Mothers matter: A feminist perspective on child welfare-involved women

ABSTRACT

Mothers involved in child welfare services are often marginalized and misunderstood while the system focuses on protecting their children. These women are mothering within a context of poverty, violence, addictions, and racism, leaving them with minimal resources and supports. Using a feminist perspective, this article seeks to shift the common perception that children must always be regarded as needing to be protected from these mothers. Rather, a richer understanding of these women and more focus on attending to their needs may provide an added measure of safety and security for their children. An appreciation for the relationships central to these women’s experiences can provide child welfare workers with the ability to create strong working alliances and move families toward safe reunification.     

Best Practices in the Treatment of Substance-Abusing Women in the Child Welfare System

ABSTRACT

This paper reviews the literature on women's chemical dependency and its effects on their children. Many risk factors (e.g., a history of traumatic exposure) and consequences (interference with parenting) of substance abuse are unique for women, giving rise to special treatment needs of substance-abusing women with children. Substance-abusing mothers also experience unique barriers to receiving the services they need to recover, such as absence of child care and lack of gender-specific treatment in their communities. Model programs are described and recommendations are offered for best treatment practices for women with chemical dependency who present in the child welfare system.     

Welfare Status and Child Care as Obstacles to Full-Time Work for Low-Income Mothers

SUMMARY

In this study, we use new data from the Philadelphia Survey of Child Care and Work to expand on previous analyses: we include child care problems as a work obstacle, and we analyze both current welfare recipients and non-welfare “working poor” mothers. Results show that two main obstacles have a large impact on full-time work: poor mental health and child care problems. Net of other factors, mothers with severe child care problems are 22 percent less likely to work full time. Dividing the sample by welfare status, we find a child care problems effect for both groups. Among welfare recipients, the gap in full-time work between those with severe child care problems and those without is 30 percent. Among the working poor, child care problems reduce the chance of full-time work by about 18 percent. Our findings show that improving mothers' child care situation can significantly improve their ability to support their families.     

Characteristics of Sexually Abused Children and Their Nonoffending Mothers Followed by Child Welfare Services: The Role of a Maternal History of Child Sexual Abuse

Considering the importance of mother’s support in the adaptation of a sexually abused child, it is relevant to determine if the mothers and children involved in an intergenerational cycle of child sexual victimization differ from dyads in which only the child has been abused. The purpose of this study was to compare mother–child dyads with sexually abused children according to whether the mother had herself been victim of child sexual abuse. The sample included 87 dyads with sexually abused children aged 3–18 years old and their mothers (44 reporting maternal and child abuse), followed by social welfare services of the province of Quebec (Canada). The two groups of mothers were compared on their past family abuse experiences and past family relations, their mental health history, their current psychological distress, their parenting behaviors, and their current levels of family functioning. Children were compared on their adaptation. Multivariate analyses indicated that mothers reporting child sexual abuse were more likely to report more other maltreatments in their childhood and greater prevalence of lifetime history of alcohol abuse disorders, dysthymia, and panic disorder compared with mothers who had not experienced CSA. Compared to children whose mothers had not experienced CSA, those whose mothers had experienced CSA showed higher rates of problems behaviors and were more likely to report having been sexually abused by a trusted person. These results highlight the specific clinical needs for the assessment and treatment for sexually abused children whose mothers experienced child sexual abuse.     

Child Welfare and Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment (AOD): Bridging the Gap to Comprehensive Services

ABSTRACT

Chemical addiction is a significant factor in child abuse and neglect (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [DHHS], 1999). Although research has indicated that an alliance between the child welfare and alcohol and other drugs (AOD) treatment fields is the best way to effectively address chemical addiction within families, collaboration has not generally been established. The lack of collaborative relationships between the child welfare and AOD fields can be attributed to a number of different factors. Similarities in proposed interventions for collaborative efforts between AOD treatment and child welfare agencies can be found throughout the literature. The establishment of a truly collaborative partnership between AOD treatment and the child welfare system is a necessary step towards achievement of functional and healthy families, a goal common to both disciplines.     

