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Abstracts from Selected Articles

Contents

Issue 6, 2008

Issue 5, 2008

Issue 4, 2008

Issue 3, 2008

Issue 2, 2008 Special Issue: Overrepresentation of Minority Youth in Care

Issue 1, 2008

November/December 2007

September/October 2007

July/August 2007

May/June 2007

March/April 2007

January/February 2007

November/December 2006

September/October 2006

July/August 2006

May/June 2006

March/April 2006 Special Issue: LGBTQ Youth in Child Welfare

January/February 2006

November/December 2005

September/October 2005 Special Issue

July/August 2005

May/June 2005

March/April 2005 Special Issue

January/February 2005

November/December 2004

September/October 2004 Special Issue

July/August 2004

May/June 2004

March/April 2004 Special Issue

January/February 2004

November/December 2003

September/October 2003

July/August 2003

May/June 2003

March/April 2003

January/February 2003

November/December 2002

September/October 2002 Special Issue

July/August 2002

May/June 2002

March/April 2002 Special Issue

January/February 2002

Issue 6, 2008

The Connections Project: A Relational Approach to Engaging Birth Parents in Visitation
Charyl E. Gerring, Susan P. Kemp, and Maureen O. Marcenko

This paper presents a practical framework for relational practice with birth families, organized around parental visitation. The approach was developed in the Birth Family Foster Family Connections Project, a three-year collaborative research demonstration project between a large private agency and the Washington State Department of Child and Family Services. The overall goal of the Connections Project, which served young children from infancy to age six, was to create supportive connections among birth families, foster families, children, and the child welfare system. Although engaging parents in child welfare services is a challenging task for social workers, the Connections Project resulted in strong parent-worker relationships, very high participation in weekly visitation by birth parents, and quite extensive contact between birth- and foster families. The paper describes relational strategies used by Connections social workers before and during visits, with the goal of providing child welfare social workers with a practical and effective framework for engaging parents through this core child welfare service.

Implementation of Group Supervision in Child Welfare: Findings from Arizona's Supervision Circle Project
Cynthia A. Lietz

The process of supervision plays an important role in developing the skills necessary to respond effectively to reports of child maltreatment. Specifically, educational supervision prompting discussion and critical thinking can enhance the analytic skills needed to consider the complexity commonly found in child welfare practice. To this end, group supervision was implemented with supervisors in Arizona to enrich supervisory dialog to better prepare for the unique and often unexpected challenges of child welfare. Post-test data collected from participants suggest group supervision may be one way the field of child protection can enhance critical thinking.

Serious Illness, Injury, and Death in Child Protection and Preparation for End-of-Life Situations Among Child Welfare Services Workers
Ellen L. Csikai, Charlotte Herrin, Maggie Tang, and Wesley T. Church II

A mailed survey of child welfare workers in one southern state assessed various aspects of encounters with end-of-life situations in practice. Findings revealed that child deaths, children with life-threatening or life-limiting illnesses, and parental deaths were most commonly encountered and that coworkers were relied on for support. Many had no specific end-of-life coursework in educational programs and fewer had continuing education in this area. These respondents indicated course content was most needed in the psychological and social needs of patients and families. Agencies can support staff by providing specific training on end-of-life issues that affect child welfare practice.

Primary Factors Related to Multiple Placements for Children in Out-of-Home Care
Lars Eggertsen

Using an ecological framework, this study identified which factors related to out-of-home placements significantly influenced multiple placements for children in Utah during 2000, 2001, and 2002. Multinomial logistic regression statistical procedures and a geographical information system (GIS) were used to analyze the data. The final model included delinquency, sexual abuse, minor health problems, and mental health problems. Implications for child welfare practice, training, and policies are discussed, as well as recommendations for further research.

Recreating Family: Parents Identify Worker-Client Relationships as Paramount in Family Preservation Programs
Annemarie Gockel, Mary Russell, and Barbara Harris

Although existing family preservation program research has focused on identifying the components of effective treatment, we remain far from fully developing empirically supported interventions (Barth, Chamberlain, Reid, Rolls, Hurlburt, Farmer, James, McCabe, & Kohl, 2005; Dufour, Chamberland, & Trocme, 2003). The current longitudinal study expands existing efforts to understand the active ingredients of effective interventions by learning from parents who experienced a family preservation intervention themselves. The current study reports on the reflections of 35 parents who child protection social workers referred to family preservation programs. In contrast to a focus on intervention components, parents related the helpful interventions they received to the effectiveness of intervention processes-namely, to the quality of the relationships they had with their individual family preservation workers and with service teams at the programs they attended. Parents identified that workers in effective programs used specific relational skills to recreate a nurturing family environment that fostered parent engagement and change throughout the process of intervention.

Resiliency in Children and Youth in Kinship Care and Family Foster Care
Jed Metzger

This study examined self-concept, resiliency and social support in 107 children and youth placed in foster care in New York City. Of the children and youth, 55 were placed in family foster care, while the remaining 52 children and youth were placed in a kinship foster home. Significantly more of mothers of the kinship foster care children and youth were homeless or substance abusing, yet visited their children more often than the family foster care youth. These same kinship-placed children and youth had significantly more robust self-concept, performance, and personal attribute scores. Implications for these findings are highlighted.

Walking the Tightrope: Using Power and Authority in Child Welfare Supervision
Marion Bogo and Katharine Dill

Recognizing the importance of understanding the way in which supervisors in child welfare perceive their administrative responsibilities and use of power and authority, an exploratory study was conducted. Supervisors in child welfare agencies in urban and rural settings participated in focus groups and discussed the impact of macro and micro factors on their performance. Policy changes, including using new approaches to child welfare, and organizational culture had a major affect on the way they offered supervision. At the micro level, their use of power was related to elements in their relationships with frontline workers and their own professional development. Implications for child welfare practice and for new and experienced supervisors are presented.

Issue 5, 2008

The Relationship of Child Neglect and Physical Maltreatment to Placement Outcomes and Behavioral Adjustment in Children in Foster Care: A Canadian Perspective
Robyn A. Marquis, Alan W. Leschied, Debbie Chiodo, and Arlene O'Neill

Dramatic increases in child welfare rates in Canada over recent years have been largely driven by an increased reporting of neglect cases (Trocm�, Fallon, MacLaurin, & Neves, 2005). To a large extent, exploring the importance of neglect separate from physical maltreatment has been ignored in the child maltreatment literature. This study examined the differential effects of foster care in the child welfare system with children who presented as either experiencing physical maltreatment or neglect prior to their admission to care. Findings from this study are important to child welfare decision making about the differential needs of these two groups of children. The files of a sample of 110 children (79 neglected children and 31 physically maltreated children) were examined for differences in their adjustment while in foster care and on discharge. Some distinct differences in presentation were noted between the children experiencing the two types of maltreatment. Children experiencing neglect were younger, were more likely to have caregivers diagnosed with a substance abuse disorder, and had higher rates of exposure to spousal violence than maltreated children. Physically maltreated children displayed greater difficulty during their foster care adjustment. Once discharged from care, neglected children were more likely to be returned to the care of the agency. This study draws attention to the differential needs of children who experience neglect prior to their admission to a child welfare agency. Longer-term outcome studies are necessary to more completely understand how these two types of maltreatment influence the outcomes of children who are provided care within the child welfare system.

Cascading Implementation of a Foster and Kinship Parent Intervention
Patricia Chamberlain, Joseph Price, John Reid, and John Landsverk

Most foster parents in the United States are required to participate in training, yet no empirical support exists for the training's effectiveness. During the past two decades, high-quality clinical trials have documented that parent management training (PMT) programs produce positive outcomes for children and families in clinical and school settings; yet, these advances have not transferred to foster/kinship parents. Here, we describe a randomized control trial testing the effectiveness of a PMT-based treatment with 700 foster/kinship parents in San Diego County. The collaborative processes to engage stakeholders, the strategies for involving parents, and the results of two levels of developer involvement in training and supervision on child behavioral outcomes are also described.

The Parent-Child Home Program in Western Manitoba: A 20-Year Evaluation
Barbara M. Gfellner, Lorraine McLaren, and Arron Metcalfe

This article is a 20-year evaluation of the Parent-Child Home Program (PCHP) of Child and Family Services in Western Manitoba. Following Levenstein's (1979, 1988) approach, home visitors model parent-child interchanges using books and toys to enhance children's cognitive development through appropriate parenting behaviors. The evaluation provides a profile of PCHP families and performance outcomes. Findings show impressive gains in cognitive competence and parenting behaviors. Recommendations are given for program development and future research.

Planning and Evaluating Child Welfare Training Projects: Working Toward a Comprehensive Conceptual Model
Mary Elizabeth Collins, Maryann Amodeo, and Cassandra Clay

Training is widely believed to be an important element in promoting good child welfare practice. Scholarly attention to training, however, has been limited. To facilitate further development of child welfare training, in this article, we discuss the importance of conceptualization in the design and evaluation of training projects, offer a conceptual model developed for a national evaluation project, and suggest modifications to the model for further use in other settings.

Impact of Intensive Family Preservation Services on Disproportionality of Out-of-Home Placement of Children of Color in One State's Child Welfare System
Raymond S. Kirk and Diana P. Griffith

This study examines the impact of intensive family preservation services (IFPS) on racial disproportionality of placement into out-of-home care. A large sample was partitioned on the basis of race, risk, and services received. The probability of placement is examined as a function of these variables. High-risk minority children receiving traditional services are at higher risk of placement than white children are, but minority children receiving IFPS are less likely to be placed than white children are. When only minority children are examined, those receiving IFPS are less likely to be placed than those receiving traditional services are. IFPS is associated with a reduction in racial disproportionality of out-of-home placement among high-risk families. Within-race analysis suggests that IFPS may mitigate racial disparity in out-of-home placement existing in the remainder of the child welfare population that receives traditional services.

Placement History of Foster Children: A Study of Placement History and Outcomes in Long-Term Family Foster Care
Johan Strijker, Erik J. Knorth, and Jana Knot-Dickscheit

The files of 419 children in family foster care and kinship foster care were used in a retrospective longitudinal design study that examined their placement histories in child welfare. Significant associations were found between the number of placements on one hand, and the prevalence of attachment disorders, severity of behavioral problems, and breakdowns of new foster care placements on the other hand. It appears that a breakdown can be predicted to a certain extent, the implications of which are discussed.

The Impact of Child and Family Service Reviews on Knowledge Management
Pamela A. Mischen

This article uses knowledge management as a framework to analyze the impact of the child and family review process on child protective service agencies. Results of a qualitative analysis of child and family service reviews and program improvement plans indicated that the process has led to an increase in the use of family team meetings and risk assessment tools as ways of managing information and increasing knowledge.

Issue 4, 2008

Labor of Love: Foster Mothers, Caregiving, and Welfare Reform
Filomena M. Critelli

Using a telephone survey, this study examined the experiences of 100 foster mothers who receive aid through Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). Foster mothers reported numerous difficulties with TANF, including frequent sanctions and case closings, limited work and training opportunities, and pervasive material hardships. Foster children exhibited high levels of emotional and behavior problems. The data suggest that lack of access to child care and pressure to become self-sufficient may contribute to a decreased pool of foster mothers.

Does Family Group Decision Making Affect Child Welfare Outcomes? Findings from a Randomized Control Study

Stephanie Cosner Berzin, Ed Cohen, Karen Thomas, and William C. Dawson This article describes the evaluation of two family group decision-making programs administered under the California Title IV-E Waiver Demonstration Project. This is the only evaluation using random assignment to examine FGDM. Overall, results did not indicate more positive outcomes for children receiving the intervention, but did indicate that children were not worse than those receiving traditional services; outcomes examined were related to child safety, placement stability, and permanence.

The Nature of Parental Supervisory Neglect
Carol Coohey

The primary purpose of this study is to determine whether different types of supervision problems such as leaving a child alone and leaving a child with an inadequate caregiver have different correlates and consequences for children. A case-comparison design was used to compare four types of supervision problems. Data were extracted from child protective services investigative reports. The results showed that each type of supervision problem had a distinct set of characteristics. Recommendations for assessing and treating different types of supervision problems are addressed.

Children in Foster Care: Before, During, and After Psychiatric Hospitalization
Joe Persi and Megan Sisson

Although it is generally accepted that foster children are at greater risk for mental health problems than are children in the general population, very little is known about the smaller group of foster children admitted to psychiatric hospitals. The present study sought to determine whether foster children admitted to inpatient care are a distinct and more vulnerable group than other hospitalized children and found that they are. Youth admitted from the foster care system were found to have higher rates of externalizing problems and diagnoses and lower social competence relative to other inpatient children. They were also found to have a distinguishing pattern of service use including first admissions at younger ages, higher numbers of restraints in hospital, and greater likelihood of readmission. These findings point to pressing needs for additional research to improve understanding of the vulnerabilities and inpatient care needs of foster children and for better initiatives to prevent early and recurrent hospitalization.

The Social Service Divide: Service Availability and Accessibility in Rural Versus Urban Counties and Impact on Child Welfare Outcomes Kathleen Belanger and Warren Stone

An empirical study of 75 counties in a state found that social services are more available and accessible in urban versus rural counties signaling a need for public policy addressing service allocation. The study also found a relationship between the accessibility of intensive family preservation services and reentry into foster care, a child welfare outcome. Implications for achieving outcomes affecting safety, permanence, and well-being of children, are discussed.

Should I Stay or Should I Go? A Comparison Study of Intention to Leave Among Public Child Welfare Systems with High and Low Turnover Rates
Jessica Strolin-Goltzman

This comparison study analyzes the commonalties, similarities, and differences on supervisory and organizational factors between a group of high turnover systems and a group of low turnover systems. Significant differences on organizational factors, but not on supervisory factors, emerged from the statistical analysis. Additionally, this study found that low turnover is not necessarily predictive of a healthy organizational environment. Implications for turnover reduction and prevention are provided in conclusion.

Meeting the Long-Term Needs of Families Who Adopt Children Out of Foster Care: A Three-Year Follow-Up Study
Doris M. Houston and Laurie Kramer

The purpose of this study was to assess the extent to which agency and nonagency supportive resources contributed to the stability and well-being of 34 newly adoptive families over 3-years. Results revealed significant pre- to postadoption declines in families' contact and satisfaction with formal and informal helping resources. Greater preadoption contact with formal adoption agency staff predicted adoption stability and lower levels of family conflict at the 3-year assessment. The results highlight the importance of providing adoptive families with formal and informal support that meet their evolving needs.

Issue 3, 2008

Characteristics of Out-of-Home Caregiving Environments Provided Under Child Welfare Services
Richard P. Barth, Rebecca Green, Mary Bruce Webb, Ariana Wall, Claire Gibbons, and Carlton Craig

A national probability sample of children who have been in child welfare supervised placements for about one year identifies the characteristics (e.g., age, training, education, health, and home) of the foster parents, kinship foster parents, and group home caregivers. Caregiving respondents provided information about their backgrounds. Interviewers also used the HOME-SF to assess the caregiving environments of foster care and kinship care. Comparisons are made to other nationally representative samples, including the U.S. Census and the National Survey of America's Families. Kinship care, foster care, and group care providers are significantly different from each other- and the general population- in age and education. Findings on the numbers of children cared for, understimulating environments, use of punitive punishment, and low educational levels of caregivers generate suggestions for practice with foster families.

Engaging Families in Child Welfare Services: Worker Versus Client Perspectives
Julie Cooper Altman

Part of a larger mixed-method study of engagement in neighborhood-based child welfare services, the qualitative data this article reports on highlights the extent to which parents and workers differ in their views of engagement, the best ways to foster engagement in services, and the importance each group places on it as a process. Strategies designed to improve engagement are offered, including knowledge that can help workers interact more effectively with families and in so doing improve permanency for children.

Accessing Substance Abuse Treatment: Issues for Parents Involved with Child Welfare Services
Anna Rockhill, Beth L. Green, and Linda Newton-Curtis

The complex issues associated with barriers to treatment entry for parents who are involved with child welfare has not been well explored. Accessing timely treatment is now critical for these parents since the introduction of the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997, limiting the time until a permanency decision is made. Using a longitudinal, qualitative approach, substance-abusing parents from 15 families, their relevant family members, and service providers were interviewed approximately every 3 months over an 18-month period. The experiences of these parents add to our knowledge of the unique barriers this population faces, and expands our understanding of the mechanisms by which certain barriers may delay treatment.

Parents with Co-Occurring Mental Health and Substance Abuse Conditions Involved in Child Protection Services: Clinical Profile and Treatment Needs
Layne K. Stromwall, Nancy C. Larson, Tanya Nieri, Lynn C. Holley, Diane Topping, Jason Castillo, and Jos� B. Ashford

This article reports findings of an exploratory study of 71 parents with substance abuse conditions involved in a child dependency court. Over half (59%) of the parents had a co-occurring mental health condition. Parents with cooccurring conditions (PWCC) differed in several important ways from those with only substance abuse conditions. PWCC were also more likely than their case managers were to report a need for mental health treatment. Implications for child welfare practice and research are offered.

Perceptions of Child Neglect Among Urban American Indian/Alaska Native Parents
Teresa Evans-Campbell

A survey of 101 American Indian/Alaska Native (AIAN) parents in Los Angeles was conducted to explore perceptions of child neglect among urban AIAN parents and factors associated with perceptions. Participants rated substance abuse by parents as the most serious type of neglect. Providing material necessities and providing adequate structure were ranked as the least serious types of neglect. Gender, education, marital status, and indirect experience with Child Protective Services were significantly related to perceptions of neglect among urban AIAN parents.

Citizen Review Panels for Child Protective Services: A National Profile
Blake L. Jones and David Royse

Citizen Review Panels (CRPs) for Child Protective Services are groups of citizen-volunteers throughout the United States who are federally mandated to evaluate local and state child protection systems. This study presents a profile of 332 CRP members in 20 states with regards to their demographic information, length of time on the panel, and attitudes regarding the variables that promote and hinder collaboration between the panels and state child welfare agencies. Results indicate that the average review panel member tends to be a professional, middle-aged female with an advanced degree. Better communication (between child protective services and the CRPs) and clearer goals/objectives for CRPs were the most cited suggestions of how CRPs and child welfare agencies can work together. Lack of funding and the defensiveness of the child welfare agency were seen as the top obstacles to such collaboration. Policy implications and avenues of further study are discussed.

Reasonable Efforts? Implementation of the Reunification Bypass Provision of ASFA
Jill Duerr Berrick, Young Choi, Amy D'Andrade, and Laura Frame

The Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) of 1997 includes provisions to deny reunification services under specified conditions and gives states latitude to develop any number of additional "aggravated circumstances" in which parents need not be offered services. California legislators have developed a relatively large number of conditions enabling agencies to bypass reunification services. Based upon a case record review involving 1,055 parents, this study attempts to identify the proportion of parents eligible for a reunification bypass, the proportion recommended to the courts, and the proportion of parents who were denied reunification services, and examines the characteristics of parents associated with reunification bypass recommendations. Based upon focus groups and interviews with child welfare and judicial personnel in six counties, the study also examines the implementation of reunification bypass provisions. Implications for public policy and practice are provided.

Issue 2, 2008 Special Issue: Overrepresentation of Minority Youth in Care

Introduction: Gaps in Research and Public Policies
Kathleen Belanger, Deborah K. Green, and Lloyd B. Bullard

Editorial: Commentary on Disproportionality in Child Welfare
Terry L. Cross

PART I - UNDERSTANDING AND MEASURING RACIAL DISPROPORTIONALITY AND DISPARITY OF OUTCOMES

Measuring Racial Disparity in Child Welfare
Terry V. Shaw, Emily Putnam-Hornstein, Joseph Magruder, and Barbara Needell

Overrepresentation of certain racial/ethnic groups in the foster care system is one of the most troubling and challenging issues in child welfare today. In response, many states have started reporting outcomes by race and ethnicity to identify disproportionately high rates of system contact. The identification of disproportional representation is the first step in developing targeted strategies to address disproportionality--highlighting where resources should be directed and guiding future research. However, present and future efforts to address disproportionality must be accompanied by statistically sound and meaningful methods of measurement. In this article, we argue for the adoption of a relative rate measure of representation--a "Disparity Index"--as the primary instrument for assessing racial disparity in child welfare.

