State Child Welfare Agencies Research Articles

Reintegrating Children Into the System of Substitute Care: Evaluation of the Exceptional Care Pilot Project

This pilot study presents findings from a project to evaluate a program initiated by a state child welfare agency for its most hard-to-serve youth (N = 46). This emerging population is so dangerous and unmanageable that they are difficult, if not impossible, to place or treat. One state responded to this challenge by providing exceptional care through two residential treatment facilities who followed a no-eject, no-reject policy. Outcome data show that 85% of children had reductions in state-designated level of care and movement to less restrictive treatment placements. Differences in Children's Global Assessment Scale scores for Cohort 1 were statistically significant (t = –4.947, df = 24, p < .001). Staff assessment interviews delineated target behaviors, putative causes, mechanisms for change, and outcomes for children who successfully completed the program.

Satisfaction of contract provider agencies with a State's Child Welfare Agency

In a time when more and more services are being “outsourced” by state agencies to private service providers, few studies have examined the relationship between the public agencies and contract providers from the perspective of the latter. Administrators of all provider agencies holding contracts with a Midwestern state's child welfare agency received a survey asking them about their experiences with and perceptions of the state agency. The relationship between the state agency and its contract provider agencies appeared to be generally positive. Respondents were particularly satisfied with their primary contact person from the state agency. Respondents from smaller agencies and from agencies serving relatively more minority clients, however, reported significantly lower satisfaction on some measures. Problems cited by this Midwestern state's contract providers centered on the frequency and quality of their interactions with the state agency (especially communication problems), and the timeliness of their payments. Consistent with these findings, interaction quality and timeliness of payments emerged as the most important predictors of contract providers' willingness to continue their relationship with the state agency.

Telepsychiatry with Child Welfare Families Referred to a Family Service Agency

A telepsychology and telepsychiatry service, using ISDN interactive video H.320, providing psychological consultations for the Family Resource Center in Farmington, New Mexico, was evaluated. During the first year of service, 56 individuals participated including University of New Mexico staff, Family Resource Center staff and clients. Consultations involved children from families referred by the Children, Youth and Family Department (CYFD) in New Mexico. Telemedicine was used in some child abuse cases. This study investigated whether the quality and acceptance of telemedicine consultations were comparable to face-to-face interactions in a group referred by a state child welfare agency. Participants received formal written consultation reports after the video conferencing sessions, which included a number of recommendations. Participants were asked to complete an anonymous questionnaire to rate various aspects of videoconferencing. The participants rated the university staff as involved, enjoyed the Family Resource Center staff's presence, felt the procedure was useful for evaluation purposes, found the format allowed for discussions of problems, and felt that the format was useful when compared to face-to-face consultations. The participants also said they had followed up on many of the recommendations. Videoconferencing appears to be a viable approach for providing consultation for families referred by a state child welfare agency. Several participants rated the session as both educational and consultative compared to simply therapeutic.

Use of Title IV-E Funding in BSW Programs

Summary Title IV-E provides resources that allow social work education and state child welfare agencies to collaborate to provide an educational experience that prepares students to move quickly into a complex practice experience. In 1998-1999 all BSW programs that were accredited and in candidacy were surveyed to see if they were using Title IV-E funds to provide support for students who would agree to work in public child welfare programs after graduation. The questionnaire used was based on Zlotnik's earlier survey (Zlotnik & Cornelius, 2000) of all programs receiving IV-E funds. Of the 464 BSW programs surveyed, 282 replied, 59% of these were public institutions, the rest private. Forty-eight schools reported receiving some type of IV-E funding for students. Results indicate a number of models are used to support collaboration between the schools and their state agencies. These include differences in the requirements of students while they are in school and after graduation and in the amount of funding available to students. In addition, institutions not receiving IV-E funds were asked to describe why they were not. Implications for BSW programs are discussed.

Evaluating Kinship Care Alternatives: A Comparison of a Private Initiative to Traditional State Services

Multiple stressors on the child welfare system have forced innovative solutions to the overburdened foster care program. A promising alternative is kinship care, in which children are placed with biological relatives. Proponents cite the opportunity to place the child in familiar surroundings, the natural access to additional family resources, and the degree to which it is sensitive to the norms and values of non-dominant cultural groups. Various models of kinship care have been implemented in several jurisdictions, yet little or no research has been done to determine which alternatives are the most effective. This paper addresses that deficit. It reports the results of a study that compares stability of placement outcomes between a program operated by a private,not-for-profit organization (n=60) and a more traditional program (n=79) operated by a state child welfare agency. Results support the use of the private alternative over the more traditional state-operated program.

