Public Child Welfare Research Articles

Performance evaluation of child welfare departments using Data Envelopment Analysis: A comparative study across US states

Public child welfare agencies play a pivotal role in safeguarding the well-being of children and thus, the future of our society. While the performance of child welfare agencies is of critical importance, limited previous research relying on operations research and advanced analytics appears to exist in the analysis of their performance. We conduct a multi-criteria analysis for benchmarking the performance of the United States child welfare system, using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to evaluate the performance of public child welfare agencies across different US states. We select as outputs various statewide data indicators from the Child and Family Services Review (CFSR), while our inputs include the total annual expenditure by each state on the child welfare system. We use clustering to differentiate agencies based on the presence of the “Alternative Response” policy, which provides for preventive and support options for families, and apply DEA to each homogenous cluster. We identify best-practice agencies and provide benchmarks for the remaining agencies to enhance their performance. Our study offers data-driven directions for child welfare agencies to improve safety and permanency outcomes for children.

Synergistic benefits of inclusive leadership to foster child welfare workers’ job self-efficacy: race matters

ABSTRACT With growing diversity in child welfare, inclusive leadership could improve child welfare workers’ performance with children and families. By analyzing survey data collected from 2469 public child welfare workers, we found that inclusive leadership was positively associated with job efficacy by increasing workers’ perceptions of an inclusive climate and empowerment. Furthermore, its positive effects were greater among workers of color than White workers. Findings suggest that inclusive leadership can function as an organizational mechanism to promote performance-related outcomes, especially among child welfare workers of color. This paper concludes with practical implications to encourage inclusive leadership and strengthen its synergistic benefits.

A Mediating Effect of Public Service Motivation on Retention Intention Among Child Welfare Students: Task Self-Efficacy

ABSTRACT Purpose This study investigates the role of Public Service Motivation (PSM) in retaining highly skilled and qualified child welfare graduates within the public child welfare sector. Materials and methods Three entire cohorts of child welfare student social workers over three years (N = 125) in BSW and MSW child welfare programs at seven universities in a Southern state were surveyed to examine the effects of task self-efficacy achieved through the curriculum and public service motivation on retention intention among social work students specializing in child welfare practice at both the baccalaureate and master’s levels. Mediation analysis was conducted to estimate the indirect effect of self-efficacy on students’ retention intention. Results The self-efficacy of child welfare students, operationalized as their confidence in performing competencies, significantly influences their intention to remain in the field of child welfare. Furthermore, self-efficacy among child welfare students has a statistically significant effect on their PSM. PSM, in turn, significantly impacts their intention to persist in child welfare work. Discussion The findings indicate that PSM partially mediates the relationship between students” self-efficacy and their intent to remain in child welfare work, even when controlling for educational background. We recommend that child welfare agencies recognize and nurture workers” PSM by incorporating practices that promote PSM.

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.

Safeguarding South African schools: Civil society action against alcohol sales in educational settings

The Southern African Alcohol Policy Alliance (SAAPA) in South Africa vehemently opposed Clause 8 of the Basic Education Legislation Amendment Bill (BELA) allowing alcohol sales at schools. This stance was grounded in the 2016 National Liquor Policy, advocating for distance between schools and liquor outlets. SAAPA's multifaceted approach included engaging government, experts, media advocacy, social mobilisation, and active participation in the legislative process. Their efforts, culminating in over 5000 submissions and an oral presentation, led to the removal of Clause 8 in September 2023. This success underscores the pivotal role of civil society in shaping evidence-based policies for public health and child welfare.

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.

Children’s rights organizations in Sweden and their relation to public child welfare

