Public Child Welfare System Research Articles

Everyone benefits when there is another MSW in child welfare: exploring ways to support Title IV-E MSW student-employees

ABSTRACT The Title IV-E program is crucial for the public child welfare (PCW) system as it supports the training and retention of skilled workers. However, there is a lack of information about how PCW agencies support employees in MSW Title IV-E programs. This study examined how six counties in Northern California support their MSW Title IV-E student-employees. The findings uncovered themes related to strong county social work internship programs, additional support for student-employees, and challenges in program implementation. Sharing information about PCW agency internship programs can benefit agencies by improving access to higher education and attracting skilled child welfare workers.

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 Parent-Child Interaction Quality During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Brazil

ABSTRACT This study presents findings derived from an investigation into parent-child interactions among Brazilian adoptive families conducted through online recording and analysis. Participating parents enrolled in an online Parental Training Program titled Adoption: Beginning of New Bonds, which emphasized parental reflective function. Data collection spanned from March to November 2021, coinciding with the isolation measures imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil. The study aimed to delineate interaction patterns within the sampled group and assess whether any alterations occurred in these patterns pre- and post-program participation. The sample consisted of 23 adoptive parents who had adopted a child under the age of five from the public child welfare system. Video recordings of parent-child free play sessions were collected online both before and after program participation. Results indicated a significant difference in the proportion of parents demonstrating sensitivity toward their child, accompanied by a noticeable trend toward enhanced quality in child interaction with their caregivers. Furthermore, this study offers valuable insights for refining observational instruments within the context of adoption.

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.

Individual and Organizational Factors Associated With Intent to Leave the Job and Public Child Welfare Field Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The public child welfare system is plagued with high turnover, which is consistently associated with job-related stress. However, the COVID-19 pandemic introduced challenges that impact both the work and caseworkers' decision to stay in their job. To better understand stressors and intention to stay amid the COVID-19 pandemic, one state-level agency implemented a survey, completed by forty-eight percent of public child welfare caseworkers in the state. The current analysis employs multinomial logistic regression to predict intention to stay in the job and in the field and narrative analysis to describe caseworker experiences. Expanding on prior research, findings suggest that caseworker perception of an organization's response to COVID-19 challenges is associated with a caseworker's intent to leave. Further, this study highlights the distinction in commitment to the field compared to commitment to one's job, introduces challenges associated with work during the COVID-19 pandemic, and describes worker-identified benefits of those work changes.

Working With Immigrants Who Are Child Welfare Involved: Promoting Innovative Collaborations and Systems Involvement During a Public Health Crisis

The COVID-19 pandemic has had notable impacts on public child welfare systems and their ability to serve families. For immigrant families who enter the child welfare system, pandemic-related challenges were exacerbated on top of existing immigration-related stressors and barriers. This study used in-depth qualitative interviewing with child welfare agency staff and community-based service provider partners working with immigrants to explore their experiences in providing services to families navigating this unprecedented context. Results highlight the adaptations implemented to engage immigrant clients and facilitate interagency collaboration in light of barriers imposed by the pandemic. Practice implications center the need for child abuse and neglection prevention efforts to start in community and demand collaboration between government-based child welfare agencies and a range of grassroots, trusted community providers.

Psychological comorbidities and suicidality in sexual and gender minority foster youth

ObjectiveSexual and gender minority youth (SGMY), or those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or gender diverse and questioning are suggested to be overrepresented in the U.S. foster care system. Lack of systematized data collection on youths’ sexual orientation and/or gender identity in child welfare has curtailed studies of this population. This community-based study assessed psychological and behavioral health of youth with current or past foster care involvement in an urban public child welfare system, and examined relations between types of victimization (e.g. LGBTQ-based victimization, caregiver rejection, intimate partner violence) and psychological functioning. MethodsA total of 35 (12–26 years old) participants were administered a survey assessing multiple domains of health and wellbeing between October 2018 and February 2020. Primary quantitative outcomes included depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress symptomatology, suicide ideation, planning, and attempt, and non-suicidal self-injury. Results42.7 % of participants identified as lesbian or gay, 37.1 % as bisexual or pansexual, and 20 % identified as heterosexual. 54.3 % identified as transgender or gender diverse (TG/GD). Over 75 % (75.06 %, n = 25) of the total sample met the clinical cutoff for Total Internalizing, 64.71 % (n = 22) met the clinical cutoff for Depression, and 78.79 % (n = 26) met the clinical cutoff for Anxiety. 70 % reported suicidal ideation and 45 % past suicide attempt. Rejection experiences based on sexual orientation were associated with anxiety, depression and post-traumatic symptoms; discrimination experiences based on sexual orientation or TG/GD expression were associated with anxiety. Loneliness and everyday discrimination were associated with post-traumatic stress symptoms. IPV, everyday discrimination, rejection, discrimination, and victimization based on sexual orientation and gender identity, while not statistically significant within this sample, did emerge as factors warranting further investigation concerning suicide ideation, planning, and attempt. Conclusion75% of the SGMY in this this study met the clinical threshold for mood disorders, reinforcing the importance of integrated behavioral health support in clinical and wraparound care for SGMY in foster care, and the critical role of SGM-specific competencies for the entire care team. Teams caring for SGMY should be aware of community resources that are competent in addressing SGM-specific stressors and the impacts of multiple forms of victimization, including intimate partner violence for SGMY. Targeted efforts and to work with families are needed.

