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.     

Treatment Approaches for Child Welfare Mothers with Addiction Problems

Abstract

This paper argues that child welfare mothers with addiction problems may require specialized treatment approaches based on their gender. The prevalence of women's problems with addiction and the unique ways addictions manifest themselves in women are discussed. The literature is then used to guide a discussion on the limitations of traditional treatment approaches that have been designed for men and may be of ill service to child welfare mothers. Alternative treatments are reviewed, and suggestions for improving treatment services to child welfare mothers with addiction problems are provided.     

“I'm Not Supporting His Kids”: Nonresident Fathers' Contributions Given Mothers' New Fertility

The authors examined whether nonresident fathers provide informal support to their children and whether support stops if their ex‐partner goes on to have a child with a new man. A logistic regression analysis of longitudinal survey and administrative data for 434 women who received welfare in Wisconsin showed that fathers are less likely to provide informal support when their ex‐partner has a child with a new partner. Alternative models that control for unobserved characteristics suggest somewhat different results, providing stronger evidence of declines in support that can be shared across family members than in support that can be directed to a particular child.     

A qualitative data analysis: family victim advocates in child advocacy centers

ABSTRACT

Family victim advocates in child advocacy centers provide a valuable resource to children and parents involved in child abuse investigations. This work requires that family victim advocates be knowledgeable in such areas as child development, crisis intervention, community resources, family relationships, child welfare and criminal justice systems. Because family victim advocates provide essential services to parents and caregivers, the role requires ongoing training and education to remain current on the ever-changing complexities of working with not only the children and families but also the criminal and child protection systems responsible for investigating these cases. The current study reports the findings from a nationwide survey of family victim advocates employed in child advocacy centers related to their motivation for doing the work as well as their perceptions of their training and potential training needs. A group of doctoral students comprised the research team and worked collaboratively under the supervision of university faculty to conduct the qualitative data analysis. The findings describe the characteristics and motivations of family victim advocates working in child advocacy centers and emphasize the need for more advanced trainings that focus on skill-building and strengths-based practices utilized to support children and parents in child abuse cases.     

Setting Performance Goals for Adoption Services

ABSTRACT

Adoption is one of the several goals for child welfare services when children cannot remain at home. Adoption does not, however, become a goal of child welfare services unless family reunification cannot occur. Further, adoption is also not always the appropriate goal when children are living with relatives available to reunify. Yet, President Clinton's Adoption 2002 initiative offers incentives for adoptions that only depend on the number of adoptions, not on their relationship to reunifications. California's adoption initiative takes a different but also oversimplified approach to setting adoption standards by basing them on the number of adoptions per adoption worker. Under these approaches, agencies that increase their reunifications and keep their adoptions constant are not rewarded and agencies that decrease their reunifications and increase their adoptions are rewarded. This can create a misunderstanding of the program as antifamily and resentment toward adoptions. Agencies' adoption rates should be rewarded only after estimating the pool of adoptable children and taking the likelihood of reunification into account. A model for estimating these factors is presented.     

Representation of children's views in court hearings about custody and parental visitations — A comparison between what children wanted and what the courts ruled

PurposeFollowing the UN convention on the rights of children, a shift in policy towards greater emphasis on child participation in child protection case processing has occurred. A growing body of research has emerged concerning participation processes in child protection cases and the experiences of children in child protection cases. Very few studies have looked into if and when children get what they want, however. The aim of this study is to assess children's views about living arrangements and visitations in dependency court hearings and to compare these views with the rulings of courts.MethodThe study uses a retrospective cohort design. Cases where child welfare board rulings are in line with the wishes of children are compared to cases where rulings differ from the wishes of children. Data were collected from regional social welfare board archives. The study included 151 cases that were randomly drawn from a total population of 2481 cases. Simple and multivariate logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with the rulings being in accord with the child's wishes in each sample case.ResultsA child advocate was appointed in almost 95% of the cases (n = 142). Fifty-nine percent of the children did not want a change in care. Rulings about care were in line with the wishes of the child in 39% of the cases. Rulings about care were most likely to be what the child wanted, if the child was presently living in public care and did not want to move. Children wanted more visitations with their mothers in 60.5% of the cases and with their fathers in 39.8% of the cases. Whether children wanted more visitations with their mothers was associated with more visitations being granted. What a child wanted was not associated with the ruling on visitations with the child's father.ConclusionThe impact of children's views on visitations on dependency court rulings depends on what a child wants and how these desires coincide with what is proposed by child protection services. Children's views can be quite effective in blocking certain decisions but are less effective if the child requested a specific change. If a child does not want to stay with his or her birth parents, then the odds that the birth parents will be granted custody is minimal.     

