Shredding the Safety Net

Abstract

Recent federal legislation bans receipt of cash and food assistance to individuals convicted of a drug felony. This study examines the different definitions and methodologies used in estimating substance abuse among welfare recipients. It then analyzes a stratified sample of predominantly low-income young mothers on the basis of welfare receipt and consequences associated with alcohol and drug use. Results indicate that young mothers who received welfare for more than two years had lower reported drug use consequences than mothers who never used welfare or relied on it for a period of less than two years. Variables measuring consequences of drug use were not found to mediate length of time on welfare.     

Childhood Sexual Abuse and Drug Use Among Low-Income Urban Puerto Rican Women

SUMMARY

This study examines the relationship between childhood sexual abuse and adult drug use among low-income urban Puerto Rican women. Interviews were conducted with 718 women, 408 involved in drug use and a comparison group of 310 non drug-users. Results demonstrate a strong association between childhood sexual abuse and adult drug use. The impact of childhood sexual abuse was greater for women reporting greater abuse severity, abuse by a family member, and increased abuse duration. Findings support a direct effects model of childhood sexual abuse on adult drug use. The increased rates of drug use among victims of childhood sexual abuse did not appear to be mediated by other childhood maltreatment or family background factors. Implications for practice and research are discussed.     

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.     

Battered Immigrant Mexican Women's Perspectives Regarding Abuse and Help-Seeking

SUMMARY

A qualitative, pilot study employing in-depth ethno-graphic interviews was conducted to examine perceptions and attitudes towards abuse and the help-seeking behaviors of a sample of ten battered immigrant Mexican women. Findings indicated that participants' attitudes about seeking help were influenced more by cultural factors (e.g., gender-role expectations, famialism) than by psycho-social stres-sors (e.g., immigrant status, financial dependency). Children's welfare played a salient role in women's decisions about seeking help, both as a deterrent and a motivating factor. Women's attitudes about their own abuse were more tolerant than their attitudes about hypothetical situations involving others. Changes in women's attitudes about abuse reflected changes only after some type of intervention had taken place. The majority of the women in the sample had misconceptions or were uninformed about shelters. Suggestions for further research and intervention with this population and a model of internal and external determinants of help-seeking behavior are presented.     

“Welfare Mother” Activism,Mainstream Feminism,and the Cunning of History in Ontario’s 1970s Welfare Debate

ABSTRACT

This article examines the voice of mobilized welfare mothers and the mainstream women’s movement in the welfare debate of the 1970s in Ontario. A question debated was whether welfare mothers had a right to “stay home” while receiving welfare. The article shows that a radical strain of welfare mother activists at this time demanded recognition of women’s unpaid work. While mainstream women’s groups were generally sympathetic to welfare mothers, their overriding focus on employability as the solution to their poverty served to derail the radical possibilities of welfare mother politics and solidify a policy agenda that undermined the deserving status of welfare mothers.     

Kinship Care: Analysis of the Health and Well-Being of Grandfathers Raising Grandchildren Using the Grandparent Assessment Tool and the Medical Outcomes Trust SF-36 TM Health Survey

ABSTRACT

As more and more children are being separated from their biological parents because of AIDS, substance abuse, mental and physical illness, incarceration, and child abuse and neglect, child welfare agencies are relying more often on kinship care as a viable option for out-of-home placements. In many cases, kinship care falls on the grandparents. While keeping children within their families is generally viewed as preferable by child welfare agencies, it can be a burden on grandparent caregivers, who often exist on severely limited incomes and without much assistance or support from social service agencies. A research project was conducted which used both quantitative and qualitative data from research conducted by Jones and Gibbons (2000) on grandparent care, but this study focuses on the experiences of grandfathers who participated in the project and examines their outcomes in several different areas.     

Building Trauma Informed Practice: Appreciating the Impact of Trauma in the Lives of Women with Substance Abuse and Mental Health Problems

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the lifetime interpersonal abuse experienced by a substance abuse treatment sample of 1,955 women with co-occurring disorders. Substantial rates of intimate and community-based interpersonal abuse and other life stressors are documented. Regression analysis shows that while trauma severity is significantly related to trauma distress, its impact on psychological symptom distress and drug severity is quite modest. The implementation of a trauma informed approach featuring trauma-specific treatment, service integration and consumer empowerment is described as a promising practice model for assisting women seeking help in substance abuse treatment programs.     