A Multiple-Path Model of Workforce Development for Improving the Fidelity of Family Team Conference in the Child Welfare System

ABSTRACT Family Team Conference (FTC) has been suggested as a promising practice model to improve child welfare outcomes. However, there is little understanding of developing an effective workforce to ensure FTC fidelity. Using data involving 891 caseworkers who implemented FTC in a Midwestern state, path analysis showed that both effective training and supervision that parallels the same principles of FTC are necessary conditions to enhance FTC fidelity either directly or indirectly by increasing caseworkers’ facilitation skills. This paper suggests that organizational readiness and ongoing support are essential for ensuring the high-quality implementation of family-centered practice in the public child welfare system.

Public-academic partnerships to foster use of research evidence in improving youth outcomes: findings from document analysis

Background:Although public-academic partnerships (PAPs) to improve the health and well-being of vulnerable populations have proliferated in public care for youth, existing literature lacks information about whether PAPs lead to public care agency leaders’ use of research evidence and promote youth mental health and well-being. Aims and objectives:The document analysis was conducted to understand PAP contexts and mechanisms leading to public care agency leaders’ use of research evidence. This paper introduces US public mental health and child welfare systems, shares strategies of identifying PAPs, obtaining and conducting systematic document review of PAPs, and documents analysis findings. Methods:This project conducted document analysis of US PAPs aiming to improve mental health and promote well-being of youth aged 12–25 years. Findings:The 23 PAPs analysed had diverse partnership goals including implementation and dissemination of research/evaluation evidence, information sharing, and prioritising and streamlining research priorities. PAPs sustained longer than 10 years had more focused goals of programme and policy evaluations and professional training, while PAPs 10 years or newer were engaged in more diverse goals. The majority of PAPs used journal articles, presentations, and multimedia as dissemination strategies of findings. Fewer than half of the PAPs reported on use of PAP-generated evidence in subsequent decision making by public care agency leaders. Discussion and conclusions:Further research should examine which mechanisms link partnership contexts, PAP leaders’ research evidence use, and youth outcomes improvement. Future research should also examine PAPs by detailed stages of development and ask PAP leaders directly about their evidence use.

Informal kinship caregivers’ parenting experience

The study explored parenting experiences of informal kinship caregivers who were not currently involved with the public child welfare system. Forty-one informal kinship caregivers participated in an anonymous survey that inquired about their demographic information and parenting experiences. The majority of participants were African American grandmothers in their 50s with a high school diploma and annual household income below $50,000. Approximately 70% of the participants had legal custody of a related child in their care, and were committed to providing a long-term or permanent placement for the child. While financial hardship was the most common challenge participants reported, only 37% of them received governmental assistance. Other challenges included children’s medical and mental health issues, and childcare. Despite these challenges, the majority of participants (82.9%) perceived their kinship caregiving experience as positive or very positive. Forty-two percent of participants acknowledged the bidirectional nature of their relationship with related children. Another positive experience noted was children’s growth and safety. These findings illustrate both common and diverse parenting experiences of informal kinship caregivers. They also highlight limited resources available and accessible for this population. The implications of the study findings are discussed.

