The role of licensing in child placement and protection

Regulation of child residential care facilities requires licensors who have professional experience in child welfare. Licensing requirements must be applied within a context of professional knowledge and experience, particularly in regard to child placement and child protective services. The licensing of facilities for out-of-home care of vulnerable children generally has not been viewed as a mainstream social service or child welfare function. Although licensing differs from placement services and protective services in that licensing is basically a nonservice approach to protection each of the three elements forms a triangle of comprehensive protection for vulnerable children. Recognition of both the similarities and the distinguishing characteristics of the three elements reduces individual and organizational role conflict and, furthermore, holds promise for mature and effective coalitions in achieving the common goal of protection for vulnerable children in out-of-home care. The strength of a statewide licensing program is founded in centralized organizational and supervisory structure. Licensing must fulfill its partnership role in coordination with child placement and child protective services to achieve genuine community protection for vulnerable children.     

Caregivers' Endorsement of Barriers to Mental Health Services for Children and Youth in Child Welfare

The purpose of this study was to examine the three most common types of caregivers in the child welfare system (birth parents, relative caregivers, and foster parents), an active child welfare case, caregivers' endorsement of barriers to mental health services and mental health service use by caregivers for the children under their care. The sample consisted of 430 dyads (caregivers and their children). Results indicate that an active child welfare case, provider characteristics, and accessibility of services predicted mental health service use for children. Implications for the child welfare and mental health systems are discussed.     

A Three-Pronged Approach to Addressing Racial Disproportionality and Disparities in Child Welfare: The Santa Clara County Example of Leadership, Collaboration and Data-Driven Decisions

Disproportionality and disparities in the treatment of children of color has been a growing concern in the child welfare system. System stakeholders have begun to recognize the problem through data, which help identify discrepancies within their jurisdictions. Nationally, the primary concern is the overrepresentation of African American children within the child welfare system, where African Americans represent proportions of the foster population at a level more than twice as high as they are represented in the community at large. In some jurisdictions, however, this is only one piece of the disproportionality concern. San Jose, for example, has both an overrepresentation of African American and an overrepresentation of Hispanic children in the child welfare system. Because San Jose’s child welfare population is unique, they have had to take a unique approach to addressing these concerns. This article outlines strategies and tools used to begin reducing disproportionality within the child welfare and juvenile dependency court system, using San Jose’s experience as an example. Some of the key approaches to addressing disproportionality include ensuring a systems approach (creating a Cross Agency Systems Team that prioritizes services for parents and children in various systems, e.g., mental health, substance abuse, etc.); addressing disproportionality from multiple perspectives and examining the roles’ of caseworkers, supervisors, service providers, judges, and attorneys; gaining community and system stakeholder buy-in by maintaining momentum and providing opportunities for dialogue about the complex issues facing families of color; using a data-driven approach to inform ongoing initiatives and changes in policy and practice (e.g., closely examining policies and practices such as the frequency of recommendations to by-pass reunification services); and implementing changes in practice at multiple levels including child welfare and on the bench. The examination of San Jose’s approach reveals challenges, successes, and lessons learned.     

Understanding decisions about child maltreatment

To understand how decisions are made in abuse/neglect cases by the child welfare system, the authors asked child welfare experts and protective service line workers to make decisions about actual child abuse and neglect cases on the basis of written summaries of the cases. Respondents included 27 experts and 103 line workers. Regression analyses found that workers and experts emphasized the same case characteristics in making their decisions, but the decisions were not well structured in the sense that they were not well predicted by case characteristics. Individual experts and workers varied widely in the decisions they made on identical cases. The authors conclude that decision making in the child protective system is inconsistent, with errors of two kinds: failing to remove children from their families when that is called for and removing children when it is unnecessary. Progress must be made in developing decision-making criteria that are consistent, preserve family integrity, and promote the well-being of children.     

Perceived Needs of Therapeutic Service Providers in Their Work with Families in the Child Welfare System

Each year approximately half a million children are identified as victims of abuse or neglect in the United States. Referrals to therapeutic service providers are a primary means to help alleviate risks leading to child maltreatment and promote child and family well-being, yet it is not clear how well therapeutic service providers are prepared to meet the specialized needs of a child welfare client population and/or navigate the contextual characteristics of child welfare practice. The purpose of this study was to assess the gaps in knowledge and skill among therapeutic service providers working in this specific service setting. Five focus groups were conducted with 40 current therapeutic service providers working with clients involved with state child protective services. Data were analyzed using conventional content analysis methods. Fifteen themes emerged and were organized into three primary categories of needed knowledge and skill development: (1) cross-system, (2) therapeutic, and (3) functional. Implications for training and practice are discussed, as well as directions for future research.     