Kinship care: an evolving service delivery option

It has been eight years since the Children and Youth Services Review first special issue on kinship care. That issue was prompted by the large increase in kinship care placements that occurred in the mid-to-later 1980s and the developing research base documenting the relatively new and often controversial practice. Eight years later, state child welfare agencies continue to rely significantly on kin to act as foster parents. Moreover, federal and state policies have added legitimacy and support for kinship care placements. However, when and how kin should be used as foster parents remains an issue of immense debate. This volume adds more fuel to the fire, providing much needed research to inform the debate, yet at the same time raising more questions than it answers.

Combining Abuse and Neglect Investigations With Intensive Family Preservation Services: An Innovative Approach to Protecting Children

Objective: Evaluate an experimental model for enhancing child protective service (CPS) investigations by teaming CPS investigators with family preservation services (FPS) caseworkers. Method: Using a posttest-only experimental design, high priority cases referred to a state child welfare agency for abuse or neglect were randomly assigned to an experimental or control group. During the interval between referral and case determination, families in the experimental group were served by a pair of caseworkers—CPS and FPS—who investigated the allegation and prepared a joint recommendation. Results: When compared 7 months later, families in the experimental group (a) had their children home for a greater percentage of time, (b) used a broader array of services, and (c) were more satisfied. Both CPS and FPS caseworkers felt that (a) better decisions were made, (b) families were strengthened, and (c) job satisfaction was greater. Conclusions: The model was effective and should be implemented on a broader scale.

The Child and Family Service Review: A Framework for Changing Practice

ABSTRACT The Child and Family Service Review, authorized in 1994, is designed to assure positive outcomes for children and families served by state child welfare agencies. The review uses intensive case reviews and structured interviews to evaluate seven outcomes within the three domains of safety, permanency, and child and family well being, and states' performance on systemic factors such as the service array and staff training. The review, guided by the themes of family centered practice, strengthening parental capacity to provide for their children, individualizing services to children and families, and community based services, has the unprecedented opportunity to improve services to children and families and to help states better meet their needs.

Understanding the mental health needs of children and adolescents in residential treatment.

with the penetration of managed care approaches in child welfare, residential treatment services have come under increased scrutiny. In these circumstances it is critical to understand the clinically indicated use of these expensive interventions. As part of a community-reinvestment strategy of reform within a state child welfare agency, a needs-based assessment of children and adolescents was undertaken. A review of cases revealed that although the level of mental health need for many was significant, a substantial proportion of children in residential placement were not at high levels of risk. On the basis of these data, a process of placement review was designed and implemented for more effective use of residential treatment.

Kinship Care and Foster Care: A Comparison of Characteristics and Outcomes

The increase in children entering foster care, together with a range of other political, economic, and social factors, has helped fuel the newest phenomenon in the child welfare system–a substantial proportion of children in formal kinship care. Kinship care is defined as out-of-home placement with relatives of children who are in the custody of state and local child welfare agencies. The authors present a review of previous research and report on a study that examined differences and similarities between kinship and traditional foster care in Baltimore County, Maryland, a suburban county that surrounds the city of Baltimore. This study supports many earlier conclusions concerning kinship care, such as children remain in care longer, caregivers are primarily African American, and services provided by kin are less extensive than those provided by traditional foster parents.

Child protection services and parental reactions to children’s behaviour

A commonly used expression in child protection is the term ‘physical abuse’. This paper consists of a quantitative and qualitative analysis of a 100% sample of ‘physical abuse’ child protection cases drawn from research in an Australian state child welfare agency, which shows that about 90% of these concerned incidents in which parents used physical punishment to control children. Resulting physical harms to children (where they occurred) were generally of a very minor nature. The paper examines these results in the light of research findings in the UK and Australia on patterns of physical punishment used by parents to control children. Such findings suggest that those child rearing practices that make frequent and systematic use of physical punishment are located largely amongst lower social class parents, who believe that such practices are an essential and normal component of effective parenting behaviour. One interpretation of child protection services in respect of these cases is that they are concerned primarily with the normalization of child rearing practices. The paper concludes with a discussion of the limited impact of the Swedish anti‐spanking law of 1979, which appears to have only reduced the use of physical punishment by those parents who may not necessarily have believed in such measures in the first place. However, legislation of this nature has the potential to criminalize a substantial sector of the population, but at least state intervention under the aegis of a specific criminal law provides a clearer mandate than does intervention under much looser, broader and subjectively interpreted child protection legislation.

