Assessing the Relationship Between a Peer-Mentoring Program and Case Outcomes in Dependency Court

Building successful family-centered programs to support families whose children have been removed can be especially challenging to child welfare agencies. Peer-mentoring programs match families new to the dependency system with a mentor who has successfully reunified with their children. The current study examines the relationship between a peer-mentoring program, Parent for Parent (P4P), engagement levels of parents, and case outcomes for these families. Findings revealed that participants in the peer-mentoring program experienced increased engagement levels and improved outcomes for their cases. Specifically, mothers and fathers who participated in P4P increased their compliance with case plans and visitation, as well as increased presence at court hearings. Reunification rates increased for all families who participated in the peer-mentoring program, compared to those who did not. Few associations were found between racial and ethnic groups and program participation. The implications of these findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Child- and Family-Centered Practices in a Post-Bureaucratic Era: Inherent Conflicts Encountered by the New Child Welfare Professional

Various child welfare organizations are changing services by adopting child- and family-centered approaches and moving away from redundant bureaucracy, top-down strategies, and fragmented networks. This shift inevitably poses challenges. This article uses the case of intensive family case management in the Netherlands to explore conflicts perceived by professionals and associated coping strategies. Findings are that internal conflicts (leading to a relapse into old routines or to misinterpretation of purpose) and boundary conflicts (leading to a relapse into old collaboration agreements) cause challenges. Pioneering organizations need to provide support for learning and reflection between professionals, seeking alignment between accountability and learning.     

Father Involvement in Dependency Review Hearings

Understanding the impact of fathers in child maltreatment cases has been a neglected area of research. This study evaluated differences in child welfare hearings and children's perceptions of their situation where fathers were and were not present. Father attendance at hearings appeared to positively impact information-gathering. When fathers attended hearings, they lasted longer and covered case topics more thoroughly. Children reported more negative affect immediately after hearings where fathers were present; however, these differences were attenuated at subsequent interviews. Overall, the findings suggest that father involvement positively impacts case management, though more research must be conducted to support this finding.     

It Takes a Village: Using a Community-Defined Practice Approach to Develop a Tribal In-Home Services Model for Alaska Native Families

The current evidence base for in-home services in child welfare is limited, with insufficient research on the use of in-home services among ethnically diverse populations. This article describes a case study examining the use of a community-defined practice and evidence approach to develop tribally based in-home service models with Alaska Native communities. The models were co-created by tribal elders, community members, and service providers, with technical assistance provided by the Western and Pacific Child Welfare Implementation Center (WPIC). Research findings suggest that this is an effective approach to developing culturally appropriate child welfare practices while also building local support and ownership.     

Promoting Learning and Critical Reflexivity Through an Organizational Case Study Project

Engaging students directly with community partners can foster deeper learning and critical reflexivity. In our undergraduate seminar in “Understanding Human Service Organizations,” we developed a community-based project that has students working in groups to study local human service organizations. Students interview organizational staff, observe operations, and review documents to identify perceived organizational strengths and challenges and offer humble solutions based on course material and outside research. A key component of the course is the critically reflexive journal. Using a structured reflection guide, students describe and analyze their experience in relation to class concepts and examine their personal beliefs and assumptions. This approach is one teaching strategy that has the potential for promoting the critical awareness and reflective practice skills we seek in our students.     

We're All in This Together: Moving Toward an Interdisciplinary Model of Practice Between Child Protection and Substance Abuse Treatment Professionals

Many studies have documented the deleterious effect of substance abuse on the child protection system. The lack of collaboration between child protection and substance abuse treatment professionals has been identified as a contributing factor related to poor outcomes among parents with histories of addiction. The purpose of this study was to identify key components and conflicts of interdisciplinary practice between 21 child protection and substance abuse treatment professionals. The interdisciplinary components and conflicts were: having a shared vision, presenting as a unified team, having different goals, taking sides, and limited information sharing and involvement. Moving toward an interdisciplinary model of practice is vital to providing families with histories of addiction with the optimal chance for success.     

Transferring MSW Education to Practice: A Qualitative Study With Public Child Welfare Employees

This study used a qualitative analysis of survey data collected from public child welfare employees (n = 168) as they completed master's of social work courses in a weekend/hybrid program, to examine their perceptions of ability to apply classroom learning to practice. The program, which combined a focus on direct practice and management, was developed in partnership with the state's public child welfare agency, during a period of systemic change and case practice reform. Findings indicate that students readily transferred knowledge and skills to the workplace, albeit with some challenges. In particular, management courses appeared to provide an important framework in understanding the organizational context of practice.     

