Sexual abuse histories of youth in child welfare residential treatment centers: analysis of the Odyssey Project population

This multi-site examination of sexual abuse histories of youth in residential treatment centers asked, for the sample as a whole and by youth's gender: (a) How many perpetrators did each youth have? (b) What was the gender of the perpetrator? (c) What proportion of youth was abused by family members? (d) What proportion of youth was abused in a child welfare setting? And, (e) what proportion of sexually abused youth were also victims of physical abuse and/or neglect? Results revealed that males were more likely to have one perpetrator, a female perpetrator, and to have been abused in a child welfare setting and less likely be abused by a family member. Implications for refining programs and practices are discussed.     

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.     

Sexual risk behaviors among youth in the child welfare system

This study uses data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW) to provide estimates of sexual risk behaviors for 877 youth, age 11–14 at baseline, in the child welfare system. It examines the association between baseline psychosocial risk and protective factors on engagement in sexual risk behaviors after 36 months. It further compares rates of sexual risk behaviors between youth placed in out-of-home care and those who remained with their biological family. Key findings include a high rate of pregnancy, a high percentage of youth who initiated sexual activity at or before age 13 as well as a limited role of protective factors in moderating sexual risk behaviors. A history of placement into out-of-home care is not significantly associated with greater engagement in sexual risk behaviors. Implications for intervention development and child welfare policy for this population are discussed.     

Sexual and physical child abuse and the developtnent of dissociative personality traits. Canadian and British evidence from adolescent child welfare and child care populations

An attempt was made to construct a measure of dissociative personality traits from file review of 61 Canadian adolescents with a known history of sexual abuse before the age of six. The study was then extended to 55 British adolescents in residential care and therapy centres. Between 18 and 29% of adolescents displayed several features of dissociative personality, implying the possibility of multiple personality disorder. Those with two or more indicators of dissociative personality style tended to have more problematic behavioural histories, including a particularly high prevalence of deliberate self-harm. In the UK group the Dissociative Experiences Scale (Bernstein and Putnam, 1986) completed by 55 adolescents correlated 0.67 with the dissociative personality trait index constructed from case file review. Implications for treatment of abused children are discussed.     

Building a landscape of resilience after workplace violence in public child welfare

Workplace violence in public child welfare is prevalent, however, little guidance is provided to support child welfare leaders in moving their organizations through organizational trauma when violence strikes. This paper aims to provide the field with a resource that will (a) provide a brief overview on the prevalence of workplace violence in child welfare, (b) describe prevention strategies, (c) suggest a framework for responding to violence and (d) apply this framework to a recent event in public child welfare. Implications for policy and practice guidance are included.     

Combining child welfare and substance abuse services: a blended model of intervention

Montgomery County, Maryland's Child Welfare Services (CWS) and Adult Addiction Services (AAS) developed an initiative to address the requirements of the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) while meeting the needs of families and the community of providers. A blended model of intervention was determined to be the best strategy to achieve the dual mandates of CWS and alcohol and other drugs (AOD) providers. Drawing from criminal justice, systems theory, social work, and addiction treatment, the approach made use of graduated sanctions or levels of intensity in providing services, engaging client participation, and engendering motivation. This article proposes strategies at client and organizational levels to understand the process of adaptation to ASFA and to guide planning for blending services.     

Addressing substance abuse treatment needs of parents involved with the child welfare system

The goal of this paper is to synthesize available data to help guide policy and programmatic initiatives for families with substance abuse problems who are involved with the child welfare system, and identify gaps in the research base preventing further refinement of practices in this area. To date, Family Treatment Drug Court and newly developed home-based substance abuse treatment interventions appear the most effective at improving substance abuse treatment initiation and completion in child welfare populations. Research is needed to compare the efficacy of these two approaches, and examine cost and child well-being indicators in addition to substance abuse treatment and child welfare outcomes.     

Factors affecting mother-child visiting identified by women with histories of substance abuse and child custody loss

The influence of maternal substance abuse upon the placement of children in out-of-home care increased significantly in the 1980s and 1990s, affecting mother-child visiting in numerous ways. Content analysis of interview data from 15 mothers with histories of illegal drug use and child custody loss provides insight into five major factors that can promote or inhibit visiting: (1) mother's drug use and health status, (2) effects of visits on the child, (3) transportation, (4) scheduling/ visit settings, and (5) support of others.     

Defining child abuse: Exploring variations in ratings of discipline severity among child welfare practitioners

This study investigated child welfare practitioners’ ratings of the severity of parental discipline practices. Ratings varied by the type of act, age of the child, and by chronicity. Exploratory investigation into changes across time found that current practitioners (N = 27) rated several practices (e.g. spanking and shaking) as more severe than did professionals (N = 24) sampled in 1977. Results underscore the complexity of defining child maltreatment and offer implications for practitioners, applied researchers, and child welfare policy makers.The authors Stephen D. Whitney, Emiko A. Tajima, Todd I. Herrenkohl, and Bu Huang are affiliated with the School of Social Work, University of Washington.Work on this project is supported by funds from the Social Work Prevention Research Center, School of Social Work, University of Washington (National Institute of Mental Health Grant R24MH56599, Lewayne Gilchrist, PI) and by the University of Washington Royalty Research Fund.     

