Using Cost Analysis to Examine Variability in Replications of an Efficacious Child Neglect Prevention Program

This article reports on a program- and case-level cost analysis of five replication sites of an efficacious child neglect prevention program. Approximately one-third of all sites' total labor hours were expended on direct family services and casework support for a specific family, with the remainder spent on indirect implementation support and program administration activities. Including non-personnel costs, the all-site mean total cost per family was $6,276, ranging across sites from $2,245 to $10,260. Costs varied greatly among individual families within sites. More research is needed to understand factors associated with differences in cost.     

I’m From the Government and I’m Here to Help: How Can Public Health Perspectives Improve Outreach in Child Maltreatment Prevention Programs?

State and local governments are designing programs to prevent child maltreatment at an increasing rate. A relatively small portion of families offered these programs go on to engage in and complete services. Workers in a child maltreatment prevention program implemented across 21 sites in 1 state documented outreach efforts in logs maintained by program evaluators. Additionally, evaluators interviewed 23 outreach workers and supervisors who were developing and refining outreach strategies in this prevention program. Data from logs and responses to interviews speak to challenges in navigating prevention outreach with families to achieve engagement and buy-in, particularly when “cold-calling” about screened-out reports of child maltreatment. This paper presents a summary of barriers and facilitators of family engagement in outreach for prevention services, guidance from the public health literature on improving outreach strategies for at-risk populations, and suggested practice, policy, and research implications.     

Psychometric Properties of the Trauma and Post-Trauma Well-Being Assessment Domains of the North Carolina Family Assessment Scale for General and Reunification Services (NCFAS G+R)

Two new domains of the NCFAS-G+R, trauma and post-trauma well-being, were tested for reliability and validity in relation to previous NCFAS-G+R domains. Three family preservation programs provided case level data on 170 in-home service families over six months. Domains were tested for reliability using Cronbach's alpha, factor structure was explored, and convergent validity was examined through correlations of new scale items with domain ratings on the NCFAS-G+R. Assessment ratings were cross tabulated with practice and outcome variables. Reliability of the new domains was established with Cronbach's alphas of .811 and .905, respectively, factor structure was confirmed, new scale items and domains correlated predictably and significantly with other NCFAS domains. Outcome variables were influenced by trauma assessment ratings. Displaying good psychometric properties, the trauma-focused assessment domains hold promise for assisting child welfare practitioners assess trauma symptomology, and post-trauma well-being following services.     

The Prenatal/Early Infancy Project

Summary

We describe a program of pregnancy and infancy nurse home visitation for families at social risk because of the mother's young age, single-parent status, or poverty. The program sought to prevent a number of maternal and child health problems that emerge early in the life cycle and that might be prevented with improvements in prenatal health habits, care of the child, and the psychosocial context of the family. The nurses carried out three major activities: (1) parent education regarding influences on fetal and infant development and regarding the mother's own education, employment, and family planning; (2) the involvement of family members and friends in the pregnancy, birth, and early care of the child; and (3) the linkage of family members with other health and human services. The nurses emphasized the importance of establishing a caring and supportive relationship with the mother and her family, building upon parents' strengths, promoting parental control over their life circumstances, and adapting the educational content of the program to the individual needs of the family.     

The role of community in facilitating service utilization

Guided by an integrated theory of parent participation, this study examines the role community characteristics play in influencing a parent's decision to use voluntary child abuse prevention programs. Multiple regression techniques were used to determine if different community characteristics, such as neighborhood distress and the community's ratio of caregivers to those in need of care, predict service utilization levels in a widely available home visiting program. Our findings suggest that certain community characteristics are significant predictors of the extent to which families utilize voluntary family supports over and above the proportion of variance explained by personal characteristics and program experiences. Contrary to our initial assumptions, however, new parents living in the most disorganized communities received more home visits than program participants living in more organized communities. The article concludes with recommendations on how community capacity building might be used to improve participant retention.     

Attributions for Improvement in Children Bullied at School

ABSTRACT

This mixed methods study describes attributions for improvement following reductions in victimization for children who were bullied at school. It also tests hypotheses from attribution theory about attributions associated with improvements. The sample was a subset of families who participated in an RCT of a family cognitive-behavioral program to reduce victimization; to be included, both the parent and child needed to report reductions in child victimization at 9 months. Attributions were compared across conditions, respondents (parents versus children) and time. Both parents and children attributed improvements most often to actions by the target child. Intervention families were more likely than control families to attribute changes to their own efforts than to external factors. The relevance of internal attributions for the success of interventions is discussed.     