A Cost Analysis of Trauma and Well-being Screening for Children in Custody

ABSTRACT According to SAMHSA (2014), 1 of the 10 domains of a trauma-informed approach to child welfare relates to universal screening; however, costs of installation and implementation models are often unclear. This paper provides administrators of human service organizations with a fiscal example of the estimated cost of implementing screening with children in the custody of a public child welfare system. Findings show that the cost of installation and start-up are estimated at 208 USD per child while ongoing implementation/sustainability costs are 130 USD per child when implementation is universal to all children in custody. Discussion includes implications for practice and future research.Practice Points There are challenges and successful practices associated with developing trauma-informed child welfare systems (Akin et al., 2018), and public child welfare administrators benefit when they can understand potential costs of implementing new trauma-informed practices, such as screening. Understanding cost analysis is important for leaders across multiple levels of non-profit and human service organizations in order to make informed choices about policies and practices that balance input, output, and outcomes. Human service leadership teams should consider utilizing justice-enhanced cost findings to prioritize and select policies and practices that incorporate fiscal data with intervention data to address individual and structural challenges that maintain disadvantage, inequity, and marginalization. Investing in a trauma/mental health screening tool with their child welfare population is a minimal cost…substantially less than the cost of out-of-home care.

Structured well-being assessments in public child welfare: Observations across two states

Children entering custody within the child welfare system have been found to have high levels of trauma and significant behavioral health needs. In this paper, authors demonstrate how a structured functional well-being assessment can be used with the custody population to promote an understanding of behavioral health needs, inform case planning, and measure functional improvement over time. Specifically, this paper will: (a) briefly describe how two states implemented a common standardized assessment of functioning to inform case planning and measure well-being progress of children in the custody of a public child welfare system (b) examine what this common assessment tool reveals about the strengths and needs of children entering custody across two sites and (c) describe the magnitude of change in functional improvement measured across 6 months. This paper will contribute to the existing knowledge by sharing possible themes in functioning related to children entering custody while examining changes in functioning over time. Implications for practice, policy, and future research will be discussed.

Un estudio piloto sobre la fatiga por compasión y los peligros entre los profesionales en los sistemas públicos de bienestar infantil y justicia juvenil en Chile y los Estados Unidos

The pilot study measures compassion fatigue experienced by social workers in the United States and Chile who work in public child welfare and juvenile justice systems. While public child welfare systems differ in legislative and organizational structures in these two countries, the study uncovers what types of compassion fatigue participants experienced and what they saw as supports and organizational practices that increase or decrease levels of compassion fatigue. Qualtrics survey tools were used to deliver an online survey to potential participants in both countries with two instruments: the Professional Quality of Life Scale V version and the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale. The survey also asked open-ended questions for participants to identify supports received from their work sites that address compassion fatigue and challenges in their work environments. Workers in both countries have similar challenges and needs related to addressing compassion fatigue and hazards. The overall compassion fatigue reported by participants in both countries was relatively high and not directly linked to the perceived level of organizational supports in their work settings. One area of difference is that participants in the U.S. experienced significantly more compassion satisfaction than did the participants from Chile. There also was a significant difference in the responses from participants in Chile related to experiencing more secondary traumatic stress than U.S. participants. This study is the first step in working to determine best practices when addressing compassion fatigue and the hazards of working in high demand public child-serving systems. Further research is necessary to further study compassion fatigue among social workers in child welfare systems in both countries.

Organizational climate, job satisfaction, and turnover in voluntary child welfare workers

Turnover among the child welfare workforce has been linked to workforce demographics, individual-level work attitudes, and organizational conditions. It is relatively understudied how organizational and individual factors may be related to each other in predicting turnover among the voluntary (i.e., private, non-profit) child welfare workforce. The main purpose of this study was to investigate the indirect effects of organizational climate on turnover through voluntary child welfare workers’ job satisfaction. The sample consisted of 849 direct care and clinical workers in 13 voluntary agencies under contract with the public child welfare system in a northeastern state in the United States. Paper-and-pencil surveys were sent out to the agencies. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the relationship between organizational climate, job satisfaction, and turnover intentions. To examine the indirect effects of interest, bias-corrected and accelerated bootstrap confidence intervals based on 20,000 replications were obtained. Results suggested that the effect of organizational climate on intent to leave the agency was fully mediated by job satisfaction (β = -0.16, SE = 0.09, 95% CI = [−0.342, −0.002]), while its effect on intent to stay in child welfare was partially mediated (β = 0.15, SE = 0.06, 95% CI = [0.024, 0.280]). Voluntary child welfare agencies should consider redirecting their resources and focus on how their efforts into organizational changes may impact workers’ job satisfaction in pay, benefits, and promotion opportunities. Given that job satisfaction has a more immediate effect on turnover, it is worth investing in programs specifically designed to enhance job satisfaction. Limitations of our study and directions for future research are discussed.