Visibility Blues: Gender Issues in Elder Abuse in Institutional Settings

ABSTRACT

This article argues that elder abuse in institutional as opposed to domestic settings remains invisible because institutions for elders are mainly all-female spaces where ageism and sexism converge and clients and workers are economically and socially disadvantaged. A general culture of violence that increasingly legitimates the everydayness of abuse and that conforms to dominant gender stereotypes refuses to investigate abuse of women by women. Research is needed into the different kinds of abuse committed in institutional settings by women. Staff and clients need to be enabled to report abuse and effective measures for combating it put in place.     

Understanding Chinese Battered Women in North America

SUMMARY

Spouse abuse is an ignored, invisible, but significant problem in the Chinese community. This paper describes the experience of Chinese battered women in North America and provides suggestions for culturally sensitive and competent interventions for them. The discussion is based on an extensive review of the literature regarding Chinese battered women. In understanding the experience of Chinese battered women and their strategic responses to the abuse, helping professionals are urged to consider cultural, contextual, as well as individual factors including family dynamics. A three-tier model of intervention for treatment of spouse abuse in the Chinese community is proposed that targets the individual battered women, the family system, and the larger community.     

Trends in infants reported to child welfare with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS)

BackgroundSubstance abuse among caregivers is a known risk factor for child maltreatment, and some of these children subsequently come to the attention of the child welfare system. The recent opioid epidemic has led to rising numbers of women who use opioids during pregnancy and infants born with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), raising the question of whether there has been a consequent rise in the numbers of these infants reported to the child welfare system. The purpose of this study is to examine the trend in the number and percentage of infants reported to the child welfare system with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) from 2004 to 2014, and determine whether the trend is distinct from the trend in the percentage of infants reported with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD).MethodsWe analyzed National Child Abuse & Neglect Data System (NCANDS) data on reports of infants (aged <1 year) with NAS between 2004 and 2014. Due to state differences in data collection and data quality across the study period, the sample included reports from 10 states. We utilized a Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) model approach to examine the trend over time in the percentage of NAS and FASD cases reported to child welfare in our 10 state sample. Year was used as an identifying variable and Substance Type was repeated over time and clustered by State.ResultsThe number of reports of infants with NAS for the 10 states was the lowest at 3073 in 2009 and highest at 4806 in 2014. The average percentage of cases of NAS reported rose from 4.72% in 2004 to 9.19% in 2014. The results of the GEE revealed a significant main effect of Substance Type (p = 0.015) and Year (p = 0.009), indicating that overall, averaged across time, the percentage of NAS reports was greater than the percentage of FASD reports and averaged across substance type, the percentage of substance-related reports increased over time.DiscussionNAS reports increased significantly over time, most pronounced between 2010 and 2014, while the trend for FASD reports did not show significant change over the study period. Moreover, the child welfare reports data obtained from the 10 state sample aligned with national NAS incidence data. Although recent efforts to curb prescribing and other means of supply have been implemented, it remains to be seen whether the large rise seen will continue or be ameliorated by these public health initiatives. However, overall these findings suggest that immediate efforts are needed to prepare the child welfare system for this trend, as well as to treat opioid addiction among women of child bearing age.     

A Family Perspective for Substance Abuse: Implications from the Literature

SUMMARY

This paper calls for researchers and treatment providers to increase their recognition of the role that family and family functioning has for understanding the incidence and impact of substance abuse. Substance abuse is identified as a family problem by exploring its occurrence within families as well as its impact on marital relationship, family violence, and child abuse and neglect. The impact of substance abuse on the roles of spouses and parents are examined, as is the impact of substance abuse on children at various developmental stages. The role of the family as participant in active substance abuse as well as a valuable treatment resource is also explored. Finally, the authors present recommendations for increasing the focus on family in substance abuse research.     

Delineating disproportionality and disparity of Asian-Canadian versus White-Canadian families in the child welfare system

ObjectiveThis paper builds upon the analyses presented in three companion papers using data from the 2003 and 2008 cycles of the Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (CIS-2003 and CIS-2008) and the Ontario Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (OCANDS) to examine disproportionality and disparity of child welfare involvement for Asian-Canadian children involved in the child welfare system.MethodsThis study used CIS-2008 data adjusted by Census child population data to examine rates per 1000 and three disparity indexes (population-based disparity index [PDI], decision-based disparity index [DDI], and maltreatment-based disparity index [MDI]) to determine the representation of child maltreatment investigations for Asian-Canadian versus White-Canadian children involved in the child welfare system. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine the odds of case closure for substantiated child maltreatment investigations, and whether Asian ethnicity remained significant while controlling for child demographics and household composition, case characteristics, and clinical concerns.ResultsThis study found that Asian-Canadian children were underrepresented in the child welfare system compared to White-Canadian children (13.9 per 1000 Asian children in the Canadian population vs. 36.1 per 1000 White children in the Canadian population). Child welfare involvement for Asian-Canadian children are almost 2 times more likely to close after an investigation than White-Canadian children. The three disparity indexes (PDI, DDI, MDI) showed substantially different results with respect to the representation of child maltreatment investigations involving Asian-Canadian versus White-Canadian children for physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, emotional maltreatment, and exposure to domestic violence.ConclusionsDisproportionality and disparity are complex phenomena. The variation in results derived from different methods of calculating representation suggests the need for greater clarity and consistency in the definitions and methodology in examining racial disparity in child welfare research. Some methodological considerations for future child welfare research with Asian-Canadian populations were discussed.     