Intensive Family Preservation Services

Family-based services have evolved over the past twenty years as a means of helping families in crisis avoid the removal of a child from the home. As a result of the Family Preservation Act of 1992, a number of preplacement prevention programs, designated as Intensive Family Preservation Services (IFPS) have been developed. The overall effectiveness of IFPS programs is now under scrutiny by various interested organizations. Few of the published studies were designed to employ rigorous, empirical research methods, and even fewer dircctly addressed families with adolescents. The purpose of the current paper is to identify problems associated with family preservation, to examine theoretical issues and assessment issues, summarize the available research, and explore implications that focus on prevention.     

The Role of Community in Facilitating Service Utilization

SUMMARY

Guided by an integrated theory of parent participation, this study examines the role community characteristics play in influencing a parent's decision to use voluntary child abuse prevention programs. Multiple regression techniques were used to determine if different community characteristics, such as neighborhood distress and the community's ratio of caregivers to those in need of care, predict service utilization levels in a widely available home visiting program. Our findings suggest that certain community characteristics are significant predictors of the extent to which families utilize voluntary family supports over and above the proportion of variance explained by personal characteristics and program experiences. Contrary to our initial assumptions, however, new parents living in the most disorganized communities received more home visits than program participants living in more organized communities. The article concludes with recommendations on how community capacity building might be used to improve participant retention.     

Exploring Child Welfare Workers’ Experiences with Neglect Cases: A Qualitative Study

Child neglect continues to be a pressing concern in American society. However, child neglect is often found to be more difficult to assess than other forms of child maltreatment. This study explores how child welfare workers experience their day-to-day work with children and families, when neglect is the presenting concern. Convenience sampling was used to recruit former and current child welfare workers (N = 20). Three focus groups were conducted. The analyses identified four themes inherent in case workers' experiences in neglect cases: a dirty house isn't just a dirty house, dilemmas and professional judgment, different values, and ambivalence: compassion and frustration. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.     

Healthy Families America: ruminations on implementing a home visitation program to prevent child maltreatment

Following a 1990 federal report forecasting a national child abuse and neglect epidemic, Prevent Child Abuse America (PCA America) promoted a home visitation program known as Healthy Families America (HFA). HFA achieved rapid adoption and implementation across the nation going from 25 sites in 1992 to 430 in a decade. In this article, the authors describe PCA America's approach to develop, promote, oversee, and evaluate a national home visitation program. Despite its promising growth, HFA has been criticized for failing to achieve the goal of preventing child maltreatment. HFA's past and present are critiqued based on theory and implementation practice of home visitation and its future projected from the perspective of insiders. Developing a better understanding of HFA's history will advance existing models of home visitation and add to the emerging knowledge base of child maltreatment prevention.     

Healthy Families America Research Practice Network: a unique partnership to integrate prevention science and practice

The goal of the Healthy Families America Research to Practice Network (RPN) was to foster communication among academic researchers, community-based evaluators, and practitioners to integrate science-based prevention practices into practice settings. The RPN goals were guided by and are a response to the limitations of past and current research paradigms in the social sciences. Accomplishments included creation of a 40-member researcher-practitioner council, development of a national Program Information Management System, and completion of a 4-year national Implementation Study, employing data from over 100 sites in nine states. The discussion examines what was learned about this rare experiment in creating practitioner-scientist partnerships and the impact of the RPN on child abuse and neglect prevention. A five-year plan to sustain and strengthen a practice-research collaborative is recommended.     

Influence of Family,Agency, and Caseworker Dynamics on Caregivers' Satisfaction With Their Child Protective Services Experience

Numerous child protective services (CPS) agencies have adopted differential responses as a system reform hypothesized to facilitate family engagement. This research tests a conceptual framework developed to examine dynamics between caregiver, agency, and caseworker factors that are assumed to impact caregiver engagement. Data from a randomized control study and structural equation modeling methods were used to explore the influence of these factors on caregiver satisfaction with their CPS experience. The results indicate that receipt of alternative response, caregivers' ratings of their caseworker's interaction style, and caregivers' positive emotional response influenced satisfaction with their intervention experience, while negative emotional responses did not.     

Supports for Families Affected by Substance Abuse

Using an in-home services program model, Project Connect works collaboratively with the child welfare system, substance abuse treatment providers, the courts, and other community agencies to support parental recovery, enhance safety and permanency, and strengthen family relationships. Results from the most recent evaluation of the program, which used a dosage level design to examine project outcomes for 415 families, are presented here. Data indicate that the program was particularly helpful in strengthening parenting capacity. Child safety and permanency were also positively correlated with program participation.     

