The effect of paid maternity leave on low-income families' welfare use in the US

Despite the critical role that paid maternity leave can assume in the economic lives of low-income families, research to date has paid insufficient attention to whether paid maternity leave reduces welfare use for low-income families. Using the Current Population Survey (CPS) March Supplement 2007–2014 with the difference-in-difference (DiD) technique, this study finds a significant policy effect of paid maternity leave on reducing the probability of using Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), TANF benefit amounts and TANF participation length. This study confirms that paid maternity leave is likely to prevent low-income families from using welfare during job interruptions stemming from the birth of a child. Given that TANF is often associated with negative political and social connotations, paid maternity leave can be used as an important social policy to improve economic security as well as offer empowerment in overall social standing for low-income mothers. The discussion focuses on the implications of the findings in a broader context of American welfare states.     

Native Hawaiian Families Systemic Disparities in Hawaii's Child Welfare System

This study examined systemic and individual factors that contribute to the disproportionality of Native Hawaiian families in the child welfare system using data from the 2004–2005 Hawaii State Child Welfare Services (N = 1267). Native Hawaiians were found to be more likely to reenter the system and less likely to be re-united with their families even when the type of abuse was less serious. This distinction was identifiable in interaction terms in multivariate analysis. The paper concludes that the child welfare system in Hawaii needs to continue to explore methods to reduce these disparities.     

Noncompletion of Evidence-Based Parent Training: An Empirical Examination Among Families of Children in Foster Care

Child welfare have historically experienced high dropout rates. As evidence-based interventions (EBIs) spread to the child welfare field, treatment noncompletion could interfere with successful outcomes. Using a mixed methods approach, this study investigated the differences between completers and noncompleters, and reasons for treatment noncompletion of an EBI for families of children in foster care. The sample comprised 315 families randomized to receive Parent Management Training, Oregon Model (PMTO). Researchers examined clinicians' discharge notes to explore reasons for noncompletion. Using data collected from a battery of assessments, bivariate logistic regression compared completers and noncompleters on demographics, socioeconomic factors, children's social-emotional functioning, and parents' functioning. About one third of families were noncompleters. Single fathers and parents with lower socioeconomic status were more likely to drop out. By contrast, parents with lower functioning on child behavior and parenting trended toward higher completion rates. Formidable challenges were parental substance abuse and mental illness. Results suggest parent training may require tailoring for specific subgroups and pairing with strategies for enhancing early engagement and reducing treatment barriers. Future research is needed to include parents' views on noncompletion and to more closely examine the influence of specific factors, such as severity of parental mental illness and substance abuse.     

Child Welfare Policy in the United States

Recent developments in child welfare in the United States can be seen as enactments of state paternalism toward families. New programs and procedures in the areas of foster care and “in-home” family services aim to reinforce parents' and childrens' rights, but these rights are typically framed as protections against bureaucratic abuse rather than as rights to basic material resources. The prevailing cultural assumption toward child welfare in the United States is that the government should not intervene in family life unless there is legal evidence of functional failure. Families are still seen as autonomous units that essentially determine their own fates. This ideology serves to limit the public and political perception of more preventive and developmental options.     

Manufacturing ghost fathers: the paradox of father presence and absence in child welfare

Fathers exist in the lives of women and children involved with child welfare authorities, and yet, they are rarely seen by child welfare. This invisibility exists whether or not fathers are deemed as risks or as assets to their families. Using an analysis of fundamental child welfare policies and practices and relevant literature, the paper examines how 'ghost' fathers are manufactured, and how this phenomenon affects families and professionals in child welfare. An analysis of gender, class, race and culture of child welfare discourses shows how these fathers are seen as deviant, dangerous, irresponsible and irrelevant, and even further, how absence in child welfare is inextricably linked to blaming mothers. In failing to work with fathers, child welfare ignores potential risks and assets for both mothers and children.     

A Comparison of Child Fatalities by Physical Abuse Versus Neglect: Child,Family, Service,and Worker Characteristics

ABSTRACT

In the field of child welfare, attention has been given to risk factors for child maltreatment fatalities with little attention to the difference between children who die from abuse versus neglect. As part of a larger study, child welfare workers (n = 104) from 14 different states responded to an anonymous online survey that described the child, family, and case characteristics before death and worker characteristics/experiences before and after death. Results supported that prior to death, neglectful families presented with less risk than abusive families, in the areas of parent–child attachment, child behavior problems, and changes in household composition while reporting that they received more services. With regard to child welfare practice, workers did not report any differences in how they handled cases before death nor did they report differences in their posttraumatic stress symptoms at the time of the survey. These findings can be used as a springboard for future research that focuses on fatal maltreatment.     