Social Workers’ Preparation for Child Protection: Revisiting the Question of Specialisation

Abstract

Child welfare work is a key field of practice for social work graduates and for graduates of a growing range of disciplines. In the present paper, the authors drew on a survey of 208 child welfare workers and interviews with 28 senior personnel in child and family welfare agencies to analyse perceptions of the educational preparation of social workers and other human science graduates for this field of practice. The findings indicated that child welfare workers and employers are ambivalent about the value of social work and other generic social science and human services programmes as preparation for tertiary or statutory child protection practice, which involves investigation, assessment, and intervention in child abuse and neglect. The authors argue that the social work profession must better balance generic and specialist aspects to prepare graduates for practice in specialist fields of high social work involvement, particularly in tertiary child protection work.     

Economic Resources and Woman Abuse

Abstract

Secondary data analyses of the 1999 National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) were conducted to examine relationships between economic resources and woman abuse among subsamples of African American, Hispanic and White women. Logistic analyses indicated that associations vary, not only along racial and ethnic lines, but also by type of woman abuse. None of the economic resources were associated with woman abuse for the Hispanic women. Employment status and education attainment were the strongest predictors of abuse among the African American and White women. Adding marital status and age into the models had significant impact on the previous associations.     

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.     

Partner Abuse Among Women Whose Children Have Been Sexually Abused: An Exploratory Study

ABSTRACT

To explore partner abuse among women in families in which a child has disclosed sexual abuse, 102 mothers completed a measure of partner abuse and the Coping Responses Inventory. Results suggest that, like women in the general population, mothers of children who have been sexually abused have often experienced partner abuse. As expected, physical abuse in a current relationship was found to be related to the use of avoidance strategies in dealing with the sexual abuse disclosure. The implications for practitioners and for future research are discussed.     

Common and Specific Learnings for a Graduate of a School of Social Work

Abstract

Developing new scholarship on women is a recognized need in social work education. It can be furthered by applying a “gender lens” to the knowledge of the relationship between women and the welfare state. Reflecting historical concerns about providing public aid to the able-bodied male pauper and the impact of relief on the work ethic, social welfare literature has focused on male recipients while generalizing its findings to women. As a result, the story of the female pauper remains largely untold. This paper suggests that the relationship between women and the welfare state is shaped by a “family ethic” that in many ways parallels the work ethic known to shape the relationship between the welfare state and men. The family ethic is defined and applied to major income maintenance programs: public aid and social security. This article suggests foci for change.     

Tension and Conflict Factors in Second Marriages as Causes of Abuse Between Elderly Spouses

ABSTRACT

Data for the present research was derived from a pilot study on elder abuse by family members. The pilot study, conducted between 1996–98, is the first of its kind in Israel. From a population of 270 elders, who were identified by welfare and health professionals as victims of abuse by family members, 12 persons who had remarried after the death of a spouse were selected as subjects for an in-depth qualitative study. The research aimed at examining the reasons for abuse through the reports of the victims, comparing their experience to second marriages where spouse abuse was not detected. The findings showed that the decision to establish joint residence, financial arrangements (money management, wills and bequests), issues of power and control, and memories of the deceased spouse are the primary factors for abuse in these second marriages. These factors create situations of tension and conflict between married partners that lead to neglect in care giving, emotional and mental abuse, verbal and physical violence, and financial exploitation.     

Women with Disabilities and Experiences of Abuse

Abstract

A qualitative study of disabled and non-disabled professionals and survivors of abuse revealed a range of types of abuse endured by disabled women, some of which were unique to that population. Two major themes emerged from data analysis: vulnerable beginnings and complexity of abuse. Three sub-themes are encompassed within complexity of abuse: active abuse, abuse through image, and contextual abuse by social service/legislative systems. The authors present data essential to an informed assessment and analysis of abuse that considers the person-in-environment circumstances of women with disabilities. Implications for future research and the human behavior in the social environment curriculum are discussed.