Deconstructing Disproportionality: Views From Multiple Community Stakeholders
Alan J. Dettlaff and Joan R. Rycraft

While the existence of racial disproportionality has been well documented, the causes of disproportionality are less clear. Studies identifying contributing factors have relied largely on analyses of state and national data sets, which may lack the robust data necessary to fully explain the factors related to this issue. Further, a limitation of existing research is the lack of data from the voice of those in communities affected by disproportionality. This study was designed to develop a deeper understanding of disproportionality from the views of multiple community stakeholders. Using a qualitative approach, data were collected to provide a greater depth of information that can be used alongside existing studies toward developing an enhanced understanding of disproportionality in child welfare.

Visible Minority, Aboriginal, and Caucasian Children Investigated by Canadian Protective Services
Chantal Lavergne, Sarah Dufour, Nico Trocmé, and Marie-Claude Larrivée

The aim of this descriptive study was to compare the report profiles of Caucasian, Aboriginal, and other visible minority children whose cases were assessed by child protective services in Canada. The results show that children of Aboriginal ancestry and from visible minority groups are selected for investigation by child protective services 1.77 times more frequently than are children in the general population. Physical abuse is reported and substantiated more often for Asian children, whereas neglect is chiefly an issue with Aboriginal and black children. Child vulnerability factors and parental and housing risk factors alone cannot explain the higher substantiation percentages, except for Aboriginal children, for whom the risks are higher than for the other groups. The individual and family profiles of Asian and black children appear to be significantly less of a burden than those of Aboriginals and Caucasians. These results may reflect a certain degree of racial bias in the identification and reporting of maltreatment cases to child protective services and in decisions about the substantiation of maltreatment.

Connective Complexity: African American Adolescents and the Relational Context of Kinship Foster Care
Ann Schwartz

Attempts to address racial disproportionality in child welfare must include a focus on the benefits and challenges facing children in kinship care. African American children not only are overrepresented in the child welfare system, but also are placed disproportionately in kinship foster care. Using a sample of 18 African American adolescents ages 11 to 14, this article explores how the relational context of care experienced by adolescents in kinship foster care differs from that of adolescents in nonkinship foster family placements. Findings are presented regarding the stability of relationships as well as complex role dilemmas experienced by kinship youth as they relate to caregivers and birthparents in the child welfare context. Implications are given for practice with kinship families.

The Role of Faith in Adoption: Achieving Positive Adoption Outcomes for African American Children
Kathleen Belanger, Sam Copeland, and Monit

African American children are overrepresented in foster care by more than twice their proportion in the population (U.S. Government Accountability Office [USGAO], 2007). Building upon research relating faith (religiosity) to positive health and mental health, this study utilized cognitive and religious coping theories to examine the influence of faith on choosing to adopt, achieving positive adoption outcomes, and reducing disproportionality. From Louisiana and Texas, 113 families who adopted 226 children, 48% African American, participated in a survey measuring children's behavior and parent distress (PSI-SF Difficult Child and Parent Distress Subscales) and religiosity (Hoge Intrinsic Religiosity Index). Of the respondents, 93% of the respondents belonged to a religious congregation, 86% attended church weekly. Controlling for child's behavior, religiosity predicted lower stress in adoptive parenting; church attendance was related to improvement in parental health since adopting. Faith was rated most frequently as essential in parents' decisions to adopt. The study concludes that faith may be an asset in increasing adoptions and improving adoption outcomes resulting in increased numbers of African American children adopted.

The Racial Geography of Child Welfare: Toward a New Research Paradigm
Dorothy E. Roberts

This article examines the community-level impact of concentrated child welfare agency involvement in African American neighborhoods. Based on interviews of 25 African American women in a Chicago neighborhood, the study found that residents were aware of intense agency involvement in their neighborhood and identified profound effects on social relationships including interference with parental authority, damage to children's ability to form social relationships, and distrust among neighbors. The study also discovered a tension between respondents' identification of adverse consequences of concentrated state supervision for family and community relationships and neighborhood reliance on agency involvement for needed financial support. The author discusses the implications of these findings for a new research paradigm aimed at understanding the community-level effects of racial disproportionality.

The Intersection of Race, Poverty, and Risk: Understanding the Decision to Provide Services to Clients and to Remove Children
Stephanie L. Rivaux, Joyce James, Kim Wittenstrom, Donald Baumann, Janess Sheets, Judith Henry, and Victoria Jeffries

Studies have found that certain racial groups, particularly the children of African American families, are placed in foster care at a higher rate than children of other races. These families are also sometimes found to be afforded fewer services that might prevent these removals, relative to families of other races. It is unclear why this is so. Poverty has been suspected, and sometimes found, to be the primary cause of the disparity. Lacking in some of these analyses, however, was how risk of future abuse/neglect to the child entered into the decisions and particularly, how assumptions about race, poverty, and risk are factored into the decision-making process. It is important to understand this process if we are to find a way to correct it. The current study addresses this process.

Findings indicate that even when controlling for risk and poverty (as well as other relevant factors), race affects the decision to provide services and to remove. We find that poverty is associated with higher risk scores. We also find that the risk scores of African American families in cases that are closed, those receiving Family Based Safety Services, and those resulting in children being removed are lower than the risk scores for Anglo families in the same groups. This suggests that rather than racial bias in the assigning of the risk score itself, disproportionality may be better explained by racial/ethnic differences in the risk threshold workers use to decision to take action on a case. In particular, the risk threshold for providing services or removing a child is higher for Anglo Americans than for African Americans.

Children Ever in Care: An Examination of Cumulative Disproportionality
Joseph Magruder and Terry V. Shaw

Most studies of ethnic disproportionality in child welfare examine data in one of two ways: a point in time approach or an entry cohort approach. While each provides insight into disproportionality, neither gives a full picture of the differences among ethnic groups in the experience of the child welfare system over time. This study uses longitudinal administrative child welfare data to examine ethnic disproportionality in involvement with the child welfare system during the first seven years of life at three levels of contact: (1) initial referrals, (2) substantiated referrals, and (3) first entries. Findings suggest the experience of African American families, and probably Native America families, with the child welfare system is much different from other families.

The Benefits of Life Table Analysis for Describing Disproportionality
David Crampton and Claudia J. Coulton

This article reviews how life table analysis can improve on cross-sectional analysis of disproportionality by comparing African American and Caucasian children's risk of being investigated for child maltreatment or being placed in foster care before their 10th birthday. We then highlight the application of life table results in advocacy. Newspaper commentaries and presentations for community groups using these results raised awareness with policymakers and in turn helped to increase funding and programming that addresses disproportionality. Life table results point to the role of age and geography in understanding why disproportionality occurs. We conclude by describing how one community is using these results to develop interventions and reform strategies based on addressing these age and geography factors.

Editorial: Acknowledging Disproportionate Outcomes and Changing Service Delivery
Ruth G. McRoy

Emerging Strategies for Reducing Racial Disproportionality and Disparate Outcomes in Child Welfare: The Results of a National Breakthrough Series Collaborative
Oronde A. Miller and Kristin J. Ward

Racial disproportionality in child welfare has been discussed as a seemingly intractable challenge with complex contributing factors. Some argue that these dynamics are far too difficult to be significantly impacted by public child welfare systems alone. The Breakthrough Series Collaborative (BSC) methodology, incorporating an analysis of structural racism and potential system bias, was proffered as a tool for engaging public child welfare agencies in a rapid, action-oriented process for identifying innovative strategies and practices to reduce racial disproportionality and disparate outcomes. This article describes the Disproportionality BSC process, as well as the work of participating jurisdictions with respect to transforming organizational culture and testing/implementing child welfare practice improvements. A theory of change is presented and critical lessons learned are shared in the form of collaborative reflections.

Evaluating Multisystemic Efforts to Impact Disproportionality Through Key Decision Points
Dennette Derezotes, Brad Richardson, Connie Bear King, Julia Kleinschmit-Rembert, and Betty Pratt

Working in four communities, Casey Foundation/Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP) Alliance on Racial Equity (the Alliance) have developed a Racial Equity Scorecard for measuring disproportionality at key decision points for use in impacting disproportionality in the child welfare system. The four communities include King County, Washington, Guilford County, North Carolina, Ramsey County, Minnesota, and Woodbury County, Iowa. Data from one site--Woodbury County, Iowa--are used as an example. This article provides the background and method for identification and measurement of key decision points in the child welfare system to track change affected by multisystemic approaches to reduce disproportionality. Interpretation of the results in the scorecard is provided and recommendations for future interventions based on the data are discussed.

Addressing the Disproportionate Representation of Children of Color: A Collaborative Community Approach
Monique Busch, Jacqueline Remondet Wall, Steven M. Koch, and Clara Anderson

The state of Indiana recommended a committee be formed to address the disproportional representation of black youth in out-of-home placements. In response, the Indiana Disproportionality Committee (IDC) was established. This article presents the development, objectives and future of the IDC. One of the objectives, research, will be offered as an example of the committee's collaborative strategies. The IDC, in partnership with another organization, has begun exploring relationships between ethnicity, risk factors and treatment outcomes. The results of this research effort have examined disproportion and disparity, leading the IDC to identify needs for change within the state. Barriers and successes of the IDC will be shared, so that others can use these efforts to guide their own strategies to reduce disproportionality.

Addressing Disproportionality Through Undoing Racism, Leadership Development, and Community Engagement
Joyce James, Deborah Green, Carolyne Rodriguez, and Rowena Fong

In 2005 the Texas 79th legislature passed Senate Bill 6, which included mandates to address disproportionality. This article will describe how the Texas Department of Family Protective Services in collaboration with Casey Family Programs' Texas State Strategy systems improvement initiative is addressing disproportionality statewide through promising practices and innovations in undoing racism trainings, values-based leadership development, and community engagement strategies

Comparative Analysis of Two Community-Based Efforts Designed to Impact Disproportionality
Brad Richardson

Children of color are overrepresented in child welfare in Iowa at a rate double their percentage of the population. In 2005 the Iowa Department of Human Services implemented two pilot demonstration projects to address overrepresentation of Native American and African American children in the child welfare system. The projects, called the Minority Youth and Families Initiative (MYFI), included ongoing evaluation. Results obtained over two years indicate improved worker and participant alliance, family functioning, and outcomes for children. Findings are discussed and recommendations are provided for further improvements in practice, research, and evaluation to reduce racial disparities the child welfare system.

Taking Action on Racial Disproportionality in the Child Welfare System
Patricia Clark, Jackie Buchanan, and Lyman Legters

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.

Point of Engagement: Reducing Disproportionality and Improving Child and Family Outcomes
Eric J. Marts, Eun-Kyoung Othelia Lee, Ruth McRoy, and Jacquelyn McCroskey

This paper describes an innovative service delivery model to reduce the number of children entering the child welfare system. Point of Engagement (POE) is a collaborative family- and community-centered approach initiated in Compton, a regional office in Los Angeles County that serves south Los Angeles, a predominantly African American and Hispanic/Latino area. Over the past two years, the POE has been implemented in the Compton area by providing more thorough investigations, engaging families, and delivering needed services to children and families within their homes and communities. POE has demonstrated a reduction in the number of children removed from their families, an increase in the number of children returned to their families within one year, and an increase in the number of children finding legal permanency.

Closing: Gaps in Research and Public Policies
Robert B. Hill

Issue 1, 2008

Children With Problematic Sexualized Behaviors in the Child Welfare System
Amy J. L. Baker, Len Gries, Mel Schneiderman, Rob Parker, Marc Archer, and Bill Friedrich

This study assessed the utility of the Child Sexual Behavior Inventory (CSBI) in a child welfare sample. In this study, 97 children from ages 10 to 12 from either foster boarding homes or a residential treatment center participated. Researchers interviewed foster parents or primary therapists about children's sexual behavior, traumatic events, clinical symptoms, and their attitudes toward the child. Findings revealed that problematic sexualized behaviors were more prevalent in the residential treatment center (RTC) sample than they were in a normative sample. The pattern of associations between sexual behavior problems, traumatic events, and clinical syndromes in both the RTC and the foster boarding home (FBH) samples was similar to what has been found in samples in which biological custodial parents were the respondents. Analyses comparing youth who met the criterion for having problematic sexualized behaviors and youth who did not meet the criterion revealed that the two groups differed on clinical symptoms, prior traumatic events, and negative reports by caregivers. Results confirm the utility of the CSBI measure for this population and highlight several important clinical and programmatic concerns for addressing problematic sexual behavior in children in the child welfare system.

The Role of Interagency Collaboration for Substance-Abusing Families Involved With Child Welfare
Beth L. Green, Anna Rockhill, and Scott Burrus

Meeting the needs of families who are involved with the child welfare system because of a substance abuse issue remains a challenge for child welfare practitioners. In order to improve services to these families, there has been an increasing focus on improving collaboration between child welfare, treatment providers, and the court systems. This paper presents the results from qualitative interviews with 104 representatives of these three systems that explore how the collaborative process works to benefit families, as well as the barriers and supports for building successful collaborations. Results indicate that collaboration has at least three major functions: building shared value systems, improving communication, and providing a "team" of support. Each of these leads to different kinds of benefits for families as well as providers and has different implications for building successful collaborative interventions. Despite these putative benefits, providers within each system, however, continue to struggle to build effective collaborations, and they face such issues as deeply ingrained mistrust and continued lack of understanding of other systems' values, goals, and perspectives. Challenges that remain for successful collaborations are discussed.

Safety, Family, Permanency, and Child Well-Being: What We Can Learn From Children
Adair Fox, Jill Duerr Berrick, and Karie Frasch

This study is an attempt to infuse into discussions about system accountability the notion that children can speak to issues of safety, family, permanency, and well-being in child welfare. The study utilized a cross-sectional survey design involving in-home, semistructured interviews with children ages 6 to 13 in two urban California counties. Of the 100 children who participated in face-to-face interviews, 59 were living with kin caregivers and 41 were living with nonkin. Standardized instruments and measures developed specifically for this study were employed. Findings indicate that while children assess their homes as safe, neighborhood conditions are often challenging. A significant proportion of children reveal less than optimal relationships with their caregivers, and many experience feelings of impermanence. Nevertheless, children report positive regard for the caregiving they receive and are optimistic about the future. Implications for practice and research are addressed.

The Climate of Child Welfare Employee Retention
Helen Cahalane and Edward W. Sites

This article describes differences in perceptions of the child welfare work environment among Title IV-E educated individuals who remain within public child welfare and those who sought employment elsewhere after fulfilling a legal work commitment. Job satisfaction, emotional exhaustion, and personal accomplishment were predictive of staying versus leaving. The empirical evidence suggests that efforts to retain highly skilled and educated public child welfare workers should focus on creating positive organizational climates within agencies.

African American Males in Foster Care and the Risk of Delinquency: The Value of Social Bonds and Permanence
Joseph P. Ryan, Mark F. Testa, and Fuhua Zhai

Juvenile delinquency remains a significant problem for child welfare systems throughout the United States. Victims of child abuse and neglect are more likely relative to children in the general population to engage in delinquency (Ryan & Testa, 2005; Widom, 1989). Although the magnitude of this relationship is not fully understood (Zingraff, Leiter, Myers, & Johnsen, 1993), the risk of delinquency is particularly high for African American males, adolescents, and children in substitute care settings. Unfortunately little is known about the factors that connect the experiences of maltreatment and delinquency. This lack of knowledge makes it nearly impossible to decrease the risk of delinquency for children in foster care. To improve the understanding of juvenile delinquency in the child welfare system, the current study tests aspects of social control theory within the context of foster care. We focus specifically on the effects of foster parent-foster child attachment, commitment, and permanence. The results indicate that strong levels of attachment decrease the risk of delinquency for youth in foster care. Involvement with religious organizations also decreases the risk of delinquency. In contrast, perceptions of placement instability, placement with relatives, and school suspensions are associated with an increased risk of delinquency.

Child Abuse and Neglect in Cambodian Refugee Families: Characteristics and Implications for Practice
Janet Chang, Siyon Rhee, and S. Megan Berthold

This study examines the characteristics and patterns of child maltreatment among Cambodian refugee families in Los Angeles and assesses the implications for child welfare practice with Cambodian refugee families. Data were extracted from 243 active Cambodian case files maintained by the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (LAC-DCFS). Some of the major findings include (1) Cambodian child maltreatment cases were most frequently reported to the LAC-DCFS among various Asian Pacific ethnic groups; (2) Cambodian refugee families were more likely to be charged with neglect, while their Asian Pacific counterparts were more likely charged with physical abuse; (3) the circumstance under which maltreatment occurred most frequently was parental substance abuse and mental illness; and (4) while fathers who maltreated their child were likely to use alcohol, mothers were also more likely to have a mental health problem such as depression. This study suggests the importance of collaboration between Child Protective Service agencies, substance abuse programs, traditional healers, mental health services, and other social service agencies for effective child abuse prevention and intervention efforts.

November/December 2007

Youth Characteristics Associated with Behavioral and Mental Health Problems During the Transition to Residential Treatment Centers: The Odyssey Project Population
Amy J. L. Baker, Marc Archer, and Patrick Curtis

This study aimed to determine what youth characteristics were associated with emotional and behavioral problems exhibited within the first three months of placement in residential treatment centers (RTCs) in a sample of youth from 20 agencies in 13 states. Two primary research questions were addressed: 1) What characteristics were associated with behavior during the transition to care? 2) Were the characteristics associated with behavior during the transition the same for boys and girls? Data were drawn from the Time 1 phase of the longitudinal national Odyssey Project dataset developed by the Child Welfare League of America. Measures included an extensive child and family characteristics (CFC) form and the Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). The results revealed significant gender-specific patterns of associations between youth characteristics and behavior exhibited during the transition to RTC placement. Notably, a sexual abuse history was associated with Externalizing for girls and Internalizing for boys and entering on psychotropic medication was associated with Internalizing for girls and boys and Externalizing for boys only. Results suggest many avenues for refining practice.

Child Welfare Workplace: The State of the Workforce and Strategies to Improve Retention
Maria Scannapieco and Kelli Connell-Carrick

Child welfare systems throughout the United States are being closely scrutinized as sensational cases appear in the media in nearly every state. At the federal level, with the Child and Family Service Review process, the government is documenting that states across the country are not conforming to federal child welfare requirements (DHHS, 2007) put in place to ensure the safety and well-being of children. One of the most crucial underlying causes of these inadequacies is a workforce that lacks the manpower for the tasks it confronts. To meet performance standards for the seven major Adoption and Safe Family Act child welfare safety outcomes, child protection agencies must stop the outward flow of staff from the workplace. This paper presents a study examining correlates related to retention. It was found supervisors and co-workers play a crucial role in the retention of workers. Strategies are presented aimed at assisting states in ways to slow the turnover rate of workers in child welfare.

Social Networks, Informal Child Care, and Inadequate Supervision by Mothers
Carol Coohey

The purpose of this study is to determine whether less informal child care support from family and friends is related to supervisory neglect, and if there is a relationship, to test several explanations for why some mothers receive less child care. Thirty-two low-income mothers who did not adequately supervise their children were matched to 32 mothers who provided adequate supervision. The results showed the mothers who provided inadequate supervision received less child care support from their partners and relatives, but not their friends. These differences appear to be linked to several properties of the mothers' social networks. For example, the majority of the mothers who provided inadequate supervision either did not have a partner or knew them for less than one year. They had fewer family members living nearby and more negative relationships with them than the mothers who provided adequate supervision. To reduce chronic supervisory neglect, mothers may need assistance with both informal and formal child care support.

The Training Process of the Maryland Guardianship Assistance Project: A Collaborative Model for Kinship Foster Care
Pamela L. Thornton, Joshua N. Okundaye, and Donna Harrington

Understanding models of multidisciplinary collaborations in child welfare has become essential for policy development, program success, and improving outcomes for children in foster care. The authors present the state of Maryland's Guardianship Assistance Project (GAP) as a model of multidisciplinary collaboration in child welfare and describe the training process that supported the development of the model. Key components for effective collaborative practice, lessons learned, and recommendations from the GAP collaboration are presented.