Leading change through collaborative partnerships: a profile of leadership and capacity among local public health leaders

Collaborative partnerships have grown in prominence as vehicles for systems change and organizational development among a network of organizations, particularly in the complex field of public health. Likewise, supporting the functioning and effectiveness of collaborative partnerships has become a key interest among organizational development scholars and community psychologists alike. In the question of capacity-building, no aspect of collaborative capacity has received greater attention than that of leadership. Research on collaborative partnerships has highlighted the importance of shared leadership while at the same time acknowledging that specific individuals do and often must emerge and assume more prominent roles in the partnership in order for the work of the partnership to move forward. However, we have limited knowledge of these key individuals and the roles that they play in non-hierarchical, voluntary partnerships. The present study is a comparative case study of prominent leaders in three regional public health partnerships. The aim of this investigation is to explore the questions: (1) What does it mean to be a leader in a context where no one is "in charge?" (2) What roles do those individuals identified as leaders play?, and (3) What are the specific capacities that enable the enactment of these roles? We find that those viewed as leaders by their partnerships shared a similar profile both in the range and types of roles they play and the capacities that enable them to carry out these roles. Further, we find that while individual attributes such as passion, knowledge, and leadership skills are important, some of the most prominent capacities are rooted in the organizational and institutional contexts within which the leader is nested.     

组织公民行为的道德审视

组织公民行为作为一种积极的角色外行为对组织内部环境有建设性作用的同时也会对组织管理产生一定消极影响,但是把对组织公民行为的失当管理所带来的后果归咎为这种角色外行为的消极影响有失偏颇。管理活动一旦背离组织公民行为内在的道德性,势必会诱发管理困境和成员的消极角色外行为,产生道德摩擦。因之,本文从潜在的道德困境这一角度审视组织公民行为的消极影响,侧重从成员的心理动机和组织反馈进行归因分析,期待通过人力资源管理途径来改善组织公民行为的道德处境。     

我国媒介组织结构的设计及其发展趋势

科学地设计媒介组织结构对于保障我国媒介企业高效运作并实现其目标具有十分重要的意义。进行媒介组织结构的设计,必须考虑媒介所处环境、媒介的经营战略与目标、技术和规模等因素的影响,同时兼顾效益目标、分工协作、统一指挥、权责对等、合理管理幅度与层次以及集权与分权原则。随着时代的变化,媒介企业正在尝试用市场和非层级制组织形式代替层级制,扁平化、小型化、网络化、弹性化和团队化等趋势日益明显。     

Using Administrative Data to Monitor Racial/Ethnic Disparities and Disproportionality Within Child Welfare Agencies: Process and Preliminary Outcomes

Child welfare administrative data are increasingly used to identify racial/ethnic disproportionality and disparities at various levels of aggregation. However, child welfare agencies typically face challenges in harnessing administrative data to examine racial/ethnic disproportionality and disparities at meaningful levels of analysis due to limited resources and/or tools for reporting. This article describes the process through which a multi-state workgroup designed and developed management reports to monitor racial/ethnic disparities and disproportionality using a web-based child welfare administrative data reporting system. The article provides an overview of the process, outcome, and challenges of the group’s work with the goal of offering a starting point for discussion to others who may be seeking to monitor racial/ethnic disparities and disproportionality, regardless of their reporting system.     

Using Organizational Collaboration and Community Partnerships to Transition Families from Homelessness to Home Ownership: The HomeBuy5 Program

For more than a decade, the HomeBuy5 Program has successfully helped families who were homeless find an apartment, while working with them to develop a plan to move from homelessness to homeownership. This article provides an historical overview of how the program developed and evolved, a detailed discussion of the program's process and structure, the role of organizational collaboration and community partners, and demographic information on the families that have been served. It is argued that this program can be a prototype for other communities as they increase their efforts to eliminate homelessness.     

Reconstructing the “Monsters” and the “Failures”

SUMMARY

“Monsters” and “Failures” are becoming the words of choice by many teachers, parents, administrators, and other adults when describing children and their behaviors. Ascribing the label can be constricting to the child and does very little to promote solutions to situations. Adults working with children can develop ways to look past the behavior and see the child and the child's needs, and acquire expectations of children that are in line with their development. This article explores the notion that family therapists, specializing in systems theory and parent education, are professionals, who are suited to help parents and school personnel interact with children in constructive and meaningful ways that promote development and minimize negative labeling. Family therapists can help the parent/teacher/administrator view the interactions among the components of the child's support system as dynamically interacting with one another and the child, and thus, strengthen the school-parent-community triad. Therapists, working col-laboratively with early childhood developmental education professionals, can assist adults in aligning their assessment and expectations of children with developmental understandings, thereby modifying the behaviors on the part of the adults, and ultimately eliciting more appropriate responses on the part of the children. A family systems approach to the rearing and teaching of children allows adults to reinforce the constructive behaviors of the child in a supportive and positive manner, leading to the social and cognitive growth of the child. The case material offered in this article presents ways in which family therapists can collaborate with education professionals and families in fostering the strength of the family-school-community relationship, and ensuring situations that are more child-friendly and developmentally appropriate.     