A Quantitative Evaluation of the Multi-Disciplinary Approach to Prevention Services (MAPS) Program to Protect Children and Strengthen Families

This article presents the results from an evaluation of a state-funded, prevention-based, pilot program called the Multi-Disciplinary Approach to Prevention Services that was designed to reduce the potential for child abuse and neglect. The program served 64 families of various races and ethnicities over two years. A quantitative pretest–posttest design was used to analyze existing program data related to client outcomes including parenting skills, parenting satisfaction, and the use of non-family resources to assist in improving skills and satisfaction. Means comparisons were used to assess the relationship between three standardized instruments (the Parenting Scale, the Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory and the Kansas Parental Satisfaction Scale). Findings indicated a statistically significant improvement regarding resource engagement by families, parenting behaviors and perceptions, and involvement with Child Protective Services. The results from this study offer insight into how to improve parenting behaviors and increase child protective factors for youth who are at risk of maltreatment. In addition, these findings contribute to strengthen the legitimacy of Weiner's Attribution Theory while providing the social work profession with additional data in areas of research targeting the intersection of financially viable prevention programs, family stability, parental education, resources engagement, and the reduction of child abuse and neglect. If additional research supports the efficacy of prevention programs such as MAPS, funding similar programs could lead to improved parenting and decreases in child maltreatment.     

Combining Work and Family in Two Welfare State Contexts: A Discourse Analytical Perspective

This paper describes and compares the way in which British and Finnish mothers of dual‐career families construct discourses on the work and family interplay. Through this comparison, the paper also considers the presence or visibility of larger welfare state frameworks at the level of the discourse of mothers. The paper argues that, despite the many structural and ideological differences between the British and the Finnish welfare states, mothers living in them often construct their daily lives by using similar discursive frameworks. These discourses are, however, contextualized and interpreted differently. This level of contextualization and interpretation of the discourses is argued to be the stage where the structures and gender constructs of welfare states step in.     

Collaboration and conversations with children in Child Welfare Services —Parents' viewpoint

Collaboration and conversations are important in meeting vulnerable children's needs in the context of Child Welfare Services (CWS). Building on 10 qualitative interviews with parents of children in Norwegian Child Welfare Services, this paper discusses parents' views on collaboration between children and child welfare professionals. The parents stated that a constructive collaborative relationship depends on professionals' attitudes towards the child, their ability to connect with the child and their awareness of how the child's emotions and how the parents influence the child–professional relationship. A collaborative relationship is essential for child welfare professionals to meet the child's needs and to help improve relations between the child and the parents. The parents asked for more collaboration between children and child welfare professionals. The findings call for more discussion of child welfare workers' tasks and competence.     

Maternal Emotion Socialization in Maltreating and Non-maltreating Families: Implications for Children's Emotion Regulation

This study investigated the socialization of children's emotion regulation in physically maltreating and non‐maltreating mother–child dyads (N = 80 dyads). Mother–child dyads participated in the parent–child emotion interaction task ( Shipman & Zeman, 1999 ) in which they talked about emotionally‐arousing situations. The PCEIT was coded for maternal validation and invalidation in response to children's emotion. Mothers were also interviewed about their approach to emotion socialization using the meta‐emotion interview‐parent version ( Katz & Gottman, 1999 ). The meta‐emotion interview‐parent version was coded for maternal emotion coaching. Mothers also completed measures that assessed their child abuse potential and abuse‐related behaviors as well as children's emotion regulation. Findings indicated that maltreated children demonstrated fewer adaptive emotion regulation skills and more emotion dysregulation than non‐maltreated children. In addition, maltreating mothers engaged in less validation and emotion coaching and more invalidation in response to children's emotion than non‐maltreating mothers. Finally, maternal emotion socialization behaviors mediated the relation between maltreatment status and children's adaptive emotion regulation skills.     