Outcomes of a Randomized Trial of Continuum of Care Services for Children in a Child Welfare System
E. Wayne Holden, Susan Rousseau O'Connell, Qinghong Liao, Anna Krivelyova, Tim Connor, Gary M. Blau, and Dorian Long

The Connecticut Department of Children and Families Title IV-E waiver demonstration evaluated whether the well-being of children approved for residential mental health services could be improved, and lengths of stay in restrictive placements reduced, by providing case rate payments to community agencies to provide continuum of care services. Children between ages 7 and 15 were randomly assigned to either the demonstration group (n = 78) or to usual state-supported services (n = 79). One-year outcome results indicated that in a situation that is less costly, improvement in outcomes occurred in less restrictive settings. Continuum of care services were more effective in 1) returning children to in-home placements, 2) reducing the length of stay in restrictive placements, and (3) utilizing higher levels of case management through coordination among agencies and family support services.

Shaping Child Welfare Policy Via Performance Measurement
Clare Tilbury

Performance measurement is generally depicted as a neutral, technical exercise providing objective data for decision-making. But it also has a normative role in framing policy problems and solutions. This article explores the role of indicators in shaping child welfare, comparing stated policy with performance indicator regimes in England. It shows how indicators construct child welfare narrowly as investigation and placement, contradicting the more comprehensive family support approaches of policy and legislation.

September/October 2007 Special Issue: Effectively Addressing Mental Health Issues in Child Welfare Practice

Edited by
Julie Collins
Members of the Mental Health Advisory Board

Introduction
Julie Collins

This volume is dedicated to advances in policies, programs, and practices for effectively addressing the mental health issues in child welfare practice, and it reflects CWLA's and the Mental Health Advisory Board's commitment to ensuring children and their families receive effective mental health services that lead to their optimal well-being.

Creating More Trauma-Informed Services for Children Using Assessment-Focused Tools
Robyn Igelman, Nicole Taylor, Alicia Gilbert, Barbara Ryan, Alan Steinberg, Charles Wilson, and Gail Mann

This article promotes integrating assessment and evidence-based practice in the treatment of traumatized children through a review of two newly developed trauma assessment tools: (1) the Child Welfare Trauma Referral Tool (CWT), and (2) Assessment-Based Treatment for Traumatized Children: A Trauma Assessment Pathway Model (TAP). These tools use pathways and algorithms to increase understanding of individual child trauma victims, and assist professionals working with children to make appropriate referral and treatment decisions within both child welfare and mental health contexts.

Mental Health Assessment of Infants in Foster Care
Judith Silver and Sheryl Dicker

Infants placed in foster care are at high risk for emotional and behavioral problems. Assessment of their mental health must account for their often-adverse life experiences prior to placement and the involvement of multiple systems that shape their lives in lieu of parents' authority. This article presents practice guidelines for infant mental health evaluations with consideration of legal requirements and the unique issues conferred by foster care.

The Influence of Family Environment on Mental Health Need and Service Use Among Vulnerable Children
Richard Thompson, Michael A. Lindsey, Diana J. English, Kristin M. Hawley, Sharon Lambert, and Dorothy C. Browne

Children in child welfare are especially likely to have unmet mental health needs. The role of family factors in children's use of mental health services was examined in a longitudinal sample of 1,075 maltreated or at-risk children. Vulnerable family environment (poor family functioning, low social support, and caregiver psychological distress) is an important predictor of children's mental health needs. It also predicts them not having these needs met.

Effectively Addressing Mental Health Issues in Child Welfare Practice: The Family Connection
Elisabeth Pufahl

Nonprofit family-run organizations, such as Tennessee Voices for Children (TVC), are providing leadership in advocating for and delivering services to children and families in need. Utilizing a family-driven approach and a staff partially comprised of parent-professionals, TVC's Nashville Connection and Family Connection programs have strengthened families by providing alternatives to state custody for children and families living with serious emotional or behavioral problems. TVC's Nashville Connection and Family Connection programs did this by coordinating support services, building community bridges, and providing comprehensive in-home services.

Effectively Addressing Mental Health Issues in Permanency-Focused Child Welfare Practice
Laura A. Ornelas, Deborah N. Silverstein, and Sherylle Tan

Children and families built by adoption or relative caregiving have specialized needs. This paper proposes a rubric for the central elements of permanency-focused mental health services in child welfare practice. Kinship Center provides an innovative mental health service delivery system, weaving foster and adoptive placement programs, adoption specialty Wraparound1, and a relative caregiver support program into its permanency-focused children's clinics. Named a 'promising practice' in child behavioral health services (McCarthy & McCullough, 2003), Kinship Center's mental health clinics are publicly funded and are a significant contribution to a managed care behavioral health approach in three diverse California counties. Six years of clinical outcomes data provide promising preliminary information for the field.

Fostering Healthy Futures: An Innovative Preventive Intervention for Preadolescent Youth in Out-of-Home Care
Heather N. Taussig, Sara E. Culhane, and Daniel Hettleman

Fostering Healthy Futures (FHF) is a randomized, controlled trial of an innovative preventive intervention for preadolescent youth (ages 9-11) placed in out-of-home care. The program is designed to promote child well-being by identifying and addressing mental health issues, preventing adolescent risk behaviors, and promoting competence. This paper describes the design, implementation, and uptake of the FHF program as well as our approaches to the challenges of conducting research-based prevention work within a child welfare setting.

Reducing Transfers of Children in Family Foster Care Through Onsite Mental Health Interventions
Carmen Collado and Paul Levine

This article describes a successful pilot project in New York City that effectively reduced the number of transfers or replacements of children in family foster care through the placement of mental health clinicians onsite at two foster care agencies.

Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports: Using Strength-Based Approaches to Enhance the Culture of Care in Residential and Day Treatment Education Environments
Thomas Kalke, Ann Glanton, and Maria Cristalli

Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports model, first introduced into public schools, has been extended to alternative settings. This article highlights applying PBIS to day treatment and residential treatment education programs increasingly challenged to serve seriously emotionally disturbed youth whose risk factors have become more complex. The results demonstrate a more positive environment enhancing children's treatment and education along with decreasing numbers of safety holds and need for out-of-classroom supports.

Psychotropic Medication Management for Youth in State Care: Consent, Oversight, and Policy Considerations
Michael W. Naylor, Christine V. Davidson, D. Jean Ortega-Piron, Arin Bass, Alice Gutierrez, and Angela Hall

The use of psychotropic medications in youth with emotional disturbances in state custody is increasing and presents unique challenges concerning consent and oversight. We examine various means that state child welfare agencies use to provide consent for and oversight of psychotropic medications for children in state custody and describe benefits of a consent process that provides for expert consultation to the child welfare agency and prescribing clinicians, case-specific and systemic oversight of psychotropic medication use, and education for stakeholders.

July/August 2007

Racial Disparity in Minnesota's Child Protection System
Erik P. Johnson, Sonja Clark, Matthew Donald, Rachel Pedersen, and Catherine Pichotta

Minnesota has been recognized by several studies as a state with a significant amount of racial disparity in its child protection system. This study, using 2001 data from Minnesota's Social Services Information Service, was conducted to determine at which of the six decision points in Minnesota's child welfare system racial disparities are statistically significant. The authors employ a nested model to examine a child's journey through the Minnesota child protection system. Using binary logistic regression, they are able to determine the odds that a child belonging to a particular racial or ethnic group would progress to the next decision point.

Addressing the Impact of Foster Care on Biological Children and Their Families
Maha N. Younes and Michele Harp

This study explores from a dual perspective the impact of the fostering process on biological children in the home. Ten foster parents and their biological children were interviewed separately. The impact of foster care on the psychological, educational, and social well-being of biological children and their relationship with parents and siblings were examined. The exploration reveals a paradoxical and life-changing process as seen through the eyes of biological children and their parents.

Mothers' Strategies for Protecting Children from Batterers: The Perspectives of Battered Women Involved in Child Protective Services
Wendy L. Haight, Woochan S. Shim, Linda M. Linn, and Laura Swinford

During in-depth, individual interviews, seventeen battered women involved in the public child welfare system discussed the effects of domestic violence on their children, and their strategies for protecting and supporting them. Most mothers articulated the detrimental effects of domestic violence on their children and coherent strategies to protect them physically, but described difficulties supporting young children psychologically. Collectively, mothers reported a number of apparently useful strategies for supporting children�s psychological resilience. Implications for intervention are discussed.

Immigrant Families and Public Child Welfare: Barriers to Services and Approaches for Change
Ilze Earner

This article describes the results of two focus groups of immigrant parents who recently experienced child protective investigations in New York City. The purpose of this study was: 1) to hear immigrant parents describe their experiences with child welfare services, 2) to identify barriers to services these parents encountered, and 3) advocate for changes in policy, program, and practice so that public child welfare services can effectively address the special needs of immigrant families, children, and youth. Barriers to child welfare services identified by immigrant parents in this study were caseworker's lack of knowledge about immigration status, cultural misunderstanding, and language access issues. Recommendations for addressing these barriers are offered.

What Criteria Do Child Protective Services Investigators Use to Substantiate Exposure to Domestic Violence?
Carol Coohey

The primary purpose of this study is to determine whether child protective services investigators apply a recognizable set of criteria to substantiate batterers and victims of battering for exposing their children to domestic violence. Although domestic violence occurred in 35% of the 1,248 substantiated incidents of child maltreatment, only 31 (7.1%) couples were investigated for exposing a child to domestic violence or failing to protect a child from domestic violence. All of the batterers investigated and in the caregiver role when their children were exposed to domestic violence were substantiated. The unsubstantiated victims of battering tended to use more protective behaviors (M=3.82) than the substantiated victims (M=2.00); yet, at the case level, using more than one protective behavior did not seem to be a criterion used to substantiate the victims. Instead, it appears that investigators were discriminating between those protective behaviors by the victims that ended contact between the batterers and the children-for a substantial amount of time-and those that did not in both the substantiation and removal decision. Key issues related to applying criteria in incidents involving domestic violence are discussed along with recommendations to further refine and document them.
The tables for this article appeared incorrectly in the July/August issue. They will be reprinted in our November/December issue.

Improving Healthcare for Children Entering Foster Care
Christina Risley-Curtiss and Belva Stites

Despite the fact that children in foster care are, perhaps, the most vulnerable children, healthcare for them has been lacking woefully for many years. A growing body of research has documented the need for such care as well as the failure of child welfare agencies to make major improvements in providing healthcare to foster children. Nonetheless, current efforts are being made to change this situation. This article reports on one effort to improve the provision and timeliness of health exams for children entering care. One rural and one urban county served as project treatment sites, with two additional rural and urban counties serving as control sites. The treatment sites achieved a statistically significant improvement in their rate of exam completion as compared to the control sites. The study finds that despite an existing policy for healthcare for children entering foster care, legislation mandating additional efforts, shortened time frames, and provision for judicial oversight are needed for improvement.

May/June 2007

Partitioning the Adoption Process to Better Predict Permanency
Tom McDonald, Alan Press, Peggy Billings, and Terry Moore

Under federal outcome standards established by the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997, discharges to adoption are expected to occur within 24 months of the most recent removal from home for at least 32% of cases. In the research recounted here, adoption is treated as a process composed of two discrete steps: adoptive placement, and adoption finalization. It was hypothesized that the predictors of completion may differ for each step, offering direction for practice and policy. Predictors included child characteristics, maltreatment history, placement history, system variables, and service delivery variables. Children's adoption event history was viewed through five annual entry cohorts, including all children with adoption case plans, rather than the exit cohorts of the federal measure, which includes only adopted children. Over this five-year period, the length of time from removal to adoption finalization decreased significantly, primarily as a result of decreased time from adoption placement to finalization. Child and family characteristics and abuse/neglect history were found to be much more predictive in the analysis of timely adoption placement than of time from placement to finalization. These and other significant predictors suggest strategies for improving timely adoption outcomes.

An Exploratory Study of Drug-exposed Infants: Case Substantiation and Subsequent Child Maltreatment
An-Pyng Sun, Margaret P. Freese, and Mark Fitzgerald

This study explores factors related to drug-exposed infants' case substantiation and subsequent child maltreatment. Child protective services computerized administrative data (from January 1998 to October 2001) were obtained from an urban Nevada county. The data included 457 drug-exposed infant cases. Chi-square, t-test, one-way ANOVA, and logistic regression were used to analyze the data. Results indicate that: (1) drug-exposed infant case substantiation was related to type of drug exposure and the unit to which the case was assigned, but not to the mother's ethnicity; and (2) subsequent maltreatment among drug-exposed infants was related to the mother's age and prior parental alcohol abuse, but not to the type of drug exposure, nor to the initial drug-exposed infant status of case substantiation. Implications for child welfare practice and research are discussed.

Family Group Decision Making and Disproportionality in Foster Care: A Case Study
David Crampton and Wendy Lewis Jackson

Research on the disproportionate number of children of color in the child welfare system suggests that we should focus on key decision points such as investigations, substantiations, and placements to understand how experiences of children vary by race and ethnicity. This article describes one community's efforts to use Family Group Decision Making in placement decisions to reduce disproportionality in foster care by diverting children from regular foster care services and keeping them within their extended families.

Characteristics of Difficult-to-Place Youth in State Custody: A Profile of the Exceptional Care Pilot Project Population
Marilyn P. Armour and James Schwab

This study examines the characteristics of Texas youth designated as 'most difficult to place' recipients of service under the "Exceptional Care Pilot Project" (N = 46). Findings include, among others, high levels of comorbid psychiatric disturbance (> 3 diagnostic groupings), physical (78.3%) and sexual (88%) maltreatment, and placement breakdowns (m = 4.8 therapeutic placements). This initial profile of the population provides a base for helping other states identify and plan for the needs of their most troubled youth.

Mental Health and Behavioral Problems of Youth in the Child Welfare System: Residential Treatment Centers Compared to Therapeutic Foster Care in the Odyssey Project Population
Amy J.L. Baker, David Kurland, Patrick Curtis, Gina Alexander, and Cynthia Papa-Lentini

This is the first multisite, prospective study of behavioral and mental health disorders of youth in residential treatment centers (RTC) and therapeutic foster care (TFC), and the first study to compare the two. This study addressed two questions in a sample of 22 agencies in 13 states: (1) how prevalent were emotional and behavioral disorders in the youth admitted to RTCs and TFC?, and (2) were the youth in RTCs significantly more likely to be disturbed than youth served in TFCs? Data were drawn from the Time 1 phase of the longitudinal national "Odyssey Project" developed by the Child Welfare League of America (1995). Measures included an extensive child and family characteristics form (CFC) and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). The results revealed extremely high levels of behavioral and mental health disorders in the sample as a whole, well above the norms for a non-child welfare population. The prevalence of disorder in the RTC population was substantially greater than in the TFC population.

Methamphetamine and the Changing Face of Child Welfare: Practice Principles for Child Welfare Workers
Kelli Connell-Carrick

Methamphetamine use and production is changing child welfare practice. Methamphetamine is a significant public health threat (National Institute of Justice, 1999) reaching epidemic proportions (Anglin, Burke, Perrochet, Stamper, & Dawud-Nouris, 2000). The manufacturing of methamphetamine is a serious problem for the child welfare system, yet child welfare has not addressed the needs of children living in homes where methamphetamine is manufactured (U.S. Department of Justice, 2002; DOJ, 2003; Altshuler, 2005). This article presents key issues for child welfare workers related to the use, production, and effects of methamphetamine on children and families, and identifies practice principles for child welfare workers in order to ensure safety for victims, parents, and workers themselves.

March/April 2007

Sibling Kinnections: A Clinical Visitation Program
Joyce Maguire Pavao, Melissa St. John, Rebecca Ford Cannole, Tara Fischer, Anthony Maluccio, and Suzanne Peining

The growing literature on sibling relationships throughout their lifespans is of great importance to those working in the child welfare system, and in adoption services in particular. Sibling bonds are important to all of us, but they are particularly vital to children from disorganized or dysfunctional families. These relationships assume even greater importance when children from these families enter the care system. Supporting and sustaining sibling bonds should be, and most often is, a priority throughout the child welfare system, with practice literature providing guidelines for arranging and sustaining sibling contact. However, children in the care system may also have dysfunctional sibling relationships as a result of their early experiences, and sibling visitation alone may not be enough to ensure a healthy, long-lasting relationship among siblings. Some form of sibling therapy, or 'clinically supervised visitation,' may be required to help children remove the barriers to form mutually satisfying relationships and to reinforce life-long relationships with each other.

Adoption Now: A Joint Initiative of New York's Courts and Child Welfare System
Kathleen R. DeCataldo and Karen Carroll

In November 2002, Chief Judge Judith Kaye attended the National Adoption Day festivities in Albany County and New York County (Manhattan). Although pleased that 600 adoptions were being finalized statewide on this special day, she was concerned to learn more than 6,000 other children were free for adoption but had not yet found permanent families. Judge Kaye reached out to New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) Commissioner John A. Johnson and New York City Administration for Children's Services (ACS) then-Commissioner William Bell to come together and begin a discussion to identify and resolve systemic barriers to adoption. At a press conference in May 2003, Chief Judge Kaye, Governor Pataki, New York City Mayor Bloomberg, and Judges and Commissioners representing counties from across the state announced the Adoption Now initiative that set a goal of finalizing adoptions for 5,000 children (3800 in New York City and 1200 upstate) by the end of 2003.

Making MEPA-IEP Work: Tools for Professionals
Ruth McRoy, Maryanne Mica, Madelyn Freundlich, and Joe Kroll

The Multiethnic Placement Act of 1994 and the Interethnic Adoption Provisions of 1996 (MEPA-IEP) require states to develop plans that "provide for the diligent recruitment of potential foster and adoptive families that reflect the ethnic and racial diversity of children in the state for whom foster and adoptive homes are needed." This paper explores the background of MEPA-IEP, describes the disparate outcomes for minority children in the child welfare system, and identifies agency challenges in finding permanent families for African American children. Tools are provided for successfully recruiting families while following MEPA-IEP and avoiding potentially discriminatory practices in placement decisionmaking.

Assessing Lesbian and Gay Prospective Foster and Adoptive Families: A Focus on the Home Study Process
Gerald P. Mallon

Foster care and adoption by gay men and lesbians is not a new phenomenon. Children and youth have always been placed by states and public agencies in homes with gay and lesbian parents. Some gay men and lesbians have fostered or adopted children independently from private agencies or have made private adoption arrangements with individual birthmothers, while others have fostered or adopted through the public system. Drawing on research literature, practice wisdom from 31 years of child welfare experiences, and case examples, this article offers child welfare professionals guidelines for competent assessment with prospective foster or adoptive parents who identify as lesbian or gay.

Strengthening Adoption Practice, Listening to Adoptive Families
Anne Atkinson and Patricia Gonet

In-depth interviews with 500 adoptive families who received postadoption services through Virginia's Adoptive Family Preservation (AFP) program paint a richly detailed picture of the challenges adoptive families face and what they need to sustain adoption for many years after finalization. Findings document the need for support in a variety of forms, including respite, counseling, and information. Numerous implications for strengthening adoption practice through effective training and technical assistance are discussed.

Supporting Child Welfare Supervisors to Improve Worker Retention
Miriam Landsman

Recent child welfare research has identified supervisors as key to retaining qualified and committed workers. This paper describes implementation of a federally funded child welfare training initiative designed to improve worker retention largely through developing, implementing, and evaluating a statewide supervisor training program in a Midwestern state. Unique to this collaborative effort was involving all child welfare supervisors in identifying needed content components, developing competencies, and conducting self-assessments.