African American Men,Child Welfare,and Permanency Planning

Summary

Like social services generally, child welfare and permanency planning services have failed to incorporate African American men as significant and serious participants in the service delivery process. Child welfare and permanency planning services have marginalized African American men such that children fail to benefit from the inclusion of these men in the service delivery process. This incomplete and inappropriate approach to permanency planning specifically, and to child welfare services more generally, is a disservice to African American children. Corrective measures are proffered to promote greater inclusion of African American men in child welfare and permanency planning services.     

The challenges of child welfare involvement for Afro-Caribbean families in Toronto

There is a growing and robust child welfare literature on service users' perspectives. However, little attention is paid to the experiences of Afro-Caribbean mothers and youth as service users. The author argues that this lack of attention is problematic given that the literature consistently shows an overrepresentation of Black children in the child welfare system. This article reports on some of the findings of a study that was conducted in Toronto with Afro-Caribbean service users about their experiences in the child welfare system. Findings reveal themes that are common to both groups of service users: mothers and youth, though some themes are unique to each group. Themes generated from interviews with service users show the challenges of structural inequalities and the complexities of racism, classism, sexism and cultural differences on child welfare involvement for Afro-Caribbean families in Toronto. Interviews with child welfare workers also revealed themes that supported service users' perspectives. The article concludes by arguing that research is needed to explicate the relationship between structural inequalities, including culturally different parenting practices on the experiences of Afro-Caribbean services users in the child welfare system in Toronto. Such exploration has the potential to reduce the number of Afro-Caribbean children entering the child welfare system.     

Taking action on racial disproportionality in the child welfare system

Mirroring national trends, children of color in Washington state's King County are overrepresented at every point in the child welfare system and fare worse by most measures than are Caucasian children. The King County Coalition on Racial Disproportionality was formed to reduce and ultimately eliminate racial disproportionality in the county's child welfare system. The research-based strategies implemented to address the issue focused on children in care longer than two years. They included participation in the Breakthrough Series Collaborative on Racial Disproportionality, implementation of benchmark hearings, and development of Champions for Permanence. Now in the beginning stages, perhaps the most significant success is heightened awareness within the community of the disparate outcomes for children of color in the child welfare system.     

Prevention of child maltreatment in high-risk rural families: A randomized clinical trial with child welfare outcomes

Few studies have specifically examined prevention of child maltreatment among higher-risk populations in rural communities. The overarching goal of this study was to conduct a randomized clinical trial of SafeCare augmented for rural high-risk population (SC+) compared to standard home-based mental health services (SAU) to examine reductions in future child maltreatment reports, as well as risk factors and factors proximal to child maltreatment. Parents (N = 105) of young children (5 years or less) who had identifiable risk of depression, intimate partner violence, or substance abuse were randomized to SC+ or SAU. Participants randomized to SC+ were more likely to enroll (83% vs. 35% for SAU) and remain in services (35 h vs. 8 h for SAU). SC+ (for participants who successfully completed services) may have had limited impact on child welfare reports during service provision. Further, SC+ had fewer child welfare reports related to DV than SAU. Parent self-reports of parenting behaviors, risk factors, and protective factors did not demonstrate significant sustained program impact. Limitations include power constraints related to sample size. Promising next steps entail future trials with larger sample sizes examining service compliance and further augmentation of SafeCare to bolster service impact and address risk and protective factors.     

Broadening Our View

Summary

The growth in child welfare caseloads and the increasing use of kinship foster care has raised new questions about effective permanency planning. The majority of children in kinship foster care are children of color and have been less likely to exit the custody of the child welfare system than children placed in traditional foster care. Permanency planning which ensures the long-term protection and well-being of children from diverse cultural backgrounds requires a broad view of family, ongoing striving for cultural competence, collaboration between the formal child welfare system and the kinship systems of children in state custody, and a long-term view of permanency planning and child-rearing that builds on the case-management capacities of kinship networks to support permanent plans, looks beyond the child's exit from state custody, and helps families and larger kinship systems make long-term plans for the protection, permanence, and well-being of children.     

Nordic social workers' assessments of child welfare problems and interventions: a common model in child welfare?

In international comparison, the Nordic countries are characterised by similar policy goals and institutional contexts in child welfare. But is it also possible to talk about a common Nordic model in child welfare at the level of social work practices? And if so, to what extent do the results match the ideal model of ‘preventive and family service oriented Nordic child welfare’? This article investigates similarities and variations in Nordic social workers' assessments concerning child welfare problems and possible interventions by using vignettes and focus group interviews in case studies in four capital areas: Copenhagen, Helsinki, Oslo and Stockholm. The results seem to confirm the assumption of a preventive and family service oriented Nordic child welfare system regarding social work practices with smaller children, but not when adolescents are concerned.     