Child Support Obligations and Low‐Income Fathers

Using the 1994–1998 waves of the Current Population Survey—Child Support Supplement (N =5,387), the aims of this study are to document child support obligation rates of nonresident fathers, to examine the effect of the obligation rate on child support compliance, and to calculate the trade‐off between fathers’ financial responsibility and children's well‐being, paying particular attention to low‐income fathers. The results indicate that low‐income fathers have high child support obligation rates, which significantly reduce their child support compliance. Although lowering the obligation rate for these fathers may improve their compliance, it does not fully offset the lowered obligation amounts and leads to a 30% net payment loss for welfare mothers and a 43% loss for nonwelfare mothers. Policy implications are discussed.     

Reunifying Families Affected by Maternal Substance Abuse: Consumer and Service Provider Perspectives on the Obstacles and the Need for Change

ABSTRACT

This paper presents the findings of a qualitative study which examined the views of chemically dependent mothers, child welfare service providers and substance abuse service providers regarding the obstacles to family reunification and recommendations for change. Implications for practice, policy and research are discussed, with special reference to the mandates of the Adoption and Safe Families Act.     

Silver Bullets and Quick Fixes

Abstract

Important lessons in policy implementation are available to welfare reformers who closely examine the case of the child welfare sys tem. Similarities exist between the Personal Responsibility and Work Op portunity Act of 1996 and the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980. While substantively the two pieces are very different, current wel fare reform efforts are likely to repeat mistakes made by those implement ing child welfare system reforms in the 1980s and 1990s. Four factors threaten the success of reforms: The vagueness of language; the search for one single solution for all families; insistence on defining the complexity of family problems in extremely narrow terms; and the excessive bureaucrati- zation of service delivery. Policymakers are cautioned to look toward re cent innovations in child welfare for guidance instead of inadvertently repeating missteps.     

Understanding dissociation in relation to child trauma,mental health needs,and intensity of services in child welfare: A possible missing link

Abstract

While there is limited research on the role of dissociation among children and adolescents, emerging evidence links child trauma history, dissociation, risk behaviors, and other negative outcomes among youth. This study examined dissociation in relation to mental health needs and intensity of services among a large sample of youth in Illinois child welfare, upon entry into care and in residential treatment settings. The Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS), a comprehensive, trauma-informed assessment strategy and information integration/planning tool was the primary measure. This study included two overall samples of child welfare-involved youth, ages 3–18: at entry into care (N?=?27,737) and in residential treatment (N?=?5,758). Findings indicated that rates of clinically significant dissociation were generally highest among younger youth (under age 14) and among youth with more cumulative and severe trauma. Dissociative youth were significantly more likely to exhibit several risk behaviors (e.g., fire setting and self-harm) and mental health symptoms (e.g., psychosis and somatization). Those youth with significant dissociation at entry into care were more likely to be psychiatrically hospitalized, placed into residential treatment, with greater likelihood of placement disruptions within the 2 years following entry into care. Implications of these findings are discussed in terms of the value of identifying and assessing dissociation and other trauma-related symptoms that may be less recognized but can be linked to high-risk behaviors and other negative outcomes within child welfare and across child-serving systems. Understanding dissociation may be an important component of training, service/treatment planning, and clinical care within child-serving systems.     

Child Care and Work Absences: Trade‐Offs by Type of Care

Parents face a trade‐off in the effect of child‐care problems on employment. Whereas large settings may increase problems because of child illness, small group care may relate to provider unavailability. Analyzing the NICHD Study of Early Child Care, we find that child‐care centers and large family day care lead to mothers’ greater work absences because of a sick child, but not to maternal job exits. Greater work absences because of unavailability of small home‐based providers are associated with mothers’ job exits, especially when mothers have low earnings and use nonrelative caregivers. Our findings accentuate the need for improved hygiene practices in child care, expanded personal leave coverage for parents, and greater backup care for sick and well children.     