A Comparative Evaluation of Preservice Training of Kinship and Nonkinship Foster/Adoptive Families
Brian Christenson and Jerry McMurtry

In 2003, Idaho selected the Foster PRIDE/Adopt PRIDE preservice training and resource family development program. PRIDE participants (n=228) completed a pre and posttest survey based on the PRIDE training competencies in 2004-2005. Results indicate that PRIDE is an effective training and resource family development program. Providing and evaluating foster/adoptive parent preservice training programs can assist child welfare programs in making a positive difference in the lives of families and children involved in the child welfare system while increased cost-savings by retaining foster/adoptive families over time.

Home Study Methods for Evaluating Prospective Resource Families: History, Current Challenges, and Promising Approaches
Thomas M. Crea, Richard P. Barth, and Laura K. Chintapalli

Every state requires a home study before the placement of foster children for adoption. This article examines the history of home studies, presents results from expert interviews on the changing processes and purposes of home studies, and explores current challenges for the field. The article also introduces the Structured Analysis Family Evaluation (SAFE), a uniform home study format that encourages consistent family evaluations across workers, agencies, and jurisdictions. The article clarifies how SAFE may address challenges facing foster care and adoption practice.

January/February 2007

Characteristics of Children in Residential Treatment in New York State
Nan Dale, Amy J.L. Baker, Emily Anastasio, and Jim Purcell

This study addresses three questions about the population of children and families served in the highest level of care in the child welfare system in New York State residential treatment centers (RTCs): (1) How prevalent are emotional and behavioral problems in the youth entering RTCs? (2) Has the proportion of youth with such problems increased compared to ten years ago? (3) Are there identifiable subgroups of youth entering RTCs? One-fourth of RTC admissions in FY 2001 were randomly selected from a representative sample of 16 RTCs. The study completed standardized data collection instrument based on a review of agency records, and included information that was known at the time each child was admitted. The results show significant increases compared to ten years earlier in the proportion of youth with mental health problems and juvenile justice backgrounds. The findings suggest that youth who traditionally have been served by other systems of care are now being served in the child welfare system. The increased treatment needs of these youth and the heterogeneity of the RTC population have important implications for policies, programs, and practice.

Birthfamilies as permanency resources for children in long-term foster care
Susan C. Mapp and Cache Steinberg

Provisions of the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 mandated shorter time frames for making permanency decisions and facilitating adoption. Yet for many children, foster care continued to be a significant portion of their life experiences. This project explored the potential permanency option of birthfamilies and extended kin for children who languished in foster care while being free for adoption. Eighteen children achieved permanent placement with their birthfamilies. In addition, staff found that although many families could not provide permanent placements, they could offer appropriate relationships with the children. This project team recommends viewing family relationships as an integral component where placement is one option on a continuum that includes letters, phone calls, and visits.

Organizational Constructs as Predictors of Effectiveness in Child Welfare Interventions
Jane Yoo, Devon Brooks, and Rino Patti

Organizational context, including line-worker characteristics and service settings, may help explain the equivocal findings of intervention studies in the field of child welfare. Yet organizational context has been largely ignored in studies of child welfare interventions. The purpose of this article is to expound upon the likely role of the organizational context in explaining service effectiveness in child welfare. Several bodies of literature within child welfare and human service organization and administration are reviewed and synthesized. A conceptual framework that can be used to guide future child welfare research is then proposed.

A Clinical Consultation Model for Child Welfare Supervisors
Virginia C. Strand and Lee Badger

This article presents findings from a consultation project conducted by faculty from six schools of social work with approximately 150 child welfare supervisors over a two-year period. The purpose of the program was to assist supervisors with their roles as educators, mentors, and coaches for casework staff, specifically in relationship to case practice decisions. The consultation model, the development of the curriculum, the project implementation, and the results of the initial assessment are described.

Improving Child Welfare Performance: Retrospective and Prospective Approaches
Dennis E. Zeller and Thomas J. Gamble

Some of the key outcome measures used in the first federal Child and Family Service Reviews rely on retrospective cohorts and exclude key portions of the population from the analysis. Most discussions of this issue have focused on the extent to which retrospective measurement is a valid basis on which to judge states' performance (Courtney, Needell, & Wulczyn, 2003). The analyses presented here suggest that in some instances the relative or comparative results of retrospective and prospective measurements exhibit few differences. On the other hand, the analyses also make clear that retrospective measurements have two serious deficiencies in relation to improving performance. First, they are likely to identify the wrong issues, and, second, even when they identify the correct issues they fail to provide information needed to improve performance. This article suggests some practical ways in which the information currently available to child welfare agencies can be used to correct these problems.

Domestic Violence Screening and Service Acceptance Among Adult Victims in a Dependency Court Setting
James E. Rivers, Candice L. Maze, Stefanie A. Hannah, Cindy S. Lederman

Many child welfare systems are unable to effectively identify and address co-occurring domestic violence and child maltreatment. In response, the Dependency Court Intervention Program for Family Violence implemented a protocol to identify indicators of domestic violence in families involved with child protection proceedings. This article highlights data that demonstrate the ability of an outreach and screening process to identify adult victims of domestic violence in dependency court and to offer them appropriate intervention services.

November/December 2006

Facilitating Visitation for Infants with Prenatal Substance Exposure
Caroline Long Burry and Lois Wright

Permanency planning for infants with prenatal substance exposure is challenging due to characteristics of the infants and the ongoing substance use, or relapse of the parents. Visitation is a primary mechanism through which child welfare workers determine and support permanency planning. Productive use of visitation for permanency planning for infants with prenatal substance exposure is described, along with strategies for skillfully focusing visits on issues and needs relevant to this population.

Parent-Child Interaction Therapy: Application of an Empirically Supported Treatment to Maltreated Children in Foster Care
Susan G. Timmer, Anthony J. Urquiza, Amy D. Herschell, Jean M. McGrath, Nancy M. Zebell, Alissa L. Porter, and Eric C. Vargas

One of the more serious problems faced by child welfare services involves the management of children with serious behavioral and mental health problems. Aggressive and defiant foster children are more likely to have multiple foster care placements, require extraordinary social services resources, and have poor short- and long-term mental health outcomes. Interventions that work with challenging foster children and enhance foster parents' skills in managing problem behaviors are needed. This article presents the successful results of a single case study examining the application of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) with an aggressive young boy and his foster-adoptive parent. PCIT is a dyadic intervention that has been identified as an empirically supported treatment for abused children and for children with different types of behavioral disruption. The application of PCIT to assist foster parents is a promising direction for child welfare services.

The Impact of Serial Transitions on Behavioral and Psychological Problems Among Children in Child Protection Services
Marie-Christine Saint-Jacques, Richard Cloutier, Robert Pauzé, Marie Simard, Marie-Hélène Gagné, Amélie Poulin

This study focuses on the impacts of serial transitions on externalized and internalized behavior disorders, anxiety, and depression among children in child protection services. The research was carried out with a sample of 741 children. The findings demonstrate that the number of times a family is blended is a stronger predictive factor for children's adjustment than is the family structure at the time of the interview. In predicting externalized and internalized behavior problems among children, however, the effect of family structure disappears in favor of the variables associated with family functioning and family climate.

The Relationship Between Child Disability and Living Arrangement in Child Welfare
Stephanie C. Romney, Alan J. Litrownik, Rae R. Newton, Anna Lau

The influence of disabilities on placement outcomes was examined for 277 children who were removed from their biological parents due to substantiated maltreatment. Results indicated that children with a disability were less likely to reunify and more likely to reside in non-kin foster care two years later than typical children. Children with cognitive, emotional/behavioral, and physical disabilities were over four times more likely to be permanently living in non-kin foster care than to be reunified.

An Analysis of Selected Measures of Child Well-Being for Use at School- and Community-Based Family Resource Centers
Mieko K. Smith and Carl F. Brun

This article describes standardized instruments designed to measure physical and emotional health outcomes among children for a statewide implementation of community- and school-based family resource centers. It includes descriptive and psychometric information, and strengths and weaknesses of two measures of physical well-being and four measures of emotional and behavioral well-being, based on criteria selected by the evaluation team. The authors conclude by recommending those instruments that accommodated the evaluation goals of the family support programs.

Adolescents' Feelings about Openness in Adoption: Implications for Adoption Agencies
Jerica M. Berge, Tai J. Mendenhall, Gretchen M. Wrobel, Harold D. Grotevant, Ruth G. McRoy

Adoption research commonly uses parents' reports of satisfaction when examining openness in adoption arrangements. This qualitative study aimed to fill a gap in the adoption research by using adolescents' voices to gain a better understanding of their adoption experiences. Adopted adolescents (n = 152) were interviewed concerning their satisfaction with the openness in their adoption arrangements with their birthmother. Results and implications are discussed in relation to how adoption agencies can use this information to further their work with adopted adolescents and their families and to understand more fully the recent trend towards adoption agencies offering more open adoption arrangements.

September/October 2006

Thinking Mindfully About Parenting and Parenting Education
Dana McDermott

This volume is dedicated to advances in the theory, research, and practice of parenting education and support, and it reflects CWLA's and the National Parenting Education Network's focus on improving the lives of children by supporting the parents and care providers who nurture and guide them. The work of CWLA is well known to readers but that of the National Parenting Education Network (NPEN) may not be. In this introduction, NPEN's vision, mission, and core principles are briefly described (see www.npen.org for further elaboration), and an overview of the articles included in this volume is provided.

Parenting: A Relationship-Oriented and Competency-Based Process
Harriet Heath

Parents have a complex task of guiding a specific child to maturity by using the opportunities offered by the environment, while avoiding its detrimental aspects. This article develops a theory of the parenting process that describes components of the parental role; situations where development and, thus, parenting occurs; the responsibility of parents in those situations; the attributes parents use to fulfill their role; and implications for professionals.

Parents as Developing Adult Learners
Catherine Marienau and Joy Segal

Drawing largely on the literature from adult learning and development, this article presents parents as continuous learners whose critical reflections on their experiences with parenting can be rich fodder for their growth and development. Theories and models are highlighted that may suggest a wider repertoire of approaches for helping professionals who are facilitating parents in their learning and growth.

Competencies of a Parent Educator: What Does a Parent Educator Need To Know and Do?
Betty Cooke

This article examines efforts by organizations and states to describe the competencies of a parent educator, to explain what parent educators teach parents through parent education, and to show how that informs parent educator competencies. It summarizes examples of certification, licensure, and other accountability programs, and identifies the issues involved, along with ways practitioners can use these identified competencies to assess their level of competency. Finally, the article concludes with a call to continue developing certification and other accountability programs to insure quality in parent education.

Building a Professional Development System: A Case Study of North Carolina's Parenting Education Experiences
George M. Bryan, Jr., Karen DeBord, and Karen Schrader

Designing a professional development system for parent educators requires weaving together multiple pieces from within the network of organizations providing parenting education. North Carolina examined how to build a system using the influence of evidence-based programs as well as professional credentialing for parenting educators. A system built with professionals who understand sound parenting practices and networked together to use best practices with parents is critical to support families and prevent child abuse.

Thinking Critically About the Internet: Suggestions for Practitioners
Nancy Martland and Fred Rothbaum

Parents have a long history of seeking child-rearing in-formation in the popular media. This trend continues on the World Wide Web, with the number of parents online still on the rise. The Web offers speed, 24-hour access, and extremely large quantities of child rearing information. Although the availability of huge quantities of child-rearing information has many positive aspects, there is a serious risk of exposure to erroneous and potentially harmful information due to the absence of monitoring of online material. This article summarizes the literature on parents' Web use and describes several steps that, if taken, will help to lessen the chance of parents' exposure to risky online material. The steps include: making parents aware of the risks, providing them with sets of screened sites that they can trust, and teaching them a few simple Web skills to improve their searching and their assessment of sites' trustworthiness.

Trends in Popular Parenting Books and the Need for Parental Critical Thinking
Kelli Connell-Carrick

Parents continually struggle to find better ways to make decisions regarding their children, and many use popular parenting books. The purpose of this article is to discuss the critical thinking skills needed by parents and practitioners who work with parents to make informed parenting decisions influenced by popular media. It also addresses strategies on sleeping, cosleeping, feeding and toilet training in popular parenting books, and the corresponding empirical evidence found in the scientific literature.

Parents and Their Young Adult Children: Transitions to Adulthood
Idy Barasch Gitelson and Dana McDermott

This paper considers how parents are affected by and play a role in the lives of their young adult children. The years during which young people make the transition to adulthood has changed significantly in recent years- this transition now takes place over a longer period of time. We describe how young people experience these years; how they affect their parents and parent-child relationships; and how this time period is experienced by vulnerable youth.

Closer to Home: Parent Mentors in Child Welfare
Edward Cohen and Linda Canan

This article addresses the emerging use of parent mentors--parents who have successfully negotiated the child welfare system and provide support and advocacy to others. The theoretical justification, roles, and expected outcomes and benefits of parent mentors are explored. The organizational factors thought to be required for such programs are also described, drawing on the available literature and the practice experience of a recently implemented Parent Partners program in a county child welfare agency.

Future Challenges for Parenting Education and Support
Harriet Heath and Glen Palm

The authors of this special edition of Child Welfare have shared current shifts in perspective about parenting and parenting education that are raising some interesting challenges. We will first briefly review the shifts identified in the articles presented here. Second, we will raise questions about the implications of these shifts for the field of parenting education.

July/August 2006

Child Death Review Teams: A Vital Component of Child Protection
Neil J. Hochstadt

The alarming number of children killed and seriously injured as a result of child maltreatment and neglect has led to increased calls for action. In response, interdisciplinary and multiagency child death review teams have emerged as an important component of child protection. Paradoxically, child death review teams are among the least visible and understood elements in efforts to protect children. This article examines the role and functions of child death review teams and their contributions to child welfare in practice, prevention, and policy.

Indian Family Exception Doctrine: Still Losing Children Despite the Indian Child Welfare Act
Suzanne L. Cross

Since 1982, the Indian Family Exception Doctrine has been circumventing the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978. Although not clearly defined, the doctrine has been pivotal in several American Indian child welfare cases in the United States. Over time, the doctrine continues to evolve and self-define. Several phrases have become part of the definition, such as Indian family and culture. This doctrine presents major concerns and implications in the field of child welfare.

Comprehensive Family Services and Customer Satisfaction Outcomes
Ruth A. Huebner, Blake L. Jones, Viola P. Miller,Melba Custer, and Becky Critchfield

Comprehensive Family Services (CFS) is a strengths-based and partnership-oriented approach to casework implemented through multiple initiatives. This study examines the relationship between the practice of CFS and satisfaction of clients, foster parents, and community partners. CFS indicators are paired with statewide customer satisfaction survey results. CFS practices are associated with significantly higher customer satisfaction that improved over time for all groups. Although causality cannot be determined, the relationship is consistent, robust, and meaningful.

The Impact of State TANF Policy Decisions on Kinship Care Providers
Steven G. Anderson

Based on a survey of public assistance and child welfare agency staff, this article examines how state Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) policy decisions have affected kinship care providers. Findings indicate that most states have continued using TANF to provide income support to kinship caregivers, and some have used TANF to find related support services. These payments, however, are much lower than rates for licensed providers, and many kinship caregivers are subject to work, training requirements, and time limits.

May/June 2006

Language Delays Among Foster Children: Implications for Policy and Practice
Carol D. Stock and Philip A. Fisher

This article highlights the centrality of language in early childhood development and the potential for language delays to negatively affect long-term outcomes in educational and social domains. Given the high rate of language delays in the foster care population, an emphasis should be placed on assessing language skills among children ages 6 and younger entering foster care. The authors describe several existing approaches to assessing language skills and discuss obstacles to the widespread implementation of systematic evaluation among foster children. Finally, the authors discuss the need for research and programming to establish evidence-based practices that encourage the remediation of language delays in this highly vulnerable population.

Foster Youth Emancipating from Care: Caseworkers' Reports on Needs and Services
Sonya J. Leathers and Mark F. Testa

This article presents findings from a survey mailed to caseworkers, who answered questions about special needs, independent living skills, educational attainment, and services for 416 randomly selected foster youth in Illinois. A third of the adolescents had a mental health disorder, developmental disability, or other special need that their caseworkers believed would interfere with their ability to live independently. Additionally, urban youth were underserved relative to other youth. Youth with more behavior problems and educational and job skill deficits were less likely than other youth to continue to receive child welfare services past age 18, suggesting that services must be provided throughout adolescence to meet the needs of the most vulnerable clients.

Enhancing the Validity of Foster Care Follow-up Studies Through Multiple Alumni Location Strategies
Jason Williams, Alisa McWilliams, Tina Mainieri, Peter J. Pecora, and Karin La Belle

While family-based placement prevention services, family reunification programs, subsidized guardianship, and aggressive adoption programs are reducing the numbers of children spending long periods of time in substitute care, a significant number of America's children will come of age in foster care. Agencies and policymakers should use research and evaluation to assess the effectiveness of foster care in nurturing healthy adults and to explore ways to improve services. Outcome studies that have focused on locating and interviewing young or middle-aged adults emancipated from foster care have been hampered by modest response rates, limiting the field's ability to evaluate the efficacy of foster care programs. This article describes a set of strategies that were used to achieve higher response rates in two recent follow-up studies.

The Potential for Successful Family Foster Care: Conceptualizing Competency Domains for Foster Parents
Cheryl Buehler, Kathryn W. Rhodes, John G. Orme, and Gary Cuddeback

The potential to foster successfully starts with developing and supporting competency in 12 domains: providing a safe and secure environment, providing a nurturing environment, promoting educational attainment and success, meeting physical and mental healthcare needs, promoting social and emotional development, supporting diversity and children's cultural needs, supporting permanency planning, managing ambiguity and loss for the foster child and family, growing as a foster parent, managing the demands of fostering on personal and familial well-being, supporting relationships between children and their families, and working as a team member. This article describes each domain and reviews relevant research to help guide the assessment of practicing and future foster parents.

The Economics of Adoption of Children from Foster Care
Mary Eschelbach Hansen and Bradley A. Hansen

Federal initiatives since 1996 have intensified the efforts of states to achieve adoption for children in foster care. For many waiting children, the path to adoption is long. The authors offer an economic analysis of adoption from foster care, with an emphasis on the reasons why achieving the goal of adoption for all waiting children may be so difficult. The authors then estimate the determinants of adoptions from foster care across the states using data for fiscal years 1996 and 1997. Adoption assistance subsidy rates stand out as the most important determinant of adoptions from foster care, followed by use of alternatives (e.g., intercountry adoption). Adoptive matching on the basis of race does not appear to prevent adoptions from foster care in the aggregate, leaving flaws in the matching process, such as a lack of information and difficulty using the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC), as a primary reason why children wait.

Predictors of Running Away from Family Foster Care
Andrea Nesmith

Running away is a frequent but little studied phenomenon among adolescents in foster care. Repeated running from care often leads to premature discharge and homelessness for youth. This article uses cumulative risk theory in the context of normative adolescent development to investigate predicators of running away from foster care. Results indicate risks stemming from individual, foster home, and child welfare system sources, which offer some insight for prevention and intervention.

Enhancing the Safety of Children in Foster Care and Family Support Programs: Automated Critical Incident Reporting
Eliot Brenner and Madelyn Freundlich

The Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 has made child safety an explicit focus in child welfare. The authors describe an automated critical incident reporting program designed for use in foster care and family-support programs. The program, which is based in Lotus Notes and uses e-mail to route incident reports from direct service staff to supervisors and administrators, facilitates timely clinical oversight and risk management and ensures the security of clients' protected health information. The authors present data collected using the program to illustrate how it can be used to monitor abuse and neglect allegations in a foster care program. A survey of users found that the program saved time, was easy to use, and helped manage critical incident reports.

Behavioral Health Service Use and Costs Among Children in Foster Care
Marion Becker, Neil Jordan, and Rebecca Larsen

This article compares behavioral health service use and cost for foster care versus nonfoster care children; children before, during, and after foster care placement; and successfully reunified versus nonsuccessfully reunified foster care children. Behavioral health service costs for children in foster care were higher than for children not in foster care. Children in foster care used more services during their foster care placement than before placement and after discharge. Nonsuccessfully reunified children received a significantly larger quantity of services than those successfully reunified.