Latino caregiver psychosocial factors and health care services for children involved in the child welfare system

Children in the child welfare system have a high prevalence of health problems, making pediatric health service use critical. Latino children represent a growing proportion of the child welfare system, and are at increased risk for health problems. Many have argued that Latino caregivers can provide Latino children with the least disruptive out-of-home placement, but little is known about how caregiver factors might relate to health services utilization or child health status within this population. This study assessed relationships between caregiver psychosocial factors, health care service utilization, and health status for children in the child welfare system. This sample featured 48 Latino caregivers involved in child welfare. Logistic regression models were used to test for relationships between caregiver psychosocial factors and appointment adherence and child health status. Problem-focused coping was positively related to well-child status. No psychosocial factors were related to medical appointment adherence. Case workers may help improve child health outcomes by promoting problem-focused coping skills among Latino caregivers.     

Bureaucratic Neglect and Oppression in Child Welfare: Historical Precedent and Implications for Current Practice

Historically, child maltreatment has been seen as an issue warranting the involvement of the American government. However, over time, the definition of child maltreatment has changed; typically, maltreatment is often understood as a violation of the parental right to care for and protect a child. Consequently, the government, through systems such as child protective services is expected to be the acceptable parental alternative. As illustrated by the numerous negative outcomes experienced, it is clear that the system is not meeting the needs of abused and neglected children. This bureaucratic neglect is allowed to occur because of population primarily served by the child welfare system, the poor and families of color. In this way, dynamics of power and privilege manifest in the differing expectations of appropriate care between biological parents and the foster care system.     

Family-centered child welfare services: new life for a historic idea

The recent emphasis on permanency planning in child welfare has strengthened the resolve of policy makers and service providers to serve the families of dependent children better. Permanency planning asks child welfare services either to reunite children in care with their families of origin or to find permanent substitute families for children, but the goal of a permanent family for every child has been much easier to articulate than it has been to achieve.     

Child welfare in the United Kingdom

This paper sets the context for the subsequent papers by giving an overview of recent changes in legislation and social policy with respect to child welfare in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. In England, services for children have been radically affected by the implementation of the Children Act 1989, which has introduced a unifying service to promote the welfare of children at risk, although it leaves a significant gap in supportive provision by excluding child offenders. By contrast, Scotland incorporates juvenile justice within its social work services and has developed a service unique in Europe. As in England and Wales, Scottish services for children are substantially concerned with child protection and the paper gives an exposition of recent developments and proposals for legislative change in this area. The emphasis in Northern Ireland is contained within the context of the ongoing violence which is a day-to-day occurrence within the province. The Irish experience is differently organised from that in other parts of the UK, giving a unique emphasis on voluntary services and a more pronounced use of residential child care. Moves are afoot to introduce amendments to the law which will emphasise working in partnership with parents and separate the disposal of juvenile offenders from other children. The paper ends with a resume of the following papers, linking them to the recent changes in policy and law.     

Child welfare services and delinquency: the need to know more

This article describes the need for a better understanding of the moderating effects of child welfare services on delinquency. Although juvenile delinquency is a commonly studied issue, researchers have paid little attention to the degree to which child welfare services may be associated with changes in subsequent delinquency rates. Emerging evidence suggests that for certain groups of maltreated children, such as children of color and females, certain child welfare services are associated with variations in risk of delinquent outcomes. The article discusses key methodological, theoretical, and policy implications that help guide further research in this area.     

Parental Imprisonment and Child Protection: A Study of Children Presented to the Melbourne Children's Court

Abstract

This paper reports on a study funded by the Criminology Research Council, Australia, which set out to investigate the intersection between the child protection and criminal justice systems and the extent to which children before the Melbourne Children's Court on child protection matters had a parent currently in prison, awaiting sentencing, or previously in prison. Magistrates identified 156 children as meeting these criteria during the study period June to December, 2006. Analysis of court records gathered quantitative and qualitative data about parents' offending, why the children had been brought to the attention of the court, and the health, welfare, and behavioural concerns the child protection service expressed about the children. There was no coordinated response by the child protection and justice systems to managing these children's situations. Early intervention and the development of child protection service protocols with the corrections system for children whose parents enter prison is essential, to better address the instability and disruption in care these children experience.     

Housing problems experienced by recipients of child welfare services

This study uses data on the experiences of families involved with child welfare services to examine the nature of housing problems and needs among these families and whether housing status affects case outcomes. First, the article describes the housing difficulties faced by two distinct child welfare service populations: families receiving voluntary in-home services and families with children in court-ordered out-of-home care. Second, the study demonstrates the relationship between housing problems and the likelihood of family reunification for children in out-of-home care. The findings have implications for the delivery of child welfare services and the provision of housing assistance to low-income families with children.     

Child labor: a forgotten focus for child welfare.

Child labor is driven by child and family impoverishment, market forces, and political apathy concerning the rights of the child. Although a fundamental concern of the early 20th century child welfare system, today child labor is often seen as outside the scope of child welfare and child protective services. Making child labor a focus of child advocacy activity once again could do much to better the lives of children.