Essential Partnership: Child Welfare Officers’ Perceptions of Cooperation With Rabbis in the Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Community in Israel

ABSTRACT

This article describes collaborations between child welfare officers and rabbis in an ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in Israel. The study is based on interviews with 10 child welfare officers who intervene in ultra-Orthodox communities. The analysis of the interviews showed that cooperation with the rabbis was essential for reducing the community's hostile resistance to interventions by the child welfare officers, who were perceived as threatening to community values. On the other hand, the child welfare officers had to cope with conflicts between religious values, the law, and professional perceptions. The discussion of the findings highlights the need for understanding the cooperation in terms of boundaries and power. Future research is needed to explore further the issues raised from the perspectives of the rabbis and the families involved.     

‘I want to be better than you:’ lived experiences of intergenerational child maltreatment prevention among teenage mothers in and beyond foster care

The growing body of research on teenage motherhood in foster care has largely focused on the risks involved for both mother and child, yet these mothers depict a much more complex picture of their own experience of becoming and being mothers. The current study employed interpretative phenomenological analysis to explore 18 in‐depth, qualitative interviews from six participants on the meaning and experience of motherhood among teenage mothers in foster care and in the years immediately after ageing out. This study focused on a particular dimension of motherhood: participants' efforts to break the cycle of child abuse and neglect with their own children. Two themes emerged as characteristic of these experiences: (i) treating children well/parenting differently and avoiding the system; and (ii) reducing isolation and enhancing support. Given the increased likelihood of the children of teen mothers – particularly those who have been maltreated – becoming involved with the child welfare system, study findings suggest possible strategies for disrupting cycles of intergenerational child welfare involvement generated by young mothers themselves. Practice implications for addressing possible substance abuse, mental health and relational and parenting needs are discussed.     

Child welfare policy and services in Korea

Over the past 20 years, the Korean government has developed child welfare laws to respond to an increasing number of child maltreatment cases and create a centralized child welfare delivery system. However, the system remains fragmented and under-developed due to a lack of understanding of child maltreatment and limited government support. Further, few studies have comprehensively reviewed the system. This study examines the Korean child welfare system, identifies challenges for child welfare policies and services, and discusses the implications for future policy; the results can be used to improve the safety, permanency, and well-being of children and families in Korea. The analysis shows that the government has prioritized family preservation over removal from families, even in substantiated cases of abuse. However, ensuring the safety of children in Korea will require not only working to preserve families but also developing and implementing better options for in-home services and out-of-home placement.     

Double jeopardy: the link between child abuse and maternal depression in child and family social work

The link between child care and mental health problems in social work clients has begun to attract some attention. Despite some review articles, research is, as yet, at a very early stage of development. Maternal depression and child care problems in particular appear likely to be closely associated. This paper focuses on the link between maternal depression and the most severe of child care problems: child abuse. The paper shows a significant relationship between maternal depression and child abuse. It explores this relationship by distinguishing three groups: families where no abuse had occurred (non abuse families), families where abuse had occurred but where the mother was not depressed (non depressed-abuse group) and families where both child abuse and maternal depression were present (depressed-abuse group). The depressed-abuse group are shown to be considerably worse off than both the other groups for a range of measures, including indices of deprivation and range and severity of social problems. The depressed-abuse group were also more chronic users of services and consumed far more resources than the other two groups. Remarkably, there were few differences between the non abuse group and the non depressed abuse group in nature and severity of problems and intervention. Depression in mothers, then, provides the major distinction between families where abuse was an issue compared with families where abuse was not present. Such families are characterized not simply by maternal depression and child abuse, but frequently by abuse of the mother herself, who is often socially isolated. These findings are of major importance for child care practice, indicating that working with the mother's depression and the social conditions that provide its backdrop, are a major aspect of social work practice.     

Between the maternal and the professional: the impact of being a child welfare officer on motherhood

Child welfare officers experience stress from exposure to child neglect and abuse and the burden of responsibility for children's well‐being. This qualitative study addresses the question: How do social workers who are child welfare officers perceive and cope with the influence of their professional occupation on their relationships with their own children? The research is based on in‐depth interviews with a purposive sample of 10 child welfare workers who are mothers (of 2–4 children aged 2–23 years). The data analysis illustrates how the professional identity and the maternal identity of the child welfare officer fluctuate between two positions. The first is ‘anxious motherhood’ in which anxiety is the prism through which the welfare officer views the world as dangerous for her children, stimulating protective, control‐enhancing actions. The second position is reflective motherhood in which the welfare worker struggles with her own stresses and conflicts as a mother and searches for an experience of meaningful, positive motherhood. The findings reinforce the need to raise the consciousness of child welfare officers regarding the impact of encountering distress and trauma on their own well‐being as parents. In this way, they can prevent secondary traumatization and enhance professional and maternal growth.     