The Ability of Women to Repay Debt After Divorce

SUMMARY

This study uses questions on household repayment problems from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics to examine how the transition from marriage to divorce affects default rates by gender. The results show that divorced women are more likely to have repayment problems than divorced men and married-couple households. Further analysis reveals that divorced women who are receiving welfare are significantly less likely to default. Because average welfare benefits decreased in the early 1990s, the results suggest that this decrease provides a partial explanation for why the default rate increased between 1991 and 1995 for divorced women. The effect of welfare on the default rates of divorced men and married couples is insignificant. And there is no evidence that receiving child support and alimony payments significantly affects the probability of default.     

Sharing the Baton,Not Passing It: Collaboration between Public and Private Child Welfare Agencies to Reunify Families

ABSTRACT

Increasingly, public sector child welfare agencies are contracting with private agencies for the provision of specialized services to clients while maintaining oversight and case management responsibilities. At the same time, funders, both private and public, are demanding that service providers partner and collaborate with one another. In this article, we present results from a study of a unique partnership between two state child welfare agencies and a private child welfare agency aimed at reunifying families whose children have been removed and placed in foster care. Data was obtained from 41 key informants using a questionnaire and a structured interview. Findings support earlier studies of collaboration, and indicate the strengths of this partnership and factors that facilitated and hindered it. The results have implications for agencies that both contract for and provide a range of child welfare services as well as other interagency relationships.     

Baseline Characteristics of Dependent Youth Who Have Been Commercially Sexually Exploited: Findings From a Specialized Treatment Program

ABSTRACT

Commercial sexual exploitation of children has emerged as a critical issue within child welfare, but little is currently known about this population or effective treatment approaches to address their unique needs. Children in foster care and runaways are reported to be vulnerable to exploitation because they frequently have unmet needs for family relationships, and they have had inadequate supervision and histories of trauma of which traffickers take advantage. The current article presents data on the demographic characteristics, trauma history, mental and behavioral health needs, physical health needs, and strengths collected on a sample of 87 commercially sexually exploited youth. These youth were served in a specialized treatment program in Miami-Dade County, Florida, for exploited youth involved with the child welfare system. Findings revealed that the youth in this study have high rates of previous sexual abuse (86% of the youth) and other traumatic experiences prior to their exploitation. Youth also exhibited considerable mental and behavioral health needs. Given that few programs emphasize the unique needs of children who have been sexually exploited, recommendations are offered for providing a continuum of specialized housing and treatment services to meet the needs of sexually exploited youth, based on the authors’ experiences working with this population.     

Successful,sustainable? Facilitating the growth of family group conferencing in Canada

ABSTRACT

Family-centered approaches offer significant promise regarding the enhancement of child and family safety. Child protection workers find value in working alongside families, whereas families appreciate having a voice in decision-making processes. The introduction of Family Group Conferencing (FGC) in New Zealand in 1989 prompted the exploration of family partnership options internationally. This study, focusing on Ontario, Canada, examines the expansion of FGC from a local pilot in 1998 to a current province-wide initiative. The internal and external factors that have promoted and inhibited change were investigated. Interviews and a focus group were used to elicit the perspectives of Alternative Dispute managers and key informants. Participants concluded that the FGC program has been successful as a result of multilevel and multipronged change efforts. However, the long-term viability remains in question, primarily because of unstable funding and uneven buy-in, on provincial levels and within child welfare agencies. To ensure sustainability current strengths should be built upon, employing the same intentional, strategic planning that characterized the introduction of FGC into the province. The Ontario experience provides pointers for interested parties wishing to embed FGC and other family-centered approaches in daily child welfare practice.     

Mothers’ Parenting Stress and Engagement: Mediating Role of Parental Competence

ABSTRACT

Guided by role-strain theory and the spillover hypothesis, this study used data (n = 2,637) from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study to examine the link between mothers’ parenting stress, perceived parental competence, and parental engagement when the child was age 1, 3, and 5, respectively. Analyses were based on a multiple-sample path analysis that tested direct and indirect effects for mothers of biologically intact and nonintact families. Mothers who reported higher levels of parenting stress at child age 1 experienced lower levels of perceived parental competence at child age 3. Higher levels of perceived parental competence at child age 3 predicted increased mother–child engagement levels at child age 5. Test of indirect effects confirmed that perceived parental competence mediated the relationship between parenting stress and parental engagement for mothers of intact and nonintact families. Implications are discussed.     