The promise of primary prevention home visiting programs: a review of potential outcomes

Home visitation (HV) is a promising service delivery model, despite a history of mixed documented results. Compiling results on the promising family and child development outcomes in the HV literature has utility for current programs and those under development. We review traditional outcomes (e.g., child maltreatment prevention) from the literature on HV, but we also present nontraditional outcomes (e.g., community connection) that may be relevant for future evaluations. Programs that document their implementation and study their outcomes through a thoughtful, planned process may capture important and much needed information on strengthening families through HV.     

Secondary traumatic stress and vicarious traumatization in child welfare professionals in Serbia

Child welfare professionals in diverse positions are exposed to a variety of traumatic events including family violence and child abuse and neglect. This secondary exposure puts child welfare workers at the risk of experiencing Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS) and Vicarious Traumatization (VT). For the first time in Serbia, this study quantitatively investigates whether STS and VT are present in child welfare professionals employed in the social welfare centers, foster care and adoption agencies, residential care programs, and shelters for children and youth. It attempts to identify whether the type of service, time exposure to clients, and supervision function as risk or protective factors for negative outcomes. A convenience sample comprised of 135 child welfare professionals completed a series of self-reported measures. Findings indicate that VT and STS are present in this population. Differences in the presence of STS and VT were found according to the types of services offered and length of exposure. Contrary to expectations, supervision was not a protective factor with regards to STS and VT in this population.     

The evaluation of Healthy Families Arizona: a multisite home visitation program

Healthy Families Arizona is a broadly implemented home visitation program aimed at preventing child abuse and neglect, improving child health and development, and promoting positive parent/child interaction. The program began as a pilot in two sites in 1991 and by 2004 had grown to 48 sites located in urban, rural, and tribal regions of the state. The unique administrative structure of the program and collaboration between evaluation and quality assurance have helped overcome many of the problems familiar to home visitation programs. This paper describes how a systematic focus to improve processes and outcomes has positioned the program for a randomized longitudinal study. Key components of the program are described and evaluation results are presented.     

论我国防治虐童行为法律体系的完善--基于法教义学的分析

虐童行为主要表现为躯体虐待、情感虐待、性虐待及忽视等形式,对儿童身心健康会造成潜移默化的损害,进而阻碍儿童身心的健康发展。《儿童权利公约》规定了儿童的生命权和发展权等基本权利,上述权利免受一切形式的暴力侵害是其应有之义。当前,我国已构建以宪法为统领、以未成年人保护法为核心的防治虐童行为法律体系,同时以司法机关和行政机关出台的司法解释文件、部门规章予以补充。在法治社会建设过程中,以法教义学的研究方法为切入点,结合相关案例对我国防治虐童行为法律体系进行全面梳理并进行体系化的分析,可以为我国防治虐童行为法律的进一步完善提供有益的思路。     

Racial Disparities in Service Referrals for Families in the Child Welfare System

Among families in the child welfare system, family reunification depends largely upon the services to which families are referred. This study examines whether race/ethnicity influences the number and types of services to which families are referred. Findings suggest that compared to African American families, Hispanic families were more often referred to psychosocial services (e.g., mental health) than basic needs (e.g., housing). These findings indicate a need to reduce service referral disparities between ethnic groups.     

Family Problems and Children's Competencies Over the Early Elementary School Years

SUMMARY

Problems experienced by families from a sample of at-risk, urban children were observed and recorded by social workers over a two year period. Four groups of families were distinguished through social worker case notes based on family problems and needs; families were grouped into stable high needs, stable low needs, change for better and change for worse categories. Children were then followed for three years, from the beginning of kindergarten to the end of second grade, and assessed on classroom competence and academic achievement outcomes. Classroom competence included the teacher's rating of both the child's social skills in the classroom, and the academic competence of the child. Academic achievement included a standardized assessment of both math and reading skills. Results indicated that children from families with stable low needs consistently perform with more competence in the classroom than children from families with stable high needs or those whose need status increased. Children from families with stable high needs score comparably to children from families with stable low needs on math, and no difference between groups were found in reading. Implications of these findings for strengthening family competence is discussed.     

Child Welfare Assessment Practices in Scotland: An Ecological Process Grounded in Relationship-Building

Beginning with the initial contact with the family, Scottish child welfare policy and practice are grounded in ecological practice and community relationships. New guidance called “Getting it Right for Every Child in Scotland” (GIRFEC) is focused on universal child well-being and may have a significant impact on social work practice. This article explores the results of a multi-methods case study conducted in Scotland and highlights key aspects of new policy implementation and relational social work characteristics that are important to advance ecological child welfare practice. It may also have implications for other cultural contexts.