The early home environment and developmental outcomes for young children in the child welfare system

The quality of the early home environment is predictive of young children's subsequent cognitive, academic, and behavioral functioning. Limited research has focused on the effects of the early caregiving environment on the functioning of young children involved with the child welfare system. This study investigated the influence of children's home environments (i.e., number of children in the home, number of moves the child experienced, level of cognitive stimulation, and level of emotional support) during the first 2 years of life on their preschool developmental outcomes (i.e., cognition, language, social skills, and behavior problems).As anticipated, a high-quality early home environment promoted the well-being of preschool children who had entered the child welfare system as infants. Children who lived with greater numbers of children incurred more compromised cognitive, language, behavioral, and social outcomes. No significant associations emerged between the total number of placements and developmental outcomes; children who remained in the same home during infancy (typically the birth family home) had more compromised developmental outcomes in every domain except behavioral problems.Both cognitive stimulation and emotional support in the home predicted higher cognitive and language scores, decreased behavioral problems, and increased social skills. Early out-of-home placement and lack of emotional support interacted to predict children's behavioral problems. These findings are considered in the context of extant research and policy relevant to young children in the child welfare system.     

Childhood abuse and psychiatric impairment in a sample of welfare to work women

Since 1996, individuals who participate in welfare programs are mandated to find employment. Welfare recipients may have difficulty transitioning to the work force due to impairments in psychosocial functioning. Examples include mental health and substance use disorders, medical problems, academic and learning difficulties, and lack of resources such as childcare and transportation. In addition, many welfare recipients have histories of abuse and violence, which further complicate their job finding efforts given the documented relationship between past maltreatment and psychiatric impairment. An area unexplored is the relationship between a history of childhood abuse and psychiatric impairment in Welfare to Work (WtW) recipients. We evaluated the relationships among demographics, personality pathology, substance abuse, cognitive functioning, and histories of childhood abuse in a group of 158 WtW recipients in order to assess predictors of psychiatric impairment. Results suggest that participants with higher levels of psychiatric impairment also had higher levels of interpersonal problems related to personality pathology, higher drug and alcohol use impairment, and endorsed more severe histories of childhood abuse. Personality pathology, alcohol use severity, and self-reported childhood abuse emerged as the best predictor of psychiatric impairment in this WtW sample. These results have implications for identifying individuals at risk for unsuccessful transition into the work force and for the development of effective rehabilitation strategies that considers the unique needs of women in WtW programs.     

Children with developmental disabilities in the child welfare system: a national survey

A survey of state agencies responsible for developmental disabilities/mental retardation and child welfare investigated the coordination of services for children with developmental disabilities. Recommendations are offered with regard to further research and model program development.     

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.     

Child welfare workers: who they are and how they view the child welfare system

This article examines the characteristics of child welfare caseworkers, their views of the child welfare system, their clients, their agency of employment, and child welfare policies, and whether these views vary according to caseworkers' characteristics. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used to analyze in-depth interviews conducted with caseworkers in New York and Chicago. The major themes that emerged from the analysis indicate caseworkers believed that the child welfare system does not meet the needs of the children in care, lacks the resources to appropriately serve clients, and often establishes goals that cannot be attained by the biological parents. Caseworkers held negative views of the biological parents and, although most described their organization as well equipped, almost as many reported that their organization lacked technical, administrative, and personnel resources. Caseworkers' views of child welfare policies emphasized the need for reforming the system and reevaluating funding priorities.     

Recent changes in the child welfare system: One state's experience

Nationwide over the past 5 years there has been a substantial reduction in the number of children involved with the child welfare system entering out-of-home care as well as a reduction in the lengths of stay among those who do enter the system. This article compares national data on children entering out-of-home care and the length of stay with data from Florida over a 7-year period (2005–2011). Findings are shared on the strategies and services that stakeholders in one state reported as contributing to preventing out-of-home placements and reducing lengths of stay in residential settings. Federal policies such as IV-E Waivers that support this reduction also are discussed. The article concludes with policy and research recommendations regarding how to sustain this reduction while ensuring that child safety and well-being are preserved.     

Reunification of child and animal welfare agencies: cross-reporting of abuse in Wellington County, Ontario

Institutional change has resulted in the separation of organizations for the protection of animals and children. This project reunites two organizations to examine associations between human violence and animal cruelty. For 12 months, Family and Children's Services (FCS) investigators and Humane Society (HS) investigators in Wellington County, Canada, completed checklists to examine connections between forms of violence. FCS workers found some cause for concern in 20% of 1,485 homes with an animal companion. HS workers completed 247 checklists, resulting in 10 referrals to FCS. The first study of its kind, this project details the findings of cross-reporting in Wellington County and offers suggestions for future replication.