“I was prepared for the worst I guess”: stayers’ and leavers’ perceptions of their Title IV-E education

ABSTRACT

Child welfare workforces across the nation are experiencing high turnover and have for decades. The chronic cost of turnover makes efforts to increase retention crucial. The Title IV-E education stipend program is one way that many states employ to improve their child welfare worker tenure. Through qualitative interviews, this study examines Title IV-E graduates’ experiences and perceptions of preparedness for working in child welfare agencies. Examining how the responses of stayers and leavers differ and assessing similarities collectively can inform educational and agency enhancements to improve services, as well as worker competence and retention.     

The role of Title IV-E education and training in child protection workforce diversification

ABSTRACT

Educating, training, and diversifying the workforce are strategies that may help reduce racial/ethnic disparities that plague child protection system (CPS). Title IV-E education and training programs support the development of a specially trained, highly skilled workforce; yet, little research examining their impact on workforce diversification exists. The current study assessed the relationship between Title IV-E education and training and workforce diversity and leadership in a state system that is plagued with racial disparities using data from a statewide child welfare survey (n = 679) and existing population-level sources. Findings revealed that while children of color were disproportionately overrepresented in the CPS, professionals of color were disproportionately underrepresented (as compared to the state’s overall population and the population of children served within CPS). Title IV-E education and training programs were associated with both child protection workforce diversity and CPS leadership roles. Implications for recruitment, retention, education, and partnership are discussed.     

Child Welfare's Iron Cage: Managing Performance in New Zealand's Child Welfare Agency

The purpose of this article is to explain the performance management practice in use within one of New Zealand's public service agencies—Child, Youth and Family Services. These practices are described with reference to New Zealand's formal model of public sector management and the professional social work model understood by the majority of the agency's staff. The article draws on recent research into performance management practices in nine of New Zealand's public service agencies that included Child, Youth and Family Services. This involved a number of semi-structured interviews with managers and staff from the national, regional, and local levels of each agency together with a review of relevant documentation.

It is argued that performance management practices exist on a continuum representing the “rationality of control” which extends from a regulative control model of rules and fixed targets to one that is more reliant on shared understandings, learning, and flexible targets. It is further suggested that the institutional structures underlying this continuum determines the extent to which performance management practices within individual agencies are loosely coupled with those used for purposes of external accountability.

The article highlights the tension that exists in an organization that encompasses the substantive logic of “a values-based profession” (Ronnau, 2001 Ronnau, J. P. 2001. “Values and ethics for family-centered practice”. In Balancing family-centered services and child well-being: Exploring issues in policy, practice theory, and research, Edited by: Walton, E., Sandau-Beckler, P. and Mannes, M. 34–54. New York: Columbia University Press.  [Google Scholar]) but which is bound by the formal, instrumental rationality implicit in its system of external accountability that, it has been claimed, “reduces a complex reality to something simplistic and one dimensional” (Tilbury, 2004 Tilbury, C. 2004. The influence of performance measurement on child welfare policy and practice. British Journal of Social Work, 34: 225–241. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). It, therefore, argues that the formal model of performance measurement and management of the public service should encompass the broader information and rationality used by managers within public service agencies.     

EDITORIAL

Abstract

Jane Addams (1860-1935), founder of Hull House in Chicago, was a social worker, sociologist, criminologist, feminist, and pacifist. She dedicated her life to caring for the underprivileged and oppressed and to fighting for the rights of workers, women, and children. This paper examines her life and seeks to demonstrate her many contributions to sociology, criminology, and society. Among her pioneer works in criminology that have not been recognized are the ecological maps of Chicago that preceded Park's and Burgess' concentric zone theory, social justice issues such as child labor, compulsory education, and juvenile offenders. She also was a peace activist during World War I and many of her ideas and concepts are found in the peacemaking writings of current criminologists.     