Engagement strategies and change: an intentional practice response for the child welfare worker in cases of domestic violence

In order to engage mothers who are victims of domestic abuse, the child welfare worker needs to be challenged to develop an intentional practice response that includes knowledge and skill concerning the complexities of domestic violence, as well as the process of change. Developing a supportive relationship, understanding the stages of change (SOC) and engaging mothers as leaders in the change process are essential to successful child protection outcomes. Within the context of the SOC model, this practice‐based paper focuses on the importance of engaging mothers who are victims of domestic violence in conversations about their own unique dilemmas, challenges and barriers regarding change. Through the inclusion of engagement strategies such as signs of safety, active listening and cost/benefit analysis, in concert with the SOC theory, the child welfare worker would be equipped with an approach to successfully assist mothers through their change journey, ultimately keeping children safe.     

A Comparison of Subsidized Guardianship and Child Welfare Adoptive Families Served by the Illinois Adoption and Guardianship Preservation Program

Abstract

This study compares the outcomes of 113 subsidized guardianship families and 733 child welfare adoptive families served by a therapeutic counseling program for adoptive/guardianship families at risk of child placement or dissolution. No significant differences are found in the percentage of children in placement at the end of services or the level or parental commitment to their children. Children in subsidized guardianship families are more likely to be minority children who are older at removal from their birth families and at placement with their current families. Also they are less likely to have a history of abuse than children in adoptive families.     

Family support services buffer the effect of child welfare notifications on child removals

Previous studies have found mixed results about the effects of family support services within the child protection system. The purpose of the study is to examine whether family support services are associated with the need for child removals at the community level. The material of the study consists of Finnish municipalities (N = 292) and their child protection indicators. Linear regression analysis was conducted to analyse the associations between the dependent variable (child removals) and the main predictors (child welfare notifications and family support services). It was found that family support services are associated with child removals. The more children there are in family support services, the more there are also child removals in a municipality. The key finding of the analysis is that a higher rather than lower proportion of clients in family support services buffers the increased effect of demand (child welfare notifications) on child removals better. In this sense, the demand for child removals is not only associated with the characteristics of children and families but may be partly explained by the role of family support services in a municipality. The present study underlines the significance of a system-level approach to child protection.     

Evaluating SafeCare® in Israel: Benefits for the families

SafeCare® is a home‐based intervention programme targeting parents of children up to 5 years old and is designed to reduce and even prevent child abuse and neglect. Here, we present an evaluation of a pilot trial of SafeCare® in Israel, examining family's outcomes. We examined parents' behavioural changes resulting from the three main modules of SafeCare®: the Health, Safety, and Parent‐Child/Infant Interaction. We also studied the unplanned effects of SafeCare® by examining maternal depressive symptoms. Participants were 46 mothers with children identified as being at risk of neglect by the local Department of Social Services who completed the programme. The mothers filled out questionnaires at the beginning and at the end of their participation. After completing the programme, mothers' self‐reports showed changes in how they would treat a sick child, an increase in feelings of competency, and a decline in symptoms of depression. We thus conclude that SafeCare® helped the participating mothers, enhancing their feelings of competency and changing several of their behaviours.     

“She was accused of colluding with the mother”; the training and support needs of parent‐and‐child foster carers: A qualitative study

Parent‐and‐child foster placements are used to accommodate parents with their children, either when the mother is a looked‐after child or as a setting for a parenting assessment. Despite this being a specialized role with significant potential for affecting outcomes for disadvantaged families, there is currently a lack of accessible learning opportunities for foster carers on the physical and mental well‐being of women with complex needs such as a history of domestic abuse, substance abuse, perinatal mental ill‐health, or having a learning disability. Parent‐and‐child carers experience some unique stresses and value the support of others with similar experiences; this kind of peer support is currently largely absent. This qualitative study has used ten focus groups with foster carers, eight interviews with mothers, and nine interviews with supervising social workers, to inform the development of an online learning resource and a social media‐based peer support network for parent‐and‐child foster carers.