March/April 2006 Special Issue: LGBTQ Youth in Child Welfare

The Model Standards Project: Creating Inclusive Systems for LGBT Youth in Out-of-Home Care
Shannan Wilber, Carolyn Reyes, and Jody Marksamer

This article describes the Model Standards Project (MSP), a collaboration of Legal Services for Children and the National Center for Lesbian Rights. The MSP developed a set of model professional standards governing the care of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth in out-of-home care. This article provides an overview of the experiences of LGBT youth in state custody, drawing from existing research, as well as the actual experiences of youth who participated in the project or spoke with project staff. It will describe existing professional standards applicable to child welfare and juvenile justice systems, and the need for standards specifically focused on serving LGBT youth. The article concludes with recommendations for implementation of the standards in local jurisdictions.

Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Homeless Youth: An Eight-City Public Health Perspective
James M. Van Leeuwen, Susan Boyle, Stacy Salomonsen-Sautel, D. Nico Baker, J.T. Garcia, Allison Hoffman, and Christian J. Hopfer

This article reports on results of a one-day public health survey conducted in six states by homeless youth providers to measure and compare risk factors between lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) homeless youth and non-LGB homeless youth. This article intends to inform the child welfare field on existing gaps in services and areas where more training and technical support is necessary in providing services to homeless LGB youth. The findings point to substantial differences within the homeless youth sample and demonstrate that in addition to the public health risks young people face merely by being homeless, the risks are exacerbated for those who self-identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual. The article informs child welfare providers and policymakers about the substantial vulnerability of LGB youth beyond that of non-LGB homeless youth and the need to fund programming, training, technical assistance and further research to specifically respond to the complex needs of this population.

The Legal Rights of LGBT Youth in State Custody: What Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice Professionals Need to Know
Rudy Estrada and Jody Marksamer

Youth in state custody, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, have federal and state constitutional and statutory rights. These rights guarantee a young person safety in their placement as well as freedom from deprivation of their liberty interest. Many lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth have these rights violated on a regular basis. Many cases in both the child welfare and juvenile justice contexts have resulted in extensive and time-consuming consent decrees as well as sizable damages awards. Knowledge of a youth's legal rights can help providers avoid legal liability while creating a safer and healthier environment for LGBT youth. This article provides a general overview of the successful federal legal claims that youth in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems have made, discussion of the rights generated as a result, particle application of these rights to the experiences of LGBT youth with hypothetical scenarios, a focus on specific rights that emanate from certain state laws, and a focus on specific concerns of transgender youth.

Hazards of Stigma: The Sexual and Physical Abuse of Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Adolescents in the United States and Canada
Elizabeth M. Saewyc, Carol L. Skay, Sandra L. Pettingell, Elizabeth A. Reis, Linda Bearinger, Michael Resnick, Aileen Murphy, and Leigh Combs

Some studies suggest lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) teens are at higher risk than peers for violence at home, in school, and in the community. That can bring them into the child welfare system or services for runaway and homeless teens. This study compared self-reported experiences of sexual and physical abuse based on sexual orientation and gender in seven population-based surveys of youth. The authors used c2 and age-adjusted odds of abuse to compare bisexual to heterosexual, mostly heterosexual, and gay and lesbian students. They also provide case studies to illustrate the experiences of such youth.

Transgender Children and Youth: A Child Welfare Practice Perspective
Gerald P. Mallon and Teresa DeCrescenzo

Using an ecological framework, the existing literature and research, and the authors' combined 60 years of clinical practice with children, youth, and families, this article examines gender variant childhood development from a holistic viewpoint where children, youth, and environments are understood as a unit in the context of their relationship to one another. The focus is limited to a discussion about the recognition of gender identity; an examination of the adaptation process through which gender variant children and youth go through to deal with the stress of an environment where there is not a "goodness of fit"; and a discussion of the overall developmental tasks of a transgender childhood and adolescence. Recommendations for social work practice with gender variant young people are presented in the conclusion of the paper.

Slamming the Closet Door: Working with Gay and Lesbian Youth in Care
D. Mark Ragg, Dennis Patrick, and Marjorie Ziefert

The developmental challenges of gay and lesbian youth are well understood by professionals in the field. Increasingly, professionals are extending this understanding to the plight of gay and lesbian youth living in out-of-home care. Such youth face additional challenges and a lack of support that greatly complicates the development of a positive identity. Inherent in these additional challenges is the responsiveness of professionals mandated to work with youth. This study explores critical worker competencies for supporting gay and lesbian foster youth. Twenty-one youth were interviewed and asked to describe workers who were facilitative and workers who inhibited positive development. The interview transcripts were assessed to identify critical competencies. This article shares critical youth themes and underlying practice competencies.

Issues of Shared Parenting of LGBTQ Children and Youth in Foster Care: Preparing Foster Parents for New Roles
Heather Craig-Oldsen, J. Ann Craig, and Thomas Morton

Foster parents have increasingly assumed new and challenging roles during the past decade. Meeting the developmental, attachment, and grieving needs of children and youth in out of home care is challenging by itself, but can become even more difficult with the issues that arise when the child is lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning (LGBTQ). Preservice and in-service foster parent training programs can strengthen shared parenting skills by focusing on the universal critical issues of safety, well being, and permanence for children and youth in foster care. This article will focus on these skill areas: (1) sharing parenting to promote healthy growth and development of LGBTQ youth in foster care, (2) threats to safety of LGBTQ youth in foster care, and (3) general challenges and strategies for preparing foster parents of LGBTQ youth to build support systems.

Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Foster Parents: Strengths and Challenges for the Child Welfare System
A. Chris Downs and Steven E. James

Historically, a shortage of skilled and dedicated foster parents has existed in America. Lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LBG) foster parents have received little attention in the published literature. This article documents the challenges and successes of a group of 60 LGB foster parents. All participants provided foster parenting for public (state or county) agencies. The primary successes of this group included meaningful and gratifying parenting and successful testing of whether adoption might be a natural next step after foster parenting. The primary challenges included insensitive, inappropriate, and difficult social workers; state or local laws that worked against successful foster parenting by LGB adults; failure to recognize parents' partners; and lack of support by the system to acknowledge the important role of LGB parents. Numerous recommendations are identified for improving how LGB foster parents are supported within child welfare systems including foster parent and social worker training in LGB issues.

Achieving Permanency for LGBTQ Youth
Jill Jacobs and Madelyn Freundlich

This article brings together two significant efforts in the child welfare field: achieving permanence for youth in out-of-home care and meeting the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) youth. During the past several years, a national movement has taken place to assure all children and youth have a permanent family connection before leaving the child welfare system; however, LGBTQ youth are not routinely included in the permanency discussions. At the same time, efforts in addressing the needs of LGBTQ youth have increased, but permanency is rarely mentioned as a need. This article offers models of permanence and practices to facilitate permanence with LGBTQ youth and their families. It also offers a youth-driven, individualized process, using youth development principles to achieve relational, physical, and legal permanence. Reunification efforts are discussed, including services, supports, and education required for youth to return to their family of origin. For those who cannot return home, other family resources are explored. The article also discusses cultural issues as they affect permanence for LGBTQ youth, and, finally, addresses the need for ongoing support services to sustain and support permanency.

Envisaging the Adoption Process to Strengthen Gay- and Lesbian-Headed Families: Recommendations for Adoption Professionals
John D. Matthews and Elizabeth P. Cramer

Although a growing number of child placement agencies are serving lesbians and gay men, a dearth of literature exists for adoption agency policies and practices related to working with this population. This article explores the unique characteristics and strengths of prospective gay and lesbian adoptive parents throughout each of the three phases of the adoption process--preplacement, placement, and postplacement--as well as provides suggestions for adoption professionals working with gays and lesbians. Data from a recent qualitative study of single, gay adoptive fathers are used to illustrate examples and expose areas of potential strengths of adoptive parents not generally explored in the preplacement or preparatory stage. Special attention also is given to the continuing needs of adoptive families headed by gays and lesbians after adoptive placement. Specifically explored are the needs for developing linkages with similar families, as well as providing resources designed to promote successful outcomes of adopted children raised by gays and   lesbians.

Regional Listening Forums: An Examination of the Methodologies Used by the Child Welfare League of America and Lambda Legal to Highlight the Experiences of LGBTQ Youth in Care
Rob Woronoff and Rudy Estrada

In 2002, the Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) and the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund began Fostering Transitions: CWLA/Lambda Joint Initiative to Support LGBTQ Youth and Adults Involved with the Child Welfare System. To document the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth, as well as identify strategies for systems improvement, initiative staff associated with the joint initiative conducted a series of Regional Listening Forums in 13 cities in the United States. More than 500 participants attended the forums, representing 22 states from every region in the country. Participants included former and current youth in care as well as the adults who work most closely with them. This article focuses on the methodologies on which the forums were developed and conducted.

Putting the Pieces Together for Queer Youth: A Model of Integrated Assessment of Need and Program Planning
Heather M. Berberet

Needs assessments require staff with the necessary expertise to design the study, collect the data, analyze the data, and present results. They require money, time, and persistence, because the people one wishes to assess often are difficult to access. This article argues for the centrality of a well-done needs assessment when developing services for LGBTQ youth. Needs assessment methodology and adjunctive uses of the needs assessment data also are discussed. The authors present a needs assessment of LGBTQ youth living in out-of-home care in San Diego, California, as an example of the purpose, practicality, and power of a comprehensive needs assessment. The needs assessment identified several issues, as well as additional data supporting the project's necessity. The data also identified the most significant obstacles youth face in accessing housing and supportive services. Through the data collection process, non-LGBT housing providers better understood their need for additional training, and housing and city leadership communities obtained and spread knowledge of the project.

Outcomes for a Transitional Living Program Serving LGBTQ Youth in New York City
Theresa C. Nolan

Providing stable housing for runaway and homeless youth is a major function of a transitional living program. This article introduces the focus of one program working with LGBTQ youth in New York City and discusses some issues to consider when working with this population. The article also presents data associated with young people's lives after discharge. In any discussion of outcomes, both reason for discharge and length of stay play important roles in whether or not an exit is safe. Regardless of these two elements, the places youth move to when leaving programs are crucial to their safety and well-being. The exit can be safe even when a young person is discharged early from a program. This article presents types of exits, as well as status of employment and school enrollment at exit. Some youth and staff-identified lessons gained in the program also are discussed in detail. Types of aftercare services sought by discharged youth are specified. This article also describes any differences in outcomes for youth with and without foster care experience.

January/February 2006

Patterns of Child Maltreatment Referrals Among Asian and Pacific Islander Families
Yoshimi Pelczarski and Susan P. Kemp

Much of the available data on Asian American families who become involved with the child welfare system relies on global ethnic categories, such as the category Asian/Pacific Islander. To explore the diversity of experience that is hidden by such categories, this article analyzes two years of child maltreatment referrals for Asian and Pacific Island families in Washington state. The study findings show that considerable variation exists within the Asian and Pacific Islander population with regard to child protection referrals. Although Asian Americans as a whole were less likely to be referred to child protective services than other groups, the within group picture that these data capture is considerably more complex. Some Asian/Pacific Islander ethnic groups, particularly those which have experienced higher levels of social and economic stress, were more at risk of child welfare involvement than other groups. Such findings underscore the need for child welfare policies and practice that are sensitive to the considerable variability within the Asian/Pacific Islander community.

Health and Mental Health Services for Children in Foster Care: The Central Role of Foster Parents
Eileen Mayers Pasztor, David Swanson Hollinger, Moira Inkelas, and Neal Halfon

It is well documented that children enter foster care with special health and mental health needs and, while in care, those conditions are often exacerbated. However, less attention has been given to foster parents who have the most contact with these children. Results are presented from a national study on the developmental, health and mental health care needs of children in foster care that included foster parents' perspectives and observations. Their role in improving child well being is explained and recommendations for policy, practice and advocacy also are included.

Risk Assessment in Child Sexual Abuse Cases
Jill S. Levenson and John W. Morin

Despite continuing improvements in risk assessment for child protective services (CPS) and movement toward actuarial prediction of child maltreatment, current models have not adequately addressed child sexual abuse. Sexual abuse cases present unique and ambiguous indicators to the investigating professional, and risk factors differ from those related to physical abuse and neglect. Incorporation of research on risk factors specifically related to sexual offender recidivism into existing CPS risk assessment models may improve the ability to assess the risk of future sexual maltreatment to children. This article reviews the literature on risk factors for sexual offense recidivism and discusses their relevance and application to CPS assessment models. An evidence-based model for assessing risk in child sexual abuse cases is proposed.

Child Welfare Workers: Who They Are and How They View the Child Welfare System
Maristela C. Zell

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.

November/December 2005

Coping with Parental Loss Because of Termination of Parental Rights
Kerri M. Schneider and Vicky Phares

This article addresses the process by which children and adolescents cope with severe acute stress of parental loss from causes other than divorce or death. Participants were 60 children and adolescents from a residential treatment facility. Most had experienced neglect, physical abuse, and sexual abuse, and their parents had their parential rights terminated. Measures of symptomatology indicated that children reported low levels of depressive symptoms, whereas caregivers reported the children were experiencing significant psychological problems. Children used avoidant coping strategies more often than emotion-focused coping strategies, which, in turn, were used more than problem-focused coping strategies. Results are discussed in terms of helping children cope with parental loss.

Mediated Reunions in Adoption: Findings from an Evaluation Study
Carol Cumming Speirs, Sydney Duder, Richard Sullivan, Silvia Kirstein, Mona Propst, and Dolores Meade

In Canada, there are long waiting lists of adopted persons and birthparents seeking information or actual reunions. In the province of Quebec, the government authorized a pilot project, involving a fee-for-service program and use of contract social workers to supplement agency staff as intermediaries in the reunion process. This article reports on the project's evaluation and provides birthparents' and adoptees' responses to reunion. A survey of clients who used this service found a high level of satisfaction. There were, however, some significant differences between birthparents and adoptees as well as between those who were searching and those found.

Pathways to College for Former Foster Youth: Understanding Factors That Contribute to Educational Success
Joan M. Merdinger, Alice M. Hines, Kathy Lemon Osterling, and Paige Wyatt

This article presents early descriptive findings from the Pathways to College study, a multimethod and multiphase study of emancipated foster youth. Results based on a sample of 216 emancipated foster youth attending a four-year university indicate that many of their experiences are characteristic of individuals manifesting resilience in the face of adversity. At the same time, results indicate that although the youth are successful academically, they may be vulnerable in other areas. This article examines the participants' responses, comparing them to other studies to understand the factors that affect the academic performance of former foster youth.

September/October 2005 Special Issue: Immigrants and Refugees in Child Welfare

Introduction: What Do We Know About Immigrant and Refugee Families and Children?
Ilze Earner and Hilda Rivera

Immigrant and refugee families and children represent the fastest growing portion (11%) of the U.S. population. As recent studies suggest, they also are at the greatest risk for problems associated with poverty, including involvement with the public child welfare system. While public child welfare services agencies can play a pivotal and unique role in providing much-needed help and services to these families, too often they are unprepared to meet the special challenges presented by immigrants and refugees and, as a result, fail to serve them appropriately. Little current literature addresses the salient policy and practice issues involved in working with this population, or offers technical assistance, resources, and ideas to improve services. This special issue of Child Welfare represents an initial effort at providing a clearer picture of what happens when immigrant and refugee families, children, and youth intersect with the public child welfare system. The educators, researchers, direct service providers, and community activists who have contributed articles each made an effort to identify and address the special needs of the immigrant and refugee population. The articles presented here contribute to the knowledge base of social work interventions with specific populations, share information to promote an examination of best practices within the child welfare context, and address policies that affect access to services and resources for this population. The ideas expressed here hopefully will help expand the definition of culturally competent practice in child welfare services to include a greater emphasis on understanding the effect of immigration status and the migrant experience on families and their children.

Effective Child Welfare Practice with Immigrant and Refugee Children and Their Families
Barbara A. Pine and Diane Drachman

This article presents a multistage migration framework to broaden the lens through which child welfare personnel can view immigrant and refugee families and their children. By better understanding the family's experiences in both emigration and immigration, including reasons for leaving their home country, experiences in transit, and reception and resettlement experiences in the United States, child welfare personnel are better equipped to assess their needs and provide effective prevention, protection, permanency, and family preservation services. Case examples illustrating the application of the framework and guidelines for program and practice are included.

Assessment of Issues Facing Immigrant and Refugee Families
Uma A. Segal and Nazneen S. Mayadas

This article identifies the different problems immigrants and refugees face in the United States, especially socioeconomic and psychosocial concerns that often relate to the experience of migration. Traditional familial roles and responsibilities are frequently challenged, exacerbated by sociocultural differences and inadequate understandings between the new arrivals and the host country. Essential in assessments of immigrant and refugee families is evaluating resources for social, economic, and cultural integration; discriminating between realistic and unrealistic expectations; evaluating families' problem-solving abilities; exploring family functioning within the context of heritage; identifying the transferability of work skills; and gauging families' learning capabilities and motivation for adaptation.

Parenting and the Process of Migration: Possibilities Within South Asian Families
Anne C. Deepak

The migration experience creates a unique set of challenges for families, which can result in intergenerational conflict and create the conditions for abuse or neglect. Alternatively, families can cope with these challenges in creative and seemingly contradictory ways, thus strengthening family relationships. This article introduces the process of migration as a theoretical framework to use in understanding the complexity of the migration experience as well as the wide range of coping responses within families. The process was developed as a theoretical tool in an ethnographic study of first- and second-generation South Asian women in the United States; the study's findings are used to illustrate the application of the process to South Asian parenting experiences and show how the process of migration--where families adjust to a different set of structural conditions, ideologies, cultural norms, and social systems--shapes parenting and family life.

Social Work with Bosnian Muslim Refugee Children and Families: A Review of the Literature
Cindy S. Snyder, J. Dean May, Nihada N. Zulcic, and W. Jay Gabbard

More than two million Bosnian Muslims were ethnically cleansed in the Balkan region; of these, 200,000 were killed while the others were forced to flee their homes and become refugees. This article focuses on the influence of societal and cultural values coupled with wartime experiences on the transition of Bosnian refugee families to their new countries. Consideration is given to culturally competent theoretical frameworks and practice principles social workers can use to assist Bosnian Muslim children and families in their adaptation process within their resettlement communities.

Sudanese Refugee Youth in Foster Care: The "Lost Boys" in America
Laura Bates, Diane Baird, Deborah J. Johnson, Robert E. Lee, Tom Luster, and Christine Rehagen

This study examined the resettlement experiences of unaccompanied Sudanese refugee youth placed in foster care from the perspectives of the youth, foster parents, and agency caseworkers. Youth experienced considerable success. The challenges of adjusting to school and family life, however, suggest a need for funding to support more intensive educational services, more cultural training and support for foster parents and school personnel, and flexibility to provide services in more culturally appropriate modalities.

Finding the Bicultural Balance: Immigrant Latino Mothers Raising "American" Adolescents
Yolanda Quinones-Mayo and Patricia Dempsey

This article discusses the cross-cultural issues that confront immigrant Latino parents living and raising adolescents in the United States. Emphasis is placed on the need for social work practitioners, who, as they aid a family's integration into mainstream society, will listen to the parents' concerns and incorporate their past experiences and traditional culture into the assessment and treatment processes. Implications for practice, programs, and policy are also discussed.

Working Together as Culture Brokers by Building Trusting Alliances with Bilingual and Bicultural Newcomer Paraprofessionals Carol L. Owen and Meme English

The authors' reflect on the challenges and rewards of partnering as casework supervisors with bilingual and bicultural newcomer paraprofessionals in resettlement work with refugee youth. Such individuals are generally recruited for their linguistic abilities and cultural knowledge, but they can lack formal clinical training or licensing credentials. Drawing on their own experience as supervisors of bilingual and bicultural newcomer paraprofessionals from Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam, the authors compare their early attempts to establish trust and communication with insights gained in more recent supervisory experiences. Recommendations are offered that promote mutual understanding between newcomer paraprofessionals and their Western-trained supervisors.

