the ecology of the workplace, reduces reliability of information, challenges data protection and finally keeps away practitioners from direct work with clients and exposes them to overcontrol of managers.

Planning, Implementing, and Evaluating Training Projects for Public Child Welfare Agency Supervisors

Planning, Implementing, and Evaluating Training Projects for Public Child Welfare Agency Supervisors

Culture of Safety: Using Policy to Address Traumatic Stress Among the Child Welfare Workforce

Human services professionals from all fields may be exposed to dangerous and even traumatic experiences while fulfilling their job responsibilities. Despite the data identifying trauma exposure as a workforce problem, the literature focusing on policy and practice interventions is sparse. Using a safety culture framework, this article describes a case example of one statewide public child welfare agency that utilized innovative policies as one driver of a systemic shift toward enhanced safety culture in an attempt to mitigate the effects of trauma exposure among child welfare workers. Practice implications, next steps, and future research are discussed.

Skills for Collaboration: Training Graduate Students in Using Evidence to Evaluate a Homelessness Program

ABSTRACT This article describes how a university and public child welfare agency partnership and a federal demonstration project trained MSW and PhD social welfare students in homelessness intervention research using a continuous quality improvement approach. Over a period of 5 years, the Cal-Child Welfare Leadership Training model between University of California, Berkeley’s School of Social Welfare and San Francisco’s Human Services Agency sought to train graduate students how to find, generate, and use evidence for child welfare decision making. Simultaneously and independently, the partnership designed and implemented a 5-year randomized controlled trial testing the effectiveness of permanent supportive housing for homeless families entering the child welfare system, called Families Moving Forward. We took advantage of the congruity of these two efforts by bringing student interns directly into the ongoing implementation and evaluation of Families Moving Forward, exposing them to implementation challenges that contextualize and moderate expectations about how a complex program for complex families should lead to improved outcomes. The aim was to endow students with the knowledge, skills, and discipline necessary to help make complex interventions work by fostering cross-system collaboration. We propose ways this teaching model can be scaled and installed elsewhere.

Impacts of transformational leadership on turnover intention of child welfare workers

The high turnover rate among child welfare workers is a constant, well-documented issue. This study aimed to examine how organizational factors, particularly leadership, affect child welfare worker turnover intentions in order to help child welfare agencies establish a practice model that prevents the turnover of qualified workers. In order to do so, it is important to examine the effects of organizational commitment on employees’ turnover intentions.A cross-sectional survey was distributed among workers in public child welfare agencies in a Midwestern state in the United States (N = 214). A path model was developed to test the direct and indirect effects of transformational leadership on the turnover intentions of child welfare workers using STATA. The survey results indicated that the transformational leadership styles of local office directors had direct and negative effects on child welfare workers’ turnover intentions. Therefore, this study recommends that child welfare services provide local office directors with leadership training in order to reduce the preventable turnover of child welfare workers.

Workforce development strategies: a model for preparing the workforce to support transformational systems in child welfare

ABSTRACTCalls for transformational systems change that lead to improved outcomes for children in child welfare can only be answered by preparing an effective workforce and building an agency climate that is ready for change. The National Child Welfare Workforce Institute developed a comprehensive model for public, private, and tribal child welfare agencies to improve the health of their workforce. This paper describes the application of the model in one state agency. Through leadership development, a distributive teaming approach, and implementation of an evidence-supported practice model, they were able to significantly improve the organizational climate of their agency. The article discusses practice implications and recommendations for child welfare agencies and technical assistance providers for fostering positive organizational health and ultimately improving outcomes for families.

Effective workload management in child welfare: Understanding the relationship between caseload and workload

AbstractA common assumption in public social service organizations is that workload may be positively associated with caseload. However, few empirical studies have examined what specific characteristics of caseload affect caseworkers' workloads in the child welfare system. This study attempts to address this gap by identifying specific individual and regional factors that influence both subjective and objective dimensions of workloads. Survey data were collected from 1,244 caseworkers at one public child welfare agency in a Midwestern state in the United States. The data indicated that both perceptions of unmanageable workloads and self‐reported overtime work were significantly higher when caseworkers had a greater number of cases than the state caseload standard for the investigations units and worked with at least two different types of cases simultaneously (e.g., working with both investigation and ongoing service cases). Additionally, sufficient staffing numbers to meet caseload demands at the regional level significantly decreased the odds ratio of having to do overtime work. The major findings suggest that the objective and subjective dimensions of workload vary by individual‐ and regional‐level variables. Practice implications are discussed for effective and efficient workload management in the public child welfare system.