Toward a comprehensive theory of child sexual abuse: A theory knitting perspective

Abstract

In recent years a number of multifactorial theories of child sexual abuse have been developed. The most influential are Finkelhor's (1984) Precondition Model of child sexual abuse; Hall and Hirschman's (1992) Quadripartite Model; and Marshall and Barbaree's Integrated Theory (1990). While all three of these important theories have a number of strengths, each has serious weaknesses that limit its ability to provide a satisfactory explanation of child sexual abuse. In this paper we attempt to integrate the best elements of the three theories into a comprehensive etiological theory, or at least the beginnings of such a theory. After outlining the concept of theory knitting we briefly summarise each of the multifactorial theories and their major strengths and weaknesses. We then develop a comprehensive theoretical framework (the Pathways Model) integrating both the overlapping and unique elements of these broad perspectives with some additional concepts derived from various psychological domains. In the final section of the paper we consider the adequacy of the Pathways Model.     

A critique of hall and hirschman's quadripartite model of child sexual abuse

Abstract

The aim of the current article is to critically examine an extremely influential multi-factorial theory of child molestation. Hall and Hirschman's (1992) quadripartite model. This innovative model was originally presented as a theory of rape and later extended to explain the onset of child sexual abuse. Despite its prominent status the adequacy of its basic ideas have never been systematically evaluated. First, I describe the quadripartite model in detail and outline its core assumptions. Next, these ideas are subject to critical analysis and I highlight its strengths and weaknesses. Finally, I conclude with some brief comments about the model and the role of theory development in the sexual offending area.     

The role of cognitive distortions in paedophilic offending: Internet and contact offenders compared

Abstract

Cognitive distortions are held to contribute to sexual offending against children in a number of theoretical explanations of such crimes. However, not only is there little or no direct evidence in support of the centrality of cognitive distortions in offending but recent research has questioned whether the concept has explanatory power. Cognitive distortions are variously seen as necessary for the offender to offend against children, as post-offending justifications for the offence, or as reflecting distorted patterns in the offender's upbringing. This paper explores the role of cognitive distortions in sex offending by comparing the distortions of contact sex offenders against children with Internet child pornography offenders without contact offences against children. A new cognitive distortions questionnaire was developed which was suitable for administration to Internet offenders who had no contact offences against children as well as being suitable for contact offenders. It was found that some cognitive distortions are frequently agreed with by sex offenders against children whereas others were seldom or never agreed with. Little support was found for earlier typological approaches to the cognitive schema of sex offenders against children. Contrary to the expectation that contact offenders would have more cognitive distortions, it was found that Internet offenders had more cognitive distortions that children are sexual beings. Furthermore, there were no differences in cognitive distortions justifying the offence. However, offenders with a previous history of offending were more likely to admit to cognitive distortions which justify their offending. It is accepted that cognitive distortions are readily recognized in interviews with sex offenders against children. Nevertheless, it is argued that there is a need for new research to stimulate a new understanding of the nature and role of cognitive distortions in sex offending.     

Examining the effectiveness of a UK community-based sexual offender treatment programme for child abusers

Abstract

An analysis of psychometric data from a sample of 341 UK child abusers who had completed a probation-based sex offender treatment programme was carried out in order to assess the effectiveness of therapeutic treatment. A cluster analysis was also undertaken to examine the pattern of pre-treatment problems. Three clusters of offenders, with distinctly different psychometric profiles, were identified depending upon the number and extent of their offence-specific and social adequacy problems. These were labelled Low need, Medium need and High need. Pre–post analyses revealed clinically significant treatment effects for the entire sample, with differing effects found across the clusters as follows: 50–81% of the Low need group scored within the cut-off (or normative range) at the post stage, while between 3% and 26% had shifted to a clinically significant degree; 34–75% of the Medium need group scored within the cut-off range after treatment, while between 9% and 100% had shifted to a clinically significant degree; 16–52% of the High need sample scored within the cut-off at the post-treatment stage, and between 15% and 80% had shifted to a clinically significant degree.