ABSTRACT This paper presents a mapping of the Swedish children’s rights organizations (SCROs) and an analysis of how these organizations relate to public child welfare. SCROs represent a children’s rights discourse and are active as voice and service producers in the field of social work with vulnerable children. It can be presumed that SCROs affect public child welfare and by extension vulnerable children in need of support. This warrants a mapping of the SCROs and an examination of their organizational and professional space in regard to public child welfare. In total, 22 SCROs were found through internet searches (keywords e.g. ‘children’s rights’, ‘organization’, ‘association’ and ‘commitment’) and categorized based on a qualitative content analysis of the organizations’ websites. Seven SCROs operating on a domestic level are analysed in regard to their provided voice and service efforts. The findings suggest that there has been a growth in the number and activities of SCROs. Based on critical children’s rights studies and the concept of child rights governance, the ideological shift from child protection to children’s rights among these organizations is discussed. The rhetoric of SCROs implies a positioning of public child welfare as an ultimate duty bearer, while the organizations take on an expert role. Furthermore, SCROs appear to assume the role of child rights advocates. From a critical perspective, the children’s rights discourse brought forward by SCROs involves a juridification that risks to polarize the relation between children and public child welfare as well as undermining the legitimacy of public child welfare.

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.

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.

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.

The impact of title IV-E training on public child welfare turnover

ABSTRACT Title-IV E training is thought to minimize PCW employee turnover. A total of 969 PCW workers in a southern state completed an anonymous survey about their intentions to remain employed in PCW. A multigroup path analysis compared intention to leave for IV-E and non-IV-E participants. BIPOC respondents reported lower intention to stay employed relative to their peers, regardless of Title IV-E training. Title IV-E did not serve as a protective factor for BSW graduates or those from rural areas. Moreover, Title IV-E training does not appear to serve as a protective factor in regard to other workplace factors.

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.

Inclusive work environments as a pathway to an engaged child welfare workforce that intends to stay

Numerous workforce matters have converged as critical issues in the child welfare context, including the need to have a stable and healthy workforce and respond to increased diversity among workers. Little research has explored the role of work engagement in workers staying in their jobs. Furthermore, limited research has examined how work engagement and job burnout might moderate the relationship between an inclusive and just work environment and workers’ intentions to stay in the agency. Using cross-sectional data from 2,000 public child welfare caseworkers, this study examined how an inclusive work environment is related to the intention to stay in the agency. Furthermore, the study examined the influence of work engagement and burnout on the relationship between inclusive work environments and intention to stay in the agency. Multiple regression analyses were conducted, with results suggesting that organizational justice was significantly related to intention to stay in the agency among White and BIPOC caseworkers. Inclusive leadership was significantly related to intention to stay in the agency only among BIPOC caseworkers. Work engagement and job burnout were significantly related to intention to stay in the agency for White and BIPOC caseworkers, and job burnout moderated the relationship between inclusive leadership and intention to stay on the job among BIPOC caseworkers who reported high levels of inclusive leadership and low job burnout.

Secondary Traumatic Stress and Public Child Welfare Workers’ Intention to Remain Employed in Child Welfare: The Interaction Effect of Job Functions

ABSTRACT High exposure to Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS) is a significant risk factor for public child welfare workers’ intention to remain employed in child welfare. This study examined whether the negative impact of STS differed according to workers’ job functions by analyzing survey data collected from 1,053 public child welfare workers. STS was negatively associated with workers’ intention to remain. Furthermore, The negative impact of STS was greater among ongoing case managers than among assessment case managers. We conclude that child welfare organizations should develop trauma-informed policies and organizational support targeted to different patterns of STS by job functions.

Longitudinal Evaluation of the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics with Adoptive Families in Tennessee

ABSTRACT Purpose This study evaluated effectiveness of the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics (NMT) with adoptive families who received post adoption services in Tennessee. Methods Researchers obtained a sample of 552 families who received post adoption services in the U.S. state of Tennessee. Most families (77%) had adopted children through public child welfare services. A quasi-experimental design examined wellbeing outcomes for an NMT group (n = 319) versus a services-as-usual (SAU) group (n = 233) in intent-to-treat analyses. Then, the SAU group was contrasted to an NMT subgroup that had high adherence to the NMT model (n = 109) in an analysis of treatment-on-the-treated. Results Intent-to-treat models indicated no differences on outcomes between the NMT and SAU groups. However, the results of treatment-on-the-treated analyses showed slightly greater reduction on the Behavior Problems Index over time for the NMT with high adherence group as compared to SAU. Discussion and Conclusion Adoptive families may face challenges that could be addressed through developmentally sensitive, trauma-informed services, such as NMT. The results of this study suggest that the NMT might benefit adoptive families if greater attention is paid to implementation adherence, or fidelity.

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.

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.

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.

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.