中国城市职场的性别不平等:基于权力的视角

由于缺乏对权力的清晰界定,既有的关于中国女性职场权力研究在权力界定上表现为宽泛化和狭隘化两种趋向。在批评这两种趋向不足的基础上,本文对职场权力做了更为明确和精细的界定。基于CGSS2006年城市样本的数据分析,本研究发现,女性拥有各种权力的比例都比男性要低,那些占据权力位置的女性也主要是边缘性的权力。进一步的实证分析发现,在控制了个体特征和工作单位特征等变量后,女性拥有权力的发生比也显著低于男性,这表明在通往职场权力的道路上存在明显的性别不平等。     

A Pilot Study Examining the Reduction of Trauma Symptomatology in Families to Prevent Child Abuse And Neglect: Trauma Adapted Family Connections

This article presents the preliminary outcomes of a 6-month, in-home trauma-adapted neglect prevention program intended to reduce trauma-related risk factors in families and increase caregiver, child, and family well-being. Standardized measures were administered via a computer assisted self-interview (CASI) at intake and case closure. At the time of the analyses 72 caregivers and 105 children completed both an intake and closing CASI. Significant differences were found over time in the reduction of caregiver and child related post-traumatic stress (PTS) symptomatology. Outcomes in overall caregiver, child, and family well-being and safety significantly improved over time. Evidence suggests that trauma adaptation of the empirically supported neglect prevention program shows great promise in filling a service gap and in helping families who are chronically traumatized and struggling to meet their children's basic needs.     

A case study in public child welfare: county-level practices that address racial disparity in foster care placement

Racial disproportionality has been a longstanding issue within child welfare. The continued overrepresentation of black children in the foster care system is troubling. The authors of this article conducted a case study of two counties in New York State that have steadily decreased the number of black children in foster care in an effort to identify what aspects of their child welfare practice impacted the decline. The case study employed document analysis, in-depth interviews, and focus groups with child removal decision makers. Utilizing a grounded theory approach to content organization and analysis, several themes emerged as noticeable factors. Some of the most salient themes included preventive services and resources, community collaborations, case practice development, family meetings, workforce diversity, the court system, and, the most unique, blind removal meetings. The themes found in this study present promising practices to assist in decreasing the racial disparity in child welfare removal decisions.     

Effective Implementation Strategies of Differential Response in Child Welfare: A Comparative Case Analysis

Differential response is a growing approach in child welfare that aims to maintain children safely in their homes when possible. This study examined how the implementation of differential response varies between counties with improved child safety outcomes compared to counties with poorer outcomes. Data was collected from nine counties through semi-structured focus groups with workers and interviews with supervisors. Results indicated that counties with improved outcomes had integrated the following implementation strategies: use of comprehensive assessment protocols; integrated supervisory support and on-going coaching of effective practices; and increased mobilization of resources, including enduring supports for parents, supports to help families meet basic needs and culturally responsive services for families.     

管理学中案例研究方法的科学化探讨

案例研究方法是社会科学基本研究方法之一,已广泛运用在管理学研究之中。为了规范案例研究方法的运用,推动案例研究方法的科学化,本文将完善的系统方法和比较方法与案例研究方法相结合,系统化了案例研究方法的主要内容;将功能分析和相似原理运用案例研究方法,能提高案例研究方法的内在效度和外在效度,从而促进案例研究方法的科学化。     

Causes and Effects of Child Welfare Workforce Turnover

ABSTRACT

This paper provides an overview of the current state of knowledge on the causes and effects of workforce turnover in child welfare. The causes of workforce turnover are abundant and have been categorized into three areas cited most often throughout the literature: individual factors, supervisory factors, and organizational factors. On the other hand, the empirical research on the effects of workforce turnover in child welfare is scant. This paper discusses the need for new empirical knowledge on the relationship between turnover and child welfare outcomes. The authors conclude with consideration of the gaps in the research and implications for social work practice and profession.     

The Social Ecology of the Transition to Work

SUMMARY

The State of Illinois provided intensive case management to assist women making the transition from welfare to work. Case managers involved in this process discovered that a variety of challenges faced the women. A social ecological approach to organizing these challenges found six distinct considerations: (1) awareness of the requirements of the law; (2) the environmental context and social norms common in a neighborhood; (3) family support, family structure and family expectations; (4) emotional well-being; (5) literacy and education; and (6) appropriate expectations of the work environment.