Examining risk,strengths, and functioning of foster families: Implications for strengths-based practice

ABSTRACT

Foster families provide safe and stable homes for children and youth who are removed from their homes due to maltreatment. Despite the stressors associated with bringing children in and out of a family’s home, many maintain healthy family functioning and continue fostering for many years serving an essential function in the child welfare system. This study sought to understand the factors that explained higher levels of family functioning within foster families. Collaborating with one statewide public child welfare agency, 681 licensed foster parents participated in an online survey that examined the association between family functioning with family strengths and risk factors. Findings from this study can inform strengths-based practice including training, assessment, and interventions for new and existing foster families to strengthen families and improve the well-being of children and youth in their care.     

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.     

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.     

Kinship Care and Public Child Welfare: Challenges and Opportunities for Social Work Education

Abstract

The growing practice of arranging and financing “foster placement” of abused and neglected children with relatives provides an opportunity to redefine relationships between extended families and the child welfare system. The dilemmas and possibilities presented by kinship care as a child welfare service challenge schools of social work to provide intellectual leadership and to prepare social workers for changing child welfare practice. The author's ideas concerning responses to this challenge focus on key mandates of the Council on Social Work Education's Curriculum Policy Statement and on five principal curriculum areas in social work education.     

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.     

Integrated Substance Abuse and Child Welfare Services for Women: A Progress Review

A review of empirical literature reveals improvements in service utilization and outcomes for women when substance abuse and child welfare services are integrated. The increased use of substances by women involved in the child welfare system has resulted in a call for integrated, coordinated, evidence-based practices. Since the late 1990s, specific system- and service-level strategies have been developed to coordinate and integrate the provision of substance abuse and child welfare services such that women are remaining in treatment longer and are more likely to reduce substance use and be reunited with their children. The strategies reviewed provide useful guidelines for developing components of effective, evidence-based programs for substance-involved women in the child welfare system.     

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.     

Facing Time Limits

Abstract

With reauthorization of the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) on the horizon, policy makers need to have a sound understanding of the act's consequences for children and families. In contrast to earlier studies, the present study quantifies the impact of a 24-month state imposed welfare time limit on foster care placements. It also examines the impact of a “hardship” provision that temporarily excuses select families from meeting a two-year time limit on foster care placements in Nevada. In order to determine how these factors, in conjunction with other relevant welfare experiences and personal factors, affect parent-child separation, a multivariate logit model was tested. Key findings reveal that families who have more months counted toward their time limits also are more likely to have at least one child removed and placed in foster care. On the other hand, hardship families are not more likely to have their children placed in foster care than non-hardship families. The findings lend support to the notion of providing family-centered casework services to those identified to be at risk of approaching their welfare time limits. The findings also lend support to inter-agency collaboration between TANF and child welfare systems.     

Voices of African American Grandmothers Raising Grandchildren

ABSTRACT

This study examines cultural solutions to challenges perceived by African American grandmothers as they interface with kinship care policy-practice in raising their grandchildren under the auspices of the US child welfare system. Findings suggest the study participants desire to have a voice in the kinship policy-practice process, to be valued, and to have the child welfare system treat them as true partners and valuable experts. The grandmothers provide clear directives to child welfare, kinship policymakers and administrators on specific steps they can take to demonstrate respect for the grandmothers' experiences and expertise.     

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.     

The Perceptions of Welfare Reform by Michigan Families Whose Children Have Disabilities and Welfare Caseworkers

Abstract

This article examines family and caseworker perceptions of welfare reform and services as they relate to families who have a child with a disability. Interviews were conducted with 39 families and 77 caseworkers. Family questions addressed their perceptions of the welfare system, factors impacting their self-sufficiency, and their perceptions of needed program changes. Caseworker questions addressed their perceptions of welfare practices and policies and their education needs related to serving families who have children with disabilities. Familial perceptions of the welfare system were validated by caseworker reports. Implications for service improvement are discussed.