Abusers gaining custody in family courts: A case series of over turned decisions

Abstract

This article presents findings and recommendations based on an in-depth examination of records from 27 custody cases from across the United States. The goal of this case series was to determine why family courts may place children with a parent that the child alleges abused them rather than with the nonoffending parent. We focused on “turned around cases” involving allegations of child abuse that were at first viewed as false and later judged to be valid. The average time a child spent in the court ordered custody of an abusive parent was 3.2?years. In all cases we uncovered the father was the abusive parent and the mother sought to protect their child. Results revealed that initially courts were highly suspicious of mothers' motives for being concerned with abuse. These mothers were often treated poorly and two-thirds of the mothers were pathologized by the court for advocating for the safety of their children. Judges who initially ordered children into custody or visitation with abusive parents relied mainly on reports by custody evaluators and guardians ad litem who mistakenly accused mothers of attempting to alienate their children from the father or having coached the child to falsely report abuse. As a result, 59% of perpetrators were given sole custody and the rest were given joint custody or unsupervised visitation. After failing to be protected in the first custody determination, 88% of children reported new incidents of abuse. The abuse often became increasingly severe and the children's mental and physical health frequently deteriorated. The main reason that cases turned around was because protective parents were able to present compelling evidence of the abuse and back the evidence up with reports by mental health professionals who had specific expertise in child abuse rather than merely custody assessment.     

Preparing Students for Public Child Welfare

Summary

Universities across the nation are attempting to increase the number of workers employed in child welfare, but thus far there has not been a systematic evaluation effort of these university/agency partnerships. This article addresses evaluation strategies and issues for preparing students for public child welfare by identifying eight beginning steps for university/agency partnerships to consider in developing an evaluation plan. Following the identification of the eight steps, the authors discuss key issues involved in evaluating university/agency child welfare partnerships and suggest recommendations for the future.     

The California Collaboration

Summary

This article documents the Title IV-E child welfare social work project of the California Social Work Education Center (CalS WEC): The establishment and ongoing support of collaborative arrangements among 58 California counties, the California State Department of Social Services, and all of the California graduate social work schools. The primary goal of this collaboration is to produce MS Ws who will commit to helping disadvantaged children and families in publicly supported child welfare services. The project model contains five interdependent components: a competency-based curriculum, financial support for students, development of instructional materials, active participation among public child welfare agencies and the universities, and evaluation.

This paper focuses on the collaborative curriculum development process. Evolving arrangements among stakeholders are described here in terms of the reciprocal adjustment of curriculum development and field and classroom instruction to prepare MSWs for public child welfare careers.     

Child protection pathways for newborn infants: A multi-disciplinary retrospective chart review of an Irish maternity hospital’s records

In Ireland, little is known about mothers and infants where child welfare and protection concerns arise during the perinatal period. This study explores, for the first time, perinatal child protection. A retrospective audit was carried out of a large maternity hospital's medical social work, neonatal and psychiatric files for a five-year period from 2016 to 2020. The study identified 99 children, born to 86 mothers, who were either subject to a child protection conference; placed for adoption; discharged to someone other than the mother; or discharged home under supervision. The study found that two-thirds of the children were discharged to their mother's care. When compared to national data, the health indicators for this cohort of mothers and children painted a grim picture. The maternal profiles identified high prevalence of mental health and addiction difficulties and domestic violence. The study found evidence of supports provided to the mothers to enable them to care for their infants while they remained in the hospital and during an initial discharge from hospital. However, a significant number of the mothers were not caring for their children when viewed across a longer time frame. Dedicated multi-disciplinary clinics and improved data systems were identified as of importance.