The Child Welfare Response

Drug-exposed infants are having a profound impact on the child welfare system, increasing both the number of referrals to child protective services and the demand for out-of-home care. These children have created new problems for the child welfare system and exacerbated others. In many cases, already high caseloads have grown even higher. There is also increased uncertainty about appropriate roles for the various child service agencies and how to coordinate their efforts to provide an efficient and timely response. Drug-exposed infants and their families have new types of needs, such as parents’ needs for long-term treatment for drug abuse and addiction and infants’ needs for adequate parenting in a stable environment to overcome the effects of prenatal drug exposure. Meeting the special needs of these families requires new community resources. When these are not available, the requirements of current law cannot be met. This dilemma calls into question the wisdom and practicality of this law. Finally, this article discusses the challenges and the range of in-home and out-of-home service options necessary for an effective child welfare response. T he dramatic increase in the numbers of infants born exposed to drugs and of young children endangered by parental drug and Charlotte McCullough, alcohol dependency has stressed an already overwhelmed child M.Ed., is director of the welfare system. These rising demands, combined with inadequate human Chemical Dependency and fiscal resources, have created a system under siege. Legitimate areas Initiative of Child Welof disagreement, unresolved questions, and ethical and legal dilemmas fare League of America, Inc., Washington, DC. further complicate the situation. We lack clear direction regarding effective prevention and intervention strategies. Our policies for meeting the needs of this growing population need to be examined and improved. A System Forced to Change Again The child welfare system was dramatically altered in 1980 with adoption of P. L. 96272. For the first time, agencies were mandated to focus not only on the safety needs of the child but also on the broader needs of the child within the family. Underlying the law are assumptions that children develop best in their own families and that most families are worth preserving. State child welfare agencies are mandated to make “reasonable efforts” to prevent a child’s placement in foster care and, if foster care is necessary, to make efforts to reunite the family during specified time periods. The juvenile courts are required to determine whether or not the agency has made these efforts. In addition to the federal law, many states have passed their Some material in this article has been adapted with permission of Child Welfare League of America from Crack and Other Addictions: Old Realities and New Challenges for Child Welfare. Copyright 1990 by Child Welfare League of America, Washington, DC. 62 THE FUTURE OF CHILDREN – SPRING 1991 own reasonable efforts requirements, albeit with wide variation in interpretation of the requirements. All have failed to allocate sufficient resources to meet the requirements of the law. Despite inadequate funding, child welfare agency policies and practices have advanced during the past decade. Workers acquired new skills and learned to make more accurate assessments. Families, previously thought to be hopeless, responded to a host of new family support services. The benefit from a policy preference for keeping the family intact seemed to outweigh the risk that in some cases a child would not be removed from his/her family early enough. Through intensive efforts and an attitude of empowerment, workers succeeded in maintaining at-risk children in their own homes. Courts and judges, for the most part, embraced the family focus. Policymakers applauded the results and the potential for containing costs as a result of family preservation techniques. And, most importantly, fewer children were referred unnecessarily to foster care or allowed to drift aimlessly from one placement to another without any efforts to find a permanent home. The numbers of children in the system were gradually but steadily decreasing. This trend towards fewer referrals was dramatically reversed when crack cocaine entered the scene in the late 1980s. The needs of a new generation of drug-exposed infants and of young children at risk of abuse by drug-involved parents forcefully challenged the current system and its laws. Some critics argue that it is time for re-examination and change. Impact of Drugs on the Child Welfare System The impact of drug-exposed children on the child welfare system is great. Referrals to protective services have skyrocketed. The need for out-of-home care has outpaced availability. In addition, cases involving drugs have introduced new needs for both parents and children, as well as new stresses on the child welfare system itself.

Critical competencies in early childhood administration: A national survey

There has been little consensus to date about the skills needed to administer early childhood facilities. A national survey of state education and child welfare agencies attempted to rate competencies.