Cultural Competence in the Assessment of Poor Mexican Families in the Rural Southeastern United States
Tina U. Hancock

Increasing numbers of poor Mexican immigrant families are settling in the rural southeastern United States. Most of these families are from isolated agrarian communities in Mexico and are headed by unskilled laborers or displaced farm workers with little education. Child welfare workers and other service providers in rural communities may be poorly prepared to address the needs of this population. This article provides an overview of the cultural, social, and family dynamics of first generation, working class Mexicans to promote cultural competency among helping professionals. An ecological perspective is used to examine the strengths that poor Mexicans bring from their culture of origin, stresses of the migratory experience and ongoing adaptation, shifts that may occur in family structure and functioning, disruptions in the family life cycle, the role of social supports in family adaptation, and effect of institutional discrimination on family well-being. Suggestions also are made for essential components of adequate in-service education.

Serving Immigrant Families and Children in New York City's Child Welfare System
Zeinab Chahine and Justine van Straaten

This article describes the efforts and special initiatives of New York City's Administration for Children's Services to improve services to immigrant and English language learner populations. Children's Services convened an immigration issues advisory subcommittee, created special tools for child welfare staff, collaborated with legal agencies to assist foster children with immigration status adjustments, improved agency data collection, and launched an agency-wide training initiative on immigration issues. The challenges encountered by Children's Services offer important insight for child welfare agencies in other jurisdictions designing strategies to strengthen their services for immigrant communities.

The Call-Centre: A Child Welfare Liaison Program with Immigrant Serving Agencies
Margaret Williams, Cathryn Bradshaw, Beverly Fournier, Admasu Tachble, Rob Bray, and Fay Hodson

Alberta, Canada, welcomed nearly 16,000 landed immigrants in 2003, of whom more than half came to the Calgary area. Approximately 200,000 immigrants of various ethnic and cultural groups now live in the region. Many of these new arrivals have no natural support networks while struggling with language, cultural, and economic barriers. Recognizing these difficulties, the Calgary and Area Child and Family Services Authority (CFSA) joined with several Immigrant Serving Agencies to develop guidelines and procedures to direct staff working with diverse cultures, including the Call-Centre pilot project, which provided CFSA staff with a one-stop telephone contact for information about an immigrant or refugee family, their culture, and available culturally-appropriate resources. The Call-Centre, which is currently being evaluated by researchers at the University of Calgary, will gradually expand to all CFSA sites in the region. This article describes the Call-Centre and the first phase of the evaluation.

In the "Best Interest" of Immigrant and Refugee Children: Deliberating on Their Unique Circumstances
Qingwen Xu

Each year, state juvenile courts provide thousands of immigrant and refugee children with access to consistent and reliable caregiving and a stable environment. To examine how courts interpret "the best interests" of immigrant and refugee children, this article examines 24 cases in courts across the United States, which indicate they use a territorial approach when evaluating the best interests standard. Although legal status was not an issue, many related factors were. Consequently, the courts restricted immigrant parents' rights in caring, guiding, and visiting their children; increased the risk of wrongfully terminating parental rights; and intensified the unpredictability of immigrant and refugee children's welfare in the long run. This article suggests an approach that encourages communication between social workers and the courts to address the special needs and circumstances of immigrant and refugee children on three key topics: the material and moral welfare of the child, and social welfare for immigrant and refugee families.

An Educational Model for Child Welfare Practice with English-Speaking Caribbean Families
Alma Carten and Harriet Goodman

Implemented in New York City, the Child Welfare Fellowship Project is an international collaboration between social work educators in the United States and Jamaica, the West Indies, the public child welfare agency, and selected community-based agencies. This model educational program prepared selected Masters of Social Work (MSW) Fellowship students for exemplary child welfare practice with English-speaking Caribbean families by providing enhanced programs designed to support culturally competent skill development and a preventive approach to child welfare practice. These educational enhancements, combined with academic course work, increased professionalism, self-efficacy, and culturally competent skill development among participants and averted foster care placement for families seen over the duration of the project.

Bridging Refugee Youth and Children's Services: A Case Study of Cross-Service Training
Lyn Morland, Julianne Duncan, Joyce Hoebing, Juanita Kirschke, and Laura Schmidt

Bridging Refugee Youth and Children's Services(BRYCS), a public-private partnership between the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, provides national technical assistance to public child welfare. After a series of "community conversations," BRYCS identified a lack of knowledge among child welfare staff about newcomer refugees, negative stereotypes, and a fear of child protective services among refugees. BRYCS initiated a number of technical assistance initiatives, including a pilot cross-service training project in St. Louis to strengthen collaboration between child welfare and refugee-serving agencies. This article details the lessons learned from this training and recommends changes in policy and practice.

July/August 2005

Evaluating Multidisciplinary Child Abuse and Neglect Teams: A Research Agenda
Marina Lalayants and Irwin Epstein

A review of child welfare research literature reveals that although multidisciplinary teams are increasingly used to investigate and intervene in child abuse and neglect cases, the field does not know enough about their structural variations, implementation processes, or effectiveness. Moreover, although articles advocating multidisciplinary teams enumerate their apparent strengths, they lack attention to the teams' possible weaknesses. The article discusses implications for future evaluation studies.

Enhancing Parent-Child Interaction During Foster Care Visits: Experimental Assessment of an Intervention
Wendy L. Haight, Sarah Mangelsdorf, James Black, Margaret Szewczyk, Sarah Schoppe, Grace Giorgio, Karen Madrigal, and Lakshmi Tata

Mothers of young children recently placed in foster care participated in an intervention to enhance parent-child interaction during visits. The mothers all reported substantial loss and trauma histories. Immediately prior to the visits, the mothers were coached on strategies for separating from their children at the visit's end. The mothers displayed more behavioral strategies for supporting their children when the visit was over, but were less engaged with their children during the leave-taking sequence and displayed fewer ways of maintaining the child's involvement in mother-child interaction during leave-taking than those in a comparison group. This article discusses consideration of parents' trauma history in designing interventions to enhance parent-child interaction.

Characteristics and Trajectories of Treatment Foster Care Youth
David L. Hussey and Shenyang Guo

Using cross-sectional analyses in conjunction with dynamic modeling (hierarchical linear modeling), the authors profiled 119 treatment foster care youth and constructed behavioral change trajectories for a subset of 97 children. Children generally showed improvements in internalizing and critical pathology problem domains but remained the same on measures of externalizing behaviors and total problem score. The number of previous out-of-home placements was positively associated with increased levels of psychiatric symptomatology and served as the most robust predictor for modeling treatment response trajectories across problem domains. Placement instability places the well-being of children at heightened risk, therefore, accurate assessment of child need and risk in relation to caregiver capacities is critical.

Permanency Mediation: A Path to Open Adoption for Children in Out-of-Home Care
JoAnne Maynard

This research study examined the experiences of birthparents, permanent parents, and mediators in permanency mediation following a state child welfare agency's recommendation for termination of parental rights. Permanency mediation provides participants with the opportunity to collaborate in an agreement that entails a voluntary surrender of parental rights by the birthparents and the placement of children with permanent parents in open adoption or guardianship. Findings suggested that permanency mediation has the potential to be a successful practice. Participants, however, need additional support during and after mediation to help them understand open adoption and deal with the changes in family structures and boundaries, address their own feelings and concerns, and establish reliable means of communication with each other.

May/June 2005

What Is Driving Increasing Child Welfare Caseloads in Ontario? Analysis of the 1993 and 1998 Ontario Incidence Studies
Nico Trocmi, Barbara Fallon, Bruce MacLaurin, and Teresa Neves

Rates of substantiated maltreatment documented by the 1993 and 1998 Ontario Incidence Studies of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect doubled between 1993 and 1998. Although increasing public awareness and changes in investigation procedures appear to account for part of this change, the increase also reflects a significant shift in the types of maltreatment agencies are investigating and substantiating. Exposure to spousal violence has increased eightfold, and the proportion of neglect cases has more than doubled, whereas cases of sexual abuse are decreasing. The field requires a differentiated response to address the maltreatment-specific challenges underlying child welfare caseload increases in Canada.

Covariates of Length of Stay in Residential Treatment
Amy J.L. Baker, Fred Wulczyn, and Nan Dale

This study explores variables associated with length of stay in a child welfare residential treatment center. The study followed three entry cohorts (416 boys) from admission through discharge. The researchers conducted event history analyses to examine the rates of discharge over time and the covariates of length of stay. They conducted analyses by discharge destination (reunified, transferred, or ran away). The results demonstrated that mental health issues slowed down rates of discharge for youth who were reunified or transferred. For children who left by running away, age and prior substance history were associated with faster rates of exit. These results have important public policy implications for improving the application of length of stay variables in planning and treatment.

Fathers in Child Welfare: Caseworkers' Perspectives
John M. O'Donnell, Waldo E. Johnson Jr., Lisa Easley D'Aunno, and Helen L. Thornton

Five focus groups substantially agreeed about the lack of paternal participation in child welfare services and the reasons for low paternal involvement. The groups had considerable disagreement about whether child welfare professionals should address this issue. Some caseworkers believed that all fathers and mothers should be treated identically with respect to services to be offered and time frames for services; other caseworkers thought that the special circumstances of some fathers, such as lack of child care experience, called for service approaches that differ from those for mothers. Another disagreement was whether more fathers would be more involved if services were gender sensitive, that is, if agencies provided male caseworkers for fathers and had father-only services. Much of the debate focused on pragmatic considerations (would gender-sensitive services improve paternal participation and outcomes?), although some participants were concerned about equity (would such services give fathers an advantage in disputed custody cases?).

Accessibility and Clarity of State Child Welfare Agency Mission Statements
Monique Busch and Gail Folaron

The authors reviewed 40 mission statements guiding U.S. public child welfare practice for accessibility, clarity, and values. Nine of the 40 state-administered child welfare agencies had not posted their missions on the Web as of October 2002, and 30 mission statements required a 12th-grade or college reading level for easy comprehension. The mission statements most often expressed the goals, values, and processes of safety, permanence, well-being, family preservation, cultural competence, self-sufficiency, and partnership. Mission statements can be an important tool for improving child welfare outcomes by providing direction; therefore, agency administrators should consider how clear and accessible their state agency mission statements are.

March/April 2005 Special Issue: Community Building and 21st Century Child Welfare

Introduction: Advancing 21st Century Child Welfare Through Community Building
Steve Hornberger and Katherine Briar-Lawson

No one child- and family-serving system has the mandate, resources, or reach to address the personal issues or social and community conditions related to risk factors faced by families involved with child welfare systems. Hundreds of thousands of children and families are helped every day by the child welfare system and other child- and family-serving systems. Millions more, however, do not have access to available, appropriate, or equitable services and supports. For far too many children and families, the failure to meet these human needs and basic rights has significant consequences. This includes lives filled with pain, suffering, and quiet desperation. Even so, as the articles in this volume suggest, we are learning and succeeding. Community building is becoming an essential part of all child and family practice. When we who work in or influence these systems; fundamentally change our roles with one another; change our relationships with the children, youth, and families we serve; and actively engage community stakeholders, we provide more strategic supports and can collaboratively achieve more effective outcomes for this most vulnerable population.

Community-Building Principles: Implications for Professional Development
Sandra Austin

This article reviews a Think Tank meeting among child welfare practitioners at the 2003 Building Communities for 21st-Century Child Welfare Symposium. The Child Welfare League of America's focus on community building is recognition of the vital importance of promoting and fostering collaboration with community members to enhance the well-being of children, families, and communities. The Think Tank participants responded to four questions concerning the knowledge, policies, and strategies that are needed for the development of strategies for community building and child welfare. This article highlights several of the findings of the preconference, which addressed the challenges and opportunities inherent in community-building practices and discusses the key principles that emerged from the Think Tank. The article emphasizes implications for professional education and cites selected examples of innovative community-building initiatives with families.

Moving Mountains Together: Strategic Community Leadership and Systems Change
Laura Burney Nissen, Daniel M. Merrigan, and M. Katherine Kraft

Traditional leadership practice frameworks to guide systems change often fall short in today's practice environment. Reclaiming Futures is a national initiative to create an integrated, comprehensive, seamless system of care for teens with substance abuse problems involved in juvenile justice. It uses leadership and systems reform strategies to improve public health institutions. The premise is that interruption of the destructive cycle of drugs and delinquency can only be attained through the cultivation of shared strategic leadership. This article presents the limitations of traditional practice frameworks of leadership, describes the theory of this new approach to leadership development, and clarifies collaborative leadership and system change. The article includes an example of the framework in action, a discussion of lessons learned, and recommendations for community leadership development initiatives.

The New York City Neighborhood-Based Services Strategy
Zeinab Chahine, Justine van Straaten, and Anne Williams-Isom

The New York City Administration for Children's Services (ACS) instituted a neighborhood-based services system through the realignment of all foster care, preventive, and protective services along community district lines. ACS, with its community partners, also formed neighborhood-based networks to improve service coordination and collaboration among key community stakeholders and to shape a multisystem strategy tailored to each district informed by child welfare data. Based on analysis of neighborhood-specific census tract child welfare data, ACS initiated the Community Partnership to Strengthen Families project to address the disproportionate number of foster care placements originating from a small group of high-need communities, including Manhattan's Central Harlem. This article describes examples of specific strategies based on the Central Harlem experience.

"Nothing About Me Without Me:" Leading the Way to Collaborative Relationships with Families
Lisa A. O'Connor, Jon Morgenstern, Fay Gibson, and Mary Nakashian

This article discusses the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse's CASA Safe Haven, an evidence-based, community-driven intervention program for children and families in child welfare whose lives have been adversely affected by substance abuse, and for staff in the agencies that work with them. CASA Safe Haven builds collaborative relationships that feature a blend of multidisciplinary teams that share responsibility for helping families; family group conferencing, in which families are equal and welcome participants in designing and driving a service plan; and the influence of family court to hold families and service providers accountable for progress. CASA Safe Haven is a framework for collaboration.

Drug-Endangered Children Need a Collaborative Community Response
Sandra J. Altshuler, Beth Black, Nicole Hatcher, Daniel Kriz, Chris Mallonee, Amanda Briggs Reynard, and Amanda White

The United States is facing an epidemic of the use of methamphetamine drugs. Child welfare has not yet addressed the needs of the children living in so-called meth homes. These children are endangered not only from the chemicals involved, but also from parental abuse and neglect. Communities are recognizing the need for interagency collaboration to address the consequences of this epidemic. Spokane, Washington, has created a Drug-Endangered Children Project, whose mission is to implement a collaborative response among law enforcement, prosecutorial, medical, and social service professionals to the needs of drug-endangered children. This article presents the findings from the evaluation of the first year of the project, including a baseline assessment of the needs of drug-endangered children and the extent of community-based collaboration achieved. This article makes recommendations for future community-based partnerships to improve the well-being of drug-endangered children.

Seeds of Change: Using Peacemaking Circles to Build a Village for Every Child
Carolyn Boyes-Watson

Roca Inc., a grassroots human development and community organization, has adopted the peacemaking circle as a tool in its relationship building with youth, communities, and formal systems. Circles are a method of communication derived from aboriginal and native traditions. In Massachusetts, the Department of Social Services and the Department of Youth Services are exploring the application of the circle in programming with youth and families. By providing a consistent structure for open, democratic communication, peacemaking circles enhance the formation of positive relationships in families, communities, and systems. The outcome is a stronger community with greater unity across truly diverse participants. This article presents the theory and practice of peacemaking circles, the lessons and challenges of implementing circles in formal organizations, and the potential of the circle to support a strengths-based and community-based approach to child welfare.

Co-production Dynamics and Time Dollar Programs in Community-Based Child Welfare Initiatives for Hard-to-Serve Youth and Families
Michael B. Marks and Hal A. Lawson

Hard-to-serve youth and families residing in high-poverty communities often have multiple, interlocking needs. These needs necessitate complex service models. The complex model described in this article combines a unique approach to wraparound services with a co-production framework and related theories. The model aims to improve outcomes for vulnerable youth and their families, simultaneously strengthening communities by employing residents and engaging participants in community service. Examples derived from current pilot projects illustrate co-production's importance for other child welfare initiatives.

Unleashing the Power of Community to Strengthen the Well-Being of Children, Youth, and Families: An Asset-Building Approach
Marc Mannes, Eugene C. Roehlkepartain, and Peter L. Benson

Search Institute's decade-plus emphasis on the elements of positive human development and community approaches to asset building can make a meaningful contribution to the field of child welfare. The institute's framework of developmental assets identifies a set of interrelated experiences, relationships, skills, and values that are associated with reduced high-risk behaviors and increased thriving behaviors. Its community-building work emphasizes the human relations and developmental infrastructure children, youth, and families require for their health and well-being.

Understanding Communities Today: Using Matching Needs and Services to Assess Community Needs and Design Community-Based Services
Kenneth I. Taylor

Matching Needs and Services (MNS) is a practice tool intended to help people who work with vulnerable children use rigorously assembled information on needs as a guide to design, implement, and evaluate more-effective services. To do this, MNS focuses on needs but links them to outcomes and thresholds before dealing with the services to achieve those outcomes.

"Just Therapy" with Families on Low Incomes
Charles Waldegrave

This article addresses the inadequacies of counseling, therapy, and social work that occurs with low-income families. The author argues that many families who seek help arrive with problems that are usually assessed separately from their socioeconomic and cultural contexts. Careful questioning will often lead to the discovery that the onset of many family problems are located in events external to the family, such as unemployment, bad housing, and racist, sexist, or heterosexist experiences. They can be extremely depressing ongoing experiences that eventually lead parents and children into a state of stress that opens them up to physical and mental illnesses. This article argues that a wide body of research supports such a view and that counseling, therapeutic, and social work practices should address these issues much more directly. It also argues that practitioners have an important role to play in social and economic policy development out of respect for their clients' struggles.

Understanding Communities of Neglectful Parents: Child Caregiving Networks and Child Neglect
Martha G. Roditti

This article focuses on family social networks and the community of caregivers of neglected children. If neglect is part of family functioning, who watches over the children? Using a case study approach, this study researched 12 children and their parents. Several concepts, such as multiple caregiving and kin keepers, revealed that study children were cared for by many people. Social network mapping used in this study indicated that families were not isolated from the larger community, had various forms of negative and positive social support, were low income, and were involved in substance abuse and domestic violence. Understanding the patterns that emerge from the complex web of family, friends, social service agencies, and the larger social community in which neglected children live can result in better community building.

All It Takes Is Leadership
Tom Papin and Treva Houck

The authors, as leaders in a public child welfare system, have teamed together and reached out to their private sector partners in a large, rural county in western Colorado. This effort was part of a comprehensive, communitywide effort to redesign and fundamentally improve the entire child welfare service delivery system. Across the country in many areas where collaboration and integration have been the focus, we often hear voices in the private and public sector declaring the importance of integration. Why, then, does it not happen as a general course of action? The authors believe the answer lies in leadership, both public and private. They hold the Mesa County model up as witness to that fact.

From Tragedy to Triumph: A Segue to Community Building for Children and Families
Laura Steves and Ted Blevins

In 2000, more than 60 nonprofit agencies, health care providers, government officials, and community advocates in Tarrant County, Texas, came together to work for systemic change in the mental health care system. The coalition, known as the Mental Health Connection, began working toward a "No Wrong Door" approach to mental health services, which required aggressive coordination between federal, private, and nonprofit resources. The result is a five- to six-year plan for implementation of a new systems of care model for children with severe emotional disturbances and their families. The Mental Health Connection also focuses on legislative advocacy to bring about necessary policy changes at the local, state, and federal levels. Finally, the coalition focuses on developing sustainable revenue streams that will allow the new systems to remain in place once the group accomplishes the initial mission of the Mental Health Connection.

Rebuilding Native American Communities
Don Coyhis and Richard Simonelli

The Wellbriety Movement in Native American communities draws on the wisdom and participation of traditional elders. Beginning with a basic community teaching called the Four Laws of Change and the Healing Forest Model, the Wellbriety Movement blends Medicine Wheel knowledge with the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous to provide culture-specific addiction recovery help for Native Americans. The four Journeys of the Sacred Hoop brought the Wellbriety Movement to Native and non-Native people alike from 1999 to 2003.