The unintended consequence of the Indian Child Welfare Act: American Indian trust in public child welfare

The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) passed in 1978, yet American Indian families remain disproportionately represented in child welfare systems across the United States (US). The current study explores this by examining how historical trauma has impacted American Indian tribes' trust in today's public child welfare agencies. Tribal child welfare workers (N = 146) completed the standardized Mayer and Davis Trust Inventory. Results indicate American Indian-identified tribal child welfare workers have a higher propensity to trust than non-American Indian-identified tribal child welfare workers. Additionally, tribal child welfare workers rate public child welfare workers as more trustworthy than other types of government officials. Findings suggest that despite the overrepresentation of American Indian children in foster care, ICWA may be helping to restore trust between tribal and public systems.

Domestic violence as child maltreatment: Differential risks and outcomes among cases referred to child welfare agencies for domestic violence exposure

As awareness has grown regarding the co-occurrence of domestic violence and child maltreatment and the potential deleterious outcomes associated with children's exposure to domestic violence, some public child welfare agencies are expanding their reach to include domestic violence as a form of maltreatment warranting protective intervention. Using nationally representative survey data, this study examines differential characteristics, risks, and outcomes of cases referred to child welfare agencies for domestic violence compared to cases referred for other allegations. Results indicate that child welfare cases alleging domestic violence as a maltreatment allegation have unique profiles of risk, demographics, and outcomes that distinguish them from cases alleging other maltreatment types. In the aggregate, cases reported for domestic violence have higher likelihood of substantiation than other cases, but are no more likely to receive child welfare services, and are less likely to result in out-of-home placement. These findings suggest that for many cases that come to the attention of child welfare agencies due to child domestic violence exposure, substantiated findings of maltreatment do not result in more intensive CPS interventions. Findings from this study suggest that some lower-risk cases reported to child welfare agencies for domestic violence exposure could be appropriately targeted for alternative, non-investigative service approaches.

Ethnic matching: A two-state comparison of child welfare workers' attitudes

The purpose of this study is to explore child welfare workers' perspectives on ethnic matching in child welfare service delivery. Specifically, regarding ethnic matching; the authors investigate worker perceptions of advantages and disadvantages, worker preferences, ‘goodness of fit’ issues, barriers to implementation, enhancement of family engagement, and positive outcomes for families and children of color involved in child welfare services. Using qualitative interviews with child welfare workers who are currently or have recently been employed in public child welfare agencies in two states in the USA, this study provides direct input from frontline personnel and supervisors. A grounded theory analysis of participant responses produced results that reflect the complexities involved with ethnic matching. Themes highlight potential benefits and challenges concerning ethnic matching; along with identification of other issues involved with client outcomes. Study findings also provide contextual information for research, policy making, and practice concerning the manner in which services are provided to children of color, who are currently overrepresented in the system.

Re-Thinking Therapeutic Residential Care (TRC) as a Preventive Service: Examining Developments in the US and England

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this paper is to examine similarities and differences in recent English and U.S. initiatives which impact the residential child care sector. The English section summarizes the catalysts for and findings of recent enquiries, and presents a skeletal outline of one particular innovative program from North Yorkshire (an English public child welfare agency) – No Wrong Door (NWD) (Lusheyet al., 2017; Rees et al., 2017) which has attracted a good deal of attention nationally and internationally from government and voluntary service bodies searching for a way forward to locate a renewed residential care component in an overall service array. The U.S. section summarizes the import of recent federal legislation, the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) (Kelly, 2018) and a key state initiative Residentially-Based Services (RBS) (McDowellet. al., 2014) in California which shares many of the goals of the federal initiative and is already underway in key agencies undertaking program re-design efforts across the state. The final section of the paper summarizes key take-away messages and highlights implications for future cross-national collaboration in policy and program development, as well as research.

Using Qualitative Data-Mining to Identify Skillful Practice in Child Welfare Case Records

ABSTRACTUsing qualitative data-mining methods, this study analyzed 39 child welfare case records in order to identify examples of skillful practice. Conducted in partnership with a public child welfare agency in northern California, the study found that child welfare workers are implementing many of the practices promoted by statewide and national child welfare practice frameworks. Broad categories of skillful practice identified included: (1) effective communication by social workers, (2) support for client self-determination, and (3) active intervention strategies. Study findings provide support for incorporating case record review processes in training and supervision in order to integrate practice-based expertise with research-based evidence.

Factors affecting turnover rates of public child welfare front line workers: comparing cohorts of title IV-E program graduates with regularly hired and trained staff

ABSTRACTThe purpose of the study is to examine the impact of a statewide intervention (BSW level Title IV-E Program) on both the workers’ intent to leave the job and their actual exit from a state administered public child welfare agency. Employees completed an extensive survey including scales assessing individual, team, and organizational variables that might impact turnover. Results show that more Title IV-E graduates stay with the agency than do regular hires and leave at a slower rate. Different variables impact intent to leave compared to actual exit and vary across type of employee. Implications for the workforce are discussed.