Child welfare supervisors empowered through MSW education: graduates of a statewide title IV-E MSW program for public child welfare supervisors describe their learning

ABSTRACT This paper describes a study of a statewide Title IV-E program that provides support for currently employed child welfare supervisors to obtain an MSW degree. The program’s purpose is to strengthen the practice of supervision in the state’s public child welfare system. This study examines the program’s effectiveness in meeting its objectives, as evaluated by a survey of the first cohorts of program graduates. Responses to this survey indicate that the program is preparing supervisors with the tools they need to provide more effective supervision to their workers.

It’s not about them without them: Kinship grandparents’ perspectives on family empowerment in public child welfare

This paper presents the perspectives of a small sample of eight kinship caregivers, who are grandparents raising their grandchildren in a mid-Western state. The study explored the grandparents’ experiences of family empowerment in public child welfare, using semi-structured qualitative interviews. The grandparents identify the services that they find useful, including both tangible resources and relational supports. They also highlight service gaps and unfulfilled needs, as well as aspects of their experience with public child welfare that they find concerning. The authors discuss the salience of including kinship grandparents’ voices in shaping the services provided for them and offer recommendations for strategies that could empower the growing population, and improve the public child welfare system so that it is more responsive to its changing environment.

Exploring Relational and Parental Factors for Permanency Outcomes of Children in Care

This research examined the impact of individual and relational characteristics of foster parents on permanency outcomes for children in care. Previous research has focused on child and case characteristics. The sample consisted of 233 foster parents from the public child welfare system surveyed at the end of a training. The results of the surveys showed that couple relationship quality and altruism were predictive of reunification of foster children with biological parent. The significant predictors of placement in a residential facility were age, education, and avoidant attachment style of the foster parent. Practice and policy implications are discussed.

The Application of a Social Justice Theory to the Well-being of Substance-Exposed Infants

In utero exposure to drugs and alcohol threatens the well-being of infants. Federal law has established child well-being as one of the three main goals of the child welfare system, and recent changes to federal law require state child welfare programs to assess the needs of substance-exposed infants and plan for their safe care. CPS workers are often the first point of contact these infants have with the public child welfare system; yet, CPS workers have no framework for assessing the well-being of substance-exposed infants. In this article, the author applies the Theory of Justice as Well-being to substance-exposed infants as a way to assess the deficits to well-being these infants experience. Furthermore, Justice as Well-being is applied to substance-exposed infants and their families to serve as a conceptual framework for an interprofessional approach to planning for the treatment and safe care needs of this highly vulnerable child welfare population.

“How am I doing?” narratives of youth living in congregate care on their social-emotional well-being

Youth living in out-of-home placement are presented with a number of challenges to their social-emotional well-being. At minimum, these young people have experienced a disruption to their family and living environment, and in most cases, they have experienced trauma originating from exposure to the abuse and neglect resulting in their out-of-home placement. Despite the complicated emotional consequences of out-of-home placements and the varied experiences that these young people go through, assessment of their social-emotional clinical or behavioral problems deriving from these experiences are rarely self-reported. Thus, an outside perspective limits the ability to understand the social-emotional well-being of these youth and their underlying strengths. This study sought to bridge this gap by investigating how young people themselves define their social-emotional well-being. We identified eight themes through the analysis of 20 individual interviews with youth living in a congregate care placement within the public child welfare system, discussing the implications of the study for practitioners working with these vulnerable young people and critical considerations for the contribution of qualitative methods.

Private vs public child welfare systems: A comparative analysis of national safety outcome performance

BackgroundEnsuring the safety of American children is one of the chief mandates of the U.S. Child Welfare System. Yet system differences, including privatization remain an area of concern for whether safety of children is achieved. ObjectiveThis study examined the effect of privatization policy on the performance of state child welfare systems in terms of achieving national safety outcome standards. Participants and SettingN1 = 10 states systems (5 privatized and 5 public systems) with N2 = 118,761 foster care cases located throughout the U.S. MethodUsing data from the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS), safety outcome performance measures were assessed, as were child-/case factors to predict the likelihood of the system types meeting the national safety outcome standards. ResultsLogistic regression models of child, case, and system factors predicting the likelihood state systems met national safety outcome performance standards were statistically significant. Private systems, compared to non-private systems, were found to have lower odds of meeting the safety outcome 1 standard (OR = 0.41, 95% CI = 0.40–0.42), but greater odds of meeting the safety outcome 2 standard (OR = 6.79, 95% CI = 6.56–7.02). ConclusionsThe implementation of privatization policy in state child welfare/foster care service delivery was found to have mixed results in terms of the national safety outcome standards.