January/February 2005

Child Welfare Reform in the United States: Findings from a Local Agency Survey
Lorelei B. Mitchell, Richard P. Barth, Rebecca Green, Ariana Wall, Paul Biemer, Jill Duerr Berrick, Mary Bruce Webb, and the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being Research Group

Efforts to improve the public welfare and child welfare system sparked an unprecedented amount of federal legislation in the 1990s, including the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 (ASFA), the Multiethnic Placement Act of 1994 and Interethnic Adoption Provisions of 1996 (MEPA-IEP), and welfare reform. Such reforms allow an unprecedented degree of flexibility, but little is known about their implementation. Researchers administered the Local Agency Survey to the first national probability sample of public child welfare agencies from 1999 to 2000. Findings indicate that ASFA has had the most effect on child welfare service delivery. Welfare reform has had less effect, and MEPA-IEP seems to have had little effect at all.

Vstreet.com: A Web-Based Community for At-Risk Teens
Caesar Pacifici, Lee White, Kelli Cummings, and Carol Nelson

Most teens leaving the care of an agency are woefully unprepared and unsupported. Current approaches to aftercare are expensive and difficult to implement. This study evaluated a prototype version of Vstreet.com, an innovative website for at-risk youth designed to teach lifeskills and build community. Findings from a sample of youth in the Job Corps showed that the website was highly effective in increasing their knowledge of apartment hunting skills, feelings of peer social support, and intentions of staying in touch with their agency.

Reunification of Child and Animal Welfare Agencies: Cross-Reporting of Abuse in Wellington County, Ontario
Lisa Anne Zilney and Mary Zilney

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.

Obstacles to Employment Among Mothers of Children in Foster Care
Kathleen Wells and Robert Shafran

This article reports on a study of obstacles to employment among mothers with children in foster care. The study relies on standardized measures, has a cross-sectional design, and includes a sample of 158 mothers. The analysis shows a high prevalence of obstacles; identifies three co-occurring obstacles, each involving substance abuse, that are related to a low probability of employment (p < .05); and reveals that employment and access to transportation are related to higher income relative to mothers' needs (p < .05).

November/December 2004

Outcomes of Specialized Foster Care in a Managed Child Welfare Services Network
Theodore P. Cross, Joseph Leavey, Peggy R. Mosley, Andrew W. White, and Jasmina Burdzovic Andreas

This study (N = 384) presents results from outcome measurement in a services network providing specialized foster care (SFC) to children in child protective service custody. A majority of participants improved on most outcomes. Global improvement was associated with increased length of stay up to two years, five months, and with younger age, fewer problems, and, paradoxically, the presence of a trauma history. Results suggest the value of SFC within managed services and of research using outcome measurement systems.

The Need for Educational Assessment of Children Entering Foster Care
Larry D. Evans, Susan S. Scott, and Eldon G. Schulz

Comprehensive medical and mental health evaluations of children in foster care are recommended within 30 days of entering care. What constitutes a comprehensive evaluation has yet to be established. This study examines the need to include educational assessment as a component of the comprehensive evaluation. Rates of achievement and language problems for Arkansas school-age children are compared with rates of medical and psychiatric disorders to assess the relative need for including educational assessment.

Why Do Children Resist or Obey Their Foster Parents? The Inner Logic of Children's Behavior During Discipline
Elly Singer, Jeannette Doornenbal, and Krista Okma

This article discusses a study of children's perspectives on disciplinary conflicts with their foster parents. Most children accept parental authority, but they also defend their personal autonomy and loyalties to peers. In this study, only birthchildren told real-life stories about fierce resistance to get their own way. Fierce resistance among foster children was motivated by inner conflicts and confusion. Obedience among foster children often derived from fear of punishment or a feeling of impotence. The authors discuss the theoretical and pedagogical implications of these findings.

Whatever the Problem, the Answer Is "Evidence-Based Practice"-Or Is It?
Wendy Whiting Blome and Sue Steib

September/October 2004 Special Issue

Introduction
Ruth Anne White and Debra Rog

Housing Problems Experienced by Recipients of Child Welfare Services
Mark E. Courtney, Steven L. McMurtry, and Andrew Zinn

This study uses data on the experiences of families involved with child welfare services to examine the nature of housing problems and needs among these families and whether housing status affects case outcomes. First, the article describes the housing difficulties faced by two distinct child welfare service populations: families receiving voluntary in-home services and families with children in court-ordered out-of-home care. Second, the study demonstrates the relationship between housing problems and the likelihood of family reunification for children in out-of-home care. The findings have implications for the delivery of child welfare services and the provision of housing assistance to low-income families with children.

Child Welfare Involvement Among Children in Homeless Families
Jung Min Park, Stephen Metraux, Gabriel Brodbar, and Dennis P. Culhane

An analysis of 8,251 homeless children in New York City found that 18% of them received child welfare services over the five-year period following their first shelter admission, and an additional 6% had a history of having received such services before their first shelter admission. Recurrent use of public shelters, exposure to domestic violence, older age at first episode of homelessness, and larger number of children in a household were associated with an increased risk of child welfare involvement. The high rate of crossover between homelessness and the child welfare system suggests the need for service coordination for children in homeless families.

Housing Characteristics and Adequacy of the Physical Care of Children: An Exploratory Analysis
Joy Swanson Ernst, Megan Meyer, and Diane DePanfilis

This study explored the relationship between housing conditions and the adequacy of the physical care of children. The sample included 106 caregivers who were participating in a neglect prevention demonstration project in a low-income, inner-city neighborhood. Children who lived with caregivers who had unsafe housing conditions were less likely to receive adequate physical care. Findings confirm the importance of addressing concrete housing conditions as part of an ecological approach to preventing child neglect.

Reaching the Hard to Reach: Innovative Housing for Homeless Youth Through Strategic Partnerships
Jamie Van Leeuwen

This article features three housing programs designed to target the needs of youth aging out of child welfare. One program combines housing and treatment to move substance-dependent youth off the streets; one combines the resources of Urban Peak, the only licensed homeless and runaway youth shelter in Colorado, with the Denver Department of Human Services to prevent youth in child welfare from discharging to the streets; and one addresses the intense mental health needs of this population. It costs Colorado $53,655 to place a young person in youth corrections for one year and $53,527 for residential treatment. It costs Urban Peak $5,378 to move a young person off of the streets. This article describes how data have driven program development and discusses how policy implications and relationships with the public and private sector can leverage additional resources.

Can't Do It Alone: Housing Collaborations to Improve Foster Youth Outcomes
Miryam J. Choca, Jedediah Minoff, Lyn Angene, Michele Byrnes, Lois Kenneally, DeWayne Norris, Deanne Pearn, and Marina M. Rivers

Research documents that youth transitioning out of the foster care system experience a variety of negative outcomes, including homelessness. Housing collaborations, which aim to comprehensively address resource and service needs for transitioning youth, including permanent connections, education, and employment, have resulted in innovative programming and forged new relationships among child welfare, social service and housing developers, and providers. This article describes the partners, models, and resources several collaborations used and their progress and outcomes; shares insights gained; and explores productive directions for future work.

Reunifying Families, Cutting Costs: Housing-Child Welfare Partnerships for Permanent Supportive Housing
Deborah S. Harburger, with Ruth A. White

In the absence of an adequate supply of affordable, quality housing, child welfare agencies are placed in the unenviable position of separating families to protect children from the debilitating effects of homelessness. This article presents recommendations for cost-effective housing-child welfare partnerships that will shift the burden of providing adequate housing back to housing agencies. These partnerships have the potential to move child welfare agencies closer to achieving permanence and well-being for all children.

Housing Plus Services: Supporting Vulnerable Families in Permanent Housing
Carol S. Cohen, Elizabeth Mulroy, Tanya Tull, Catherine White, and Sheila Crowley

The importance of integrating services with housing to help low-income families achieve stability is gaining recognition. The variations in types of existing housing and service initiatives have produced a complex language with multiple meanings and overlapping definitions. The National Low Income Housing Coalition proposes the umbrella term housing plus services to refer to these programs. Following a review of the literature on the relationship of housing to child well-being, the article discusses and illustrates the National Low Income Housing Coalition's principles for and typology of housing plus services.

July/August 2004

Using Tribal/State Title IV-E Agreements to Help American Indian Tribes Access Foster Care and Adoption Funding
Eddie F. Brown, Gordon E. Limb, Chey A. Clifford, Ric Munoz, and Leslie Schueler Whitaker

Funding under Title IV-E has historically not been available to American Indian communities, therefore, tribes have had to develop agreements with states to access these funds for child care services. This study analyzes Title IV-E intergovernmental provisions to help tribes and states strengthen Title IV-E agreements. A nationwide content analysis of existing Title IV-E documents, phone interviews, and focus groups revealed that Title IV-E tribal/state agreements vary widely, with most tribes not receiving full access to state services. These agreements focus on foster care maintenance payments and services. This article includes recommendations to help facilitate tribal access to Title IV-E funding for foster care and adoption services.

When a Child Welfare Client Dies: An Agency-Centered Perspective
Nora Gustavsson and Ann E. MacEachron

When working with vulnerable children and their families, the specter of client death for child welfare workers and agencies is recognized as a rare but unsparingly real event. This article uses an agency-centered perspective to explore the multilayered steps agencies may implement at the supervisory through administrative levels to build agency-wide support for workers to cope and perform well during such crises.

Ready or Not: Uses of the Stages of Change Model in Child Welfare
Julia H. Littell and Heather Girvin

This article reviews the popular stages of change model, its potential applications in child welfare, and relevant research. Empirical evidence indicates that behavioral change does not occur in a series of stages. The article considers the validity of the stage model, its underlying assumptions, and other conceptualizations of readiness for change. Although the stage model may have some heuristic value, the empirical evidence suggests that its practical applications are severely limited.

Comparing the Health Status of Low-Income Children in and out of Foster Care
Robin L. Hansen, Fatema Lakhani Mawjee, Keith Barton, Mary B. Metcalf, and Nancy R. Joye

Children in foster care face poverty, family dysfunction, neglect, and abuse, with high rates of chronic health, emotional, and developmental problems. This study compared the overall health status of a group of children entering foster care with a group of Medicaid-eligible children living with their parents, matched for age and gender. It identified significantly more health and developmental problems in children in foster care than in the comparison group. Possible contributors to the higher percentage of problems among foster care children may be that the foster children have more problems related to the underlying risk factors resulting in placement, or that the foster care physicians conducted a more comprehensive assessment or had lower clinical thresholds. Further research is necessary to identify and treat the problems of this high-risk group.

May/June 2004

Implemented as Intended? Recording Family Worker Activities in a Families First Program
L. Tjeerd ten Brink, Jan W. Veerman, Raymond A. T. de Kemp, and Marianne A. Berger

In evaluating family preservation services, it is important not only to study the service outcomes and the family characteristics, but also what actually happens during the treatment. This requires a program model. This article describes how a program model works, prescribes how workers should carry it out, and describes how researchers should measure the program's characteristics. The authors use data from Families First in The Netherlands to test the model. Results show that the method of the program meets the specified characteristics. The results are important for treatment, policy, education, and evaluation research.

Improving Access to Health Care for Foster Children: The Illinois Model
Paula Kienberger Jaudes, Lucy A. Bilaver, Robert M. Goerge, James Masterson, and Charles Catania

Children in foster care have lower health status than do their peers and limited access to health care. The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services developed HealthWorks, a separate primary care preferred provider system for children in foster care. This study compared claims data for children in HealthWorks with children not enrolled in Health-Works and with children in Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) who had never entered foster care. Children enrolled in HealthWorks were more likely than were other children to receive all of the services except general inpatient hospitalizations. They had greater odds of receiving general exams and physicians' services and were more likely to visit the emergency room than children who were not enrolled. They were more likely to receive all of the measured services when compared with children receiving Medicaid through AFDC.

Extending Transitional Services to Former Foster Children
Ben Kerman, Richard P. Barth, and Judy Wildfire

This article describes what a private agency expended while addressing the transitional needs of former long-term foster youth and examines the association between expenditures and adult outcomes. Not all young adults accepted supports extended to them. In the sample, 41% of the young adults incurred expenses after age 19. Of those using supports, about two-thirds incurred expenses for higher education, and slightly fewer for continued housing support. Median expenses were generally stable or declining between ages 19 and 21, although almost all declined after age 22. Young adults who received extended supports tended to be better off at follow-up, although some troubled young adults used extensive, expensive services.

The Parent Satisfaction with Foster Care Services Scale
Stephen A. Kapp and Rebecca H. Vela

Client satisfaction measures are an essential component of program evaluation. This article describes the development of a scale for measuring the satisfaction levels of parents whose children have received foster care services. Subjected to various statistical measures, the Parent Satisfaction with Foster Care Services Scale appears to be a reliable instrument with the promise of utility for social work researchers, practitioners, and administrators.

March/April 2004 Special Issue: Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice: Improved Coordination and Integration

The Durham Family Initiative: A Preventive System of Care
Kenneth A. Dodge, Lisa J. Berlin, Matthew Epstein, Adele Spitz-Roth, Karen O'Donnell, Martha Kaufman, Lisa Amaya-Jackson, Joel Rosch, and Christina Christopoulos

This article describes the Durham Family Initiative (DFI), an innovative effort to bring together child welfare and juvenile justice systems to reach DFI's goal of reducing the child abuse rate in Durham, North Carolina, by 50% within the next 10 years. DFI will follow principles of a preventive system of care (PSoC), which focuses on nurturing the healthy parent-child relationship. A community collaborative of government agency directors has signed a memorandum of agreement to implement the PSoC principles. The researchers will use multiple methods to evaluate DFI's efficacy.

Organizational Merger and Cultural Change for Better Outcomes: The First Five Years of the New York State Office of Children and Family Services
John A. Johnson

Since its creation, New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) has used child and family development research to bridge the chasm between child welfare and juvenile justice policy and practice. OCFS's major challenges have been to help the staff and stakeholders of the merged child welfare and juvenile justice agencies develop a common culture and design new financial and programmatic infrastructures to promote better outcomes for children and families.

Integrating Child Welfare, Juvenile Justice, and Other Agencies in a Continuum of Services
James C. Howell, Marion R. Kelly, James Palmer, and Ronald L. Mangum

This article presents a comprehensive strategy framework for integrating mental health, child welfare, education, substance abuse, and juvenile justice system services. It proposes an infrastructure of information exchange, cross-agency client referrals, a networking protocol, interagency councils, and service integration models. This infrastructure facilitates integrated service delivery.

Child Welfare Services and Delinquency: The Need to Know More
Melissa Jonson-Reid

This article describes the need for a better understanding of the moderating effects of child welfare services on delinquency. Although juvenile delinquency is a commonly studied issue, researchers have paid little attention to the degree to which child welfare services may be associated with changes in subsequent delinquency rates. Emerging evidence suggests that for certain groups of maltreated children, such as children of color and females, certain child welfare services are associated with variations in risk of delinquent outcomes. The article discusses key methodological, theoretical, and policy implications that help guide further research in this area.

Examining the Link Between Child Maltreatment and Delinquency for Youth with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders
Kimber W. Malmgren and Sheri M. Meisel

This study examined service delivery and risk factors for 93 youth with emotional and behavioral disorders who were served by one jurisdiction's child welfare, juvenile justice, and special education agencies. The researchers collected data through an archival review of agency records. The article discusses findings as they relate to the link between maltreatment and delinquency for youth with emotional and behavioral disorders and includes recommendations for integrating early intervention efforts.

January/February 2004

Interjurisdictional Placement of Children in Foster Care
Madelyn Freundlich, Maureen Heffernan, and Jill Jacobs

As the population of children in foster care has increased and more children are freed for adoption, foster and adoptive families are needed in ever increasing numbers. One avenue for expanding the pool of families is through placement of children with families in other counties and states. This article considers the policy and practice implications of interjurisdictional placement in the context of foster care, adoption, and kinship care and suggests directions for interjurisdictional adoption practice and policy.

The Child Welfare Response to Serious Nonaccidental Head Trauma
Paula Kienberger Jaudes and Lucy Mackey-Bilaver

Serious nonaccidental head trauma (NHT) can leave permanent neurological damage in children who survive abuse. This study reports on child welfare's handling of NHT cases compared with cases of physical abuse and head trauma due to neglect with regard to placement in foster care, reunification with family, and safety issues. The results show that workers placed children with NHT in foster care immediately after the abuse but treated them no differently than other physically abused children regarding reunification.

Comparison of Role Perceptions of White and African American Foster Parents
John P. Nasuti, Reginald York, and Karen Sandell

The number of U.S. children entering foster care is increasing faster than the number of available foster parents. Of particular concern are the growing number of African American children in foster care and the lack of African American foster parents to care for them. This study compares role perceptions of African American and white foster parents and provides information on recruiting African American foster parents. These foster parents are more likely than their white counterparts to feel responsible for facilitating the relationship between foster children and birthparents. They are more likely to accept responsibility for the roles of agency partner and emotional developer of the child. Implications include the need for agencies to develop recruitment models that are sensitive to the qualities African American families can bring to the foster parent role.

Psychosocial Factors Associated with Types of Child Maltreatment
Michelle D. DiLauro

This explanatory, descriptive study examines whether a relationship exists between certain psychosocial factors or clusters of factors and parents' or caregivers' behaviors regarding the type of maltreatment inflicted on a child. This study examines physical abuse, neglect, and both physical abuse and neglect cases. Results show that physical abuse and neglect seem to be associated with very different stressors. These findings have implications for interventions and treatment plans for child maltreatment cases.

November/December 2003

Investigation Laws and Practices in Child Protective Services
Sandra Kopels, Taliah Charlton, and Susan J. Wells

This study was triggered by the experience of one state agency when a state audit found that its investigation response and completion rates of child abuse and neglect reports did not reach 100%. At compliance rates of 99.6% and 97.58%, respectively, the auditors and news media reported a lack of compliance by the state child welfare agency. This article reviews the approaches legislatures and agencies have used to address and resolve problems of ensuring agency responsiveness without setting standards and expectations that are impossible to meet.

Attitude, Interest, and Motivation for Adoption and Foster Care
Tyzoon Tyebjee

This survey compares prospective foster and adoptive parents' attitudes, willingness, and motivations, and discusses implications for media campaigns. The results show that demographic profiles of targets for adoption and foster placements are the same, an opportunity exists to shape positive attitudes toward foster care in immigrant populations, the most compelling way to attract parents is to focus on the child in need, and testimonials of personal experiences of foster and adoptive parents should address perceived barriers to adopting or fostering. Political, religious, and environmental ideology were unrelated to attitudes or willingness to adopt or foster. Respondents with strong identifications with gay or lesbian lifestyles exhibited a higher than average willingness to adopt or foster.

Collecting Data on the Abuse and Neglect of American Indian Children
Kathleen A. Fox

A survey of 10% of federally recognized American Indian tribes and the states in which they are located indicates national data systems receive reports of approximately 61% of data on the abuse or neglect of American Indian children, 42% by states and 19% by counties. The author recommends that American Indians develop culturally sound definitions of abuse and neglect and that the government provide the resources and assistance necessary to develop data tracking and reporting systems on the abuse and neglect of American Indian children.

Transition from Care: Status and Outcomes of Youth Who Age Out of Foster Care
Thom Reilly

This study shows that a significant portion of youth exiting the foster care system face serious difficulty transitioning to life on their own. Many live on the streets, lack the money to meet basic living expenses, fail to maintain regular employment, are involved with the criminal justice system, are unable to obtain health care, and experience early pregnancies. Although youth reported exposure to independent living training while in care, few reported concrete assistance. Multiple placements while in care and less education correlated with more difficult postdischarge functioning. Training, services, positive supportive networks, and job experience in care are associated with more positive adjustments. The article advances implications for program and policy interventions.

September/October 2003

Gatekeeping in Child Welfare: A Comparative Study of Intake Decisionmaking by Social Workers in Canada and Sweden
Evelyn G. Khoo, Ulf Hyvvnen, and Lennart Nygren

This article details findings from social workers in Sweden and Canada, illuminating similarities and differences in gatekeeping in child welfare and child protection. Analysis revealed different patterns of inclusion and exclusion. Swedish child welfare includes a greater readiness to intervene with more resources and measures. Gatekeeping is assessment driven and focused on family preservation. In Canada, only the most needy children are eligible for a limited range of services. Gatekeeping is structure driven and narrowly focused on protection. Analyses of evidence-based research to improve outcomes for children and families must include comparisons of how different structural orientations influence management of referrals at intake. The authors discuss the implications of these findings.

The Empirical Basis of Risk Assessment in Child Welfare: The Accuracy of Risk Assessment and Clinical Judgment
Alan W. Leschied, Debbie Chiodo, Paul C. Whitehead, Dermot Hurley, and Larry Marshall

The importance of risk assessment is juxtaposed with the lack of empirical support regarding the validity of risk inventories. This study compared risk ratings of one risk assessment tool to decisions made by case managers. The researchers sampled 450 children and compared predictive utility of risk assessment to child protection decisions. Risk assessment was consistent with clinical judgment in 74% to 81% of cases, more than previously reported in studies of risk assessment validity. Further analyses identified discriminate functions at the instrument's category and individual-item levels. The results have implications for the validity of the instrument and its utility in child welfare.

Characteristics of Evidence-Based Child Maltreatment Interventions
Barbara Thomlison

This project summarizes, using a treatment protocol review technique, characteristics of effective interventions from nine studies of child maltreatment that examined recovery from abuse or the effects of maltreatment on child and parent outcomes. Results suggest that stronger effects are yielded by targeting parents and the parent-child interaction context in home-based settings during early childhood, designing multicomponent interventions delivered by professionals for teaching parenting competency skills, and targeting families of higher risk children.

Parental Views of In-Home Services: What Predicts Satisfaction with Child Welfare Workers?
Mimi V. Chapman, Claire B. Gibbons, Richard P. Barth, Julie S. McCrae, and the NSCAW Research Group

Evidence on client satisfaction deserves consideration in the design of child welfare policies, programs, and practices. Data in this study come from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being. Clients receiving in-home services reported moderate levels of satisfaction with their child welfare workers. Caregiver reports of having less than two child welfare workers, having more recent contact, and receiving timely, responsive services were associated with higher perceived quality of relationships with child welfare workers. The child welfare workers' reports of cooperativeness by the caregiver were also associated with higher caregiver-reported relationship quality.

Evidence-Based Practice in Community-Based Child Welfare Systems
Charles L. Usher and Judith B. Wildfire

The immaturity of the evidence base in some areas of child welfare practice demands that practitioners approach the development and refinement of practice in a systematic way that explicitly seeks to build on and learn from experience. The efforts of public child welfare agencies in Boston and Cleveland show that it is possible to draw on a broader base of knowledge and experience while responding to unique conditions and circumstances in each agency's community.

Building Evidence to Promote Educational Competence of Youth in Foster Care
Sunny Hyucksun Shin

Although the academic difficulties of students living in foster care are well documented, few studies have examined factors influencing academic achievement of youth in foster care. This article reports the results of a study of educational competence in a sample of 152 foster youth in one midwestern state. Using five standardized instruments, the study explored predictors of reading ability of youth in foster care. Multiple regression analyses indicated that four factors-aspiration for higher education, placement in kinship care, participation in extracurricular activities, and drug use-accounted for 39% of the variance in reading ability scores. The article discusses implications of these findings for practice, research, and policy development.

School-Based Early Intervention and Child Well-Being in the Chicago Longitudinal Study
Arthur J. Reynolds, Judy A. Temple, and Suh-Ruu Ou

Chicago Child-Parent Centers provide comprehensive education and family support services to young, low-income children. Using data from 1,539 children in the Chicago Longitudinal Study, preschool participation was associated with significantly higher levels of school readiness, achievement, and educational attainment, and with lower rates of child maltreatment, juvenile delinquency, special education placement, and grade retention. Every dollar invested in the preschool program returned $7.14 to society at large. School-age intervention also provided economic returns that exceeded costs. Findings provided strong evidence that large-scale, public, early interventions can enhance children's well-being. The authors recommend greater investments in programs with elements similar to the Child-Parent Centers.

July/August 2003

Matching Needs and Services: An Assessment Tool for Community-Based Service Systems
Elan Melamid and Gabriel Brodbar

This article presents results from an outcomes-based needs assessment in an urban service district, using case record data to profile service needs in different communities. The methodology emphasizes consis-tent collection of data from actual case records and explicitly includes line staff and clients in the planning process. Such reviews could benefit a variety of community-based child welfare, health, and education systems, although implementing identified service strategies can be challenging.

Evaluation of a Treatment Program for Abusive and High-Risk Families in Spain
Joaqumn de Pazl and Ignacia Arruabarrena

This article describes a six-year evaluation of a comprehensive treatment program for abusive families in Spain. The evaluation involved practitioners' clinical judgments, standardized measures, and follow-up data about children's living situations. The results were similar to those obtained by similar programs from the United States and other developed countries. The analysis obtained the lowest rates of success for neglectful and abusive-neglectful families. Dropout and nondropout families differed in two paternal characteristics: alcohol problems and childhood experience of out-of-home care. Rehabilitated and nonrehabilitated families differed in several variables, including time elapsed between case detection and referral to the treatment program. Scores on measures showed significant changes during treatment.

The Nature and Effectiveness of Program Models for Adolescents at Risk of Entering the Formal Child Protection System
Gary Cameron and Jeff Karabanow

This article compares rationales and outcome research for five areas of programming for adolescents: adolescent competence and skill development programs, family- and parent-focused programs, social integration programs, multiple component programs, and neighborhood transformation programs. The article examines program evidence for maltreated teens as well as teens coping with a variety of other challenges. The study uses a framework based on common developmental challenges and risk factors for adolescents to select and review programs.

Educational Experiences and Aspirations of Older Youth in Foster Care
Curtis McMillen, Wendy Auslander, Diane Elze, Tony White, and Ronald Thompson

This study documents the school experiences of 262 youth referred for independent-living preparation from the foster care system of one midwestern U.S. county. Of the youth, 73% had been suspended at least once since the seventh grade, and 16% had been expelled. In the past year, 58% had failed a class, and 29% had physical fights with students. Yet the group reported high educational aspirations: 70% wanted to attend college. Those in congregate care and family settings often had school behavior problems. The results support the need for a system of education advocates who work to maintain proper education placements for youth in foster care and help them receive the academic resources they need to graduate from high school and proceed to college.

May/June 2003

Validation of the Strengths and Stressors Tracking Device with a Child Welfare Population
Marianne Berry, Scottye J. Cash, and Sally G. Mathiesen

The Strengths and Stressors Tracking Device (SSTD) is a rapid assessment measure of family well-being that assesses the particular strengths and needs of families at intake to help guide case planning and evaluate the effectiveness of treatment. The device assesses families from an ecological perspective in the domains of environmental conditions, social support, caregiver skills, and child well-being, and may be used at multiple points during treatment to assess change. SSTD has high internal consistency in all domains, distinguishes between physical abuse and neglect, and is sensitive to specific changes made by families across the duration of treatment.

Prenatal Child Abuse Risk Assessment: A Preliminary Validation Study
Lara Cady Weberling, Deborah Kirby Forgays, Catherine Crain-Thoreson, and Ira Hyman

Workers need an efficient prenatal screener that can identify mothers at greatest risk of child abuse. Existing risk assessment methods are often invasive and difficult to administer. This study assessed child abuse risk in a sample of 49 expectant mothers using the Brigid Collins Risk Screener (BCRS). At three months postpartum, high-risk mothers scored significantly lower on the quality of infants' physical, social, and emotional environments than moderate or low-risk mothers. BCRS appears to offer a noninvasive, efficient approach to assessing risk of child abuse.

How Parental Drug Use and Drug Treatment Compliance Relate to Family Reunification
Brenda D. Smith

This study uses Cox regression to assess the relationships among parental drug use, drug treatment compliance, and reunification from substitute care. The study finds that drug treatment compliance is associated with faster reunification, even when accounting for ongoing drug use and three parenting measures. The findings are consistent with a conceptual framework suggesting that certain client actions, such as drug treatment compliance, may serve as markers that substantially affect client outcomes.

Foster Care and Medicaid Managed Care
Laurel K. Leslie, Kelly J. Kelleher, Barbara J. Burns, John Landsverk, and Jennifer A. Rolls

Children in the foster care system are often dependent on Medicaid for health care. These children, however, have more complex health care needs than the typical child receiving Medicaid. States are implementing Medicaid managed care programs as a way to control escalating costs while providing necessary services. This article reviews the issues surrounding delivery of managed health care services to children in foster care and describes several solutions.

March/April 2003

Beyond the Rhetoric: Strategies for Implementing Culturally Effective Practice with Children, Families, and Communities
Anna R. McPhatter and Traci L. Ganaway

Culturally effective practice remains elusive within child welfare agencies. Recognizing the hierarchical nature of becoming culturally competent, this article presents specific strategies that enhance cultural effectiveness at the individual, interprofessional, middle management, and upper management levels. The approaches evolve from a five-stage model of change: precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance. Becoming culturally competent requires a clear assessment of where the individual practitioner and agency are on the change continuum. The article also explores barriers to culturally competent practice, with a focus on multilevel strategies that work within child welfare agencies.

Beyond Cultural Competence: What Child Protection Managers Need to Know and Do
Fernando Mederos and Isa Woldeguiorguis

This article addresses issues for child protection managers, such as hiring, program design, service evaluation, and policy development. It presents three frameworks for levels of organizational change: cultural sensitivity, which modifies existing services to better meet the needs of target populations; self-reflective cultural sensitivity, which calls for managers to be aware of personal and organizational cultural values; and cultural solidarity, which acknowledges that organizational power is vested in managers, which can oppress clients.

Framework for Culturally Competent Decisionmaking in Child Welfare
Elena P. Cohen

This article provides a framework to understand the cultural, social, political, and economic factors that affect decisionmaking when working with ethnically and racially diverse families in the child welfare system. The article describes external factors affecting the decisionmaking process, including community environment, agency structure, and family characteristics. It then reviews the core stages of the casework process, describing key decisions during intake, assessment, service planning, implementation, evaluation, and closure. Although the framework is based on casework process in the child welfare system, it can be adapted to other child-serving systems, including education, mental health, and juvenile justice.

Building Effective Working Relationships Across Culturally and Ethnically Diverse Communities
Cheryl A. Hosley, Linda Gensheimer, and Mai Yang

Amherst H. Wilder Foundation's Social Adjustment Program for Southeast Asians is implementing two collaborative, best practice, mental health and substance abuse prevention service models in Minnesota. It faced several issues in effectively bridging multiple cultural groups, including building a diverse collaborative team, involving families and youth, reconciling cultural variation in meeting styles, and making best practice models culturally appropriate. Researchers and program staff used multiple strategies to address these challenges and build successful partnerships. Through shared goals, flexibility, and a willingness to explore and address challenges, collaboratives can promote stronger relationships across cultural communities and improve their service delivery systems.

Culturally and Ethnically Diverse Communities: Building Blocks for Working Relationships
Annette Woodroffe and Mavis Spencer

Acceptance of diversity in American society, as well as the will of diverse populations to perpetuate their cultures, have created a need to understand building working relationships with and among diverse populations. This article discusses facilitating opportunities for a grounded knowledge base, building culturally competent relationships, facilitating discussion of stereotyping, and forming collaborative alliances with culturally and ethnically diverse communities as foundational strategic building blocks. Child welfare workers need to lay a foundation of excellence in these areas before moving to higher levels in pursuit of working relationships with culturally and ethnically diverse communities. The article presents child welfare workers and agencies as initiators who build relationships with these communities.

Beyond Cultural Competence: Language Access and Latino Civil Rights
Layla P. Suleiman

Social services remain largely unresponsive to the values and needs of Latino families, who often need Spanish-language services. This article discusses access to linguistically appropriate services, not just as a culturally competent practice, but also as a civil rights issue. Spanish speakers have protection from discrimination in federally funded human services under Title VI of the Civil Rights Law of 1964. The article discusses implications for all aspects of private and public child welfare, including investigations, foster care, family preservation, adoption, and quality assurance.

A Culturally Responsive Practice Model for Urban Indian Child Welfare Services
Robert Mindell, Maria Vidal de Haymes, and Dale Francisco

This article describes collaboration among a university, a state child welfare agency, and a Native American community organization to develop a culturally driven practice model for urban, Native American child welfare. The approach includes a strategy to build resources to serve Native American clients, a training program for child welfare and court personnel using a culturally responsive curriculum, and an advocacy program that monitors for Indian Child Welfare Act compliance and provides assistance to child welfare workers and the court. The discussion identifies challenges and opportunities in addressing the needs of urban Native American communities. The article concludes with principles for culturally responsive practice for urban Native American child welfare practice.

Trauma of Children of the Sudan: A Constructivist Exploration
Patty Stow Bolea, George Grant Jr., Marcy Burgess, and Olja Plasa

This article examines the trauma of Sudanese refugee children living in a Midwestern city from a social constructivist view. From a qualitative perspective, the study explored how the Sudanese children, their U.S. foster parents, and social workers from an American child welfare agency described their understanding of the migration experience. Results point to the importance of placing the children's trauma in the context of their own cultures, as child welfare workers assist in the children's adjustment to the United States.

A Model of Culture-Centered Child Welfare Practice
Oronde A. Miller and Rebecca Jones Gaston

This article presents a framework for culture-centered child welfare practice, including child-family-system interactions, service provision, recruitment and retention of homes, and culturally responsive legislation. There should be no one-size-fits-all approach to child welfare practice. In a diverse society, child welfare practice must be responsive to the particularities of various cultures. A culture-centered framework allows for a holistic system of child permanence, with consideration of a child's mental, physical, and emotional growth. This framework cherishes the distinctiveness of America's cultures.

Transracial Adoption: Families Identify Issues and Needed Support Services
Maria Vidal de Haymes and Shirley Simon

The gap between the number of children of color in care and the recruitment of minority foster and adoptive homes has triggered growing support for transracial adoption, culminating in the Multi-Ethnic Placement Act (MEPA) and the Interethnic Adoption Provisions (IEP) legislation. Although MEPA and IEP focus on eliminating barriers to transracial placements, they do not address support for families that choose to adopt transracially. A lack of professional literature exists in this area. This study explores a number of trans-racial placements and adoptions, with the goal of identifying, from the perspective of the families interviewed, potential services that would enhance such placements and adoptions.

Racism and Sexism in Child Welfare: Effects on Women of Color as Mothers and Practitioners
Isa M. Woldeguiorguis

This article articulates the complex factors that are in operation when racism and sexism influence decisionmaking in child protective services (CPS) and the devastating effect they have on clients and practitioners. The article details the story of a mother involved with CPS and the experience of a CPS practitioner who is a woman of color, with the recommendation that understanding these interrelated experiences is a prerequisite for inclusive, equitable systems reform. Finally, the article poses practice and policy questions that can guide discussion among practitioners or community members.

January/February 2003

Childhood Abuse History, Secondary Traumatic Stress, and Child Welfare Workers
Debra Nelson-Gardell and Deneen Harris

Social workers are exposed to trauma vicariously through the trauma of their clients. This phenomenon, called secondary traumatic stress, vicarious traumatization, or compassion fatigue, presents a risk of negative personal psychological consequences. Based on a sample of 166 child welfare workers and using standardized measures, the study findings document the link between a personal history of primary trauma, childhood abuse or neglect, and the heightened risk for secondary traumatic stress in child welfare workers.

Predictors of Short-Term Reunification in South Australian Substitute Care
Paul Delfabbro, James Barber, and Lesley Cooper

This study examines the factors that contribute to short-term reunification for 235 children placed in South Australian substitute care from 1998 to 1999. Proportional hazard analyses showed that non-Aboriginal children and those placed because of parental incapacity were significantly more likely to go home, whereas neglected and Aboriginal children were significantly less likely to go home. A detailed profile analysis highlighted the specific case characteristics or changes thought to have contributed to reunification in each case.

Illinois's Child Welfare Research Agenda: An Approach to Building Consensus for Practice-Based Research
Michelle A. Johnson, Susan J. Wells, Mark F. Testa, and Jess McDonald

This article presents a consensus-building initiative to develop a statewide research agenda that responds to the needs of Illinois's child welfare community. Researchers conducted this process through a university-community partnership to engage those interested in child welfare services. The process and findings resulted in a living document that will guide child welfare research throughout the state. Findings of the inquiry suggest that the development of best practice models may be one of the most important contributions research can make to practice.

A First Look at the Need for Enhanced Support Services for Kinship Caregivers
Amy L. Gordon, Sharon E. McKinley, Mattie L. Satterfield, and Patrick A. Curtis

This article describes findings from a series of focus groups conducted with formal kinship caregivers in Maryland. The findings reveal that kinship caregivers are committed to providing safety and stability for the children placed with them. The findings also suggest that caregiving can be a significant adjustment for many kinship caregivers and that expanded support services are needed to enhance their relationship with the child welfare agency.

November/December 2002

Supporting Foster Parents: Caring Voices
Pete Hudson and Karen Levasseur

This article reports the responses of foster parents to a mailed questionnaire on the supports needed to maintain their caring role. An overarching finding was the need for respect and recognition, manifested in many ways, which appeared to be in short supply. In addition, the presence of several ambiguities in the relationships between agency, children in care, and the foster parents was revealed, requiring acknowledgment and discussion between the parties.

Training and Services for Kinship and Nonkinship Foster Families
Gary S. Cuddeback and John G. Orme

Researchers have raised concerns about the adequacy of the training and services for foster families in general and kinship families in particular. This study examines the training and services received by kinship and nonkinship family foster caregivers. The article compares kinship and nonkinship caregivers in terms of an array of training and services. The authors examine the demographic characteristics of these two groups and the problems of the foster children placed with them to better understand their needs. Consistent with previous research, levels of training and services received were inadequate for both groups. Contrary to previous research, few differences between kinship and nonkinship caregivers were found in training or services, in demographic characteristics, or in foster children's problems.

Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity: An Administrative Approach to Diversity
Tara L. Quinn

Research indicates that gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (GLBTQ) teens in the care of a northeastern child welfare department do not receive adequate services due to the workers' homophobic attitudes. These teens are at high risk for alcohol and drug abuse, homelessness, prostitution, and suicide. A training module was developed for administrators. Pretest and posttest instruments measured their education and support of GLBTQ issues before and after the training.

Mitigating the Ill Effects of Maternal Incarceration on Women in Prison and Their Children
Katherine P. Luke

Maternal incarceration has deleterious effects on children, families, and society, but child welfare professionals historically have paid limited attention to maternal incarceration. Two recent changes have required the reevaluation of that stance: the dramatic increase in the number of women in prison, and the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997. This article discusses the reality of maternal incarceration, analyzes one prison's attempt to provide programs to support inmate mothers and their children, and makes policy and program recommendations.

September/October 2002 Special Issue: The Crisis in Rural Child Care

Toward a Community-Based National Rural Policy: The Importance of the Social Services Sector
Charles W. Fluharty

Today, an emergent dialogue regarding the development of a more integrative, community-based, national rural policy is occurring. Although discussions of rural America's challenges have surfaced at regular intervals over the past half-century, this issue is receiving significantly greater substantive policy discussion than has occurred in the past 25 years. This article outlines this unique "rural policy moment," assesses the potential for a community-based rural policy for our nation, and discusses the critical role rural social services practice and policy should play in the support of these opportunities to address the significant disadvantages faced by rural people.

Cultural Safety and the Duty of Care
Leon C. Fulcher

Rural youth, especially those of indigenous and immigrant cultures caught up in rural-urban migration, are especially vulnerable when the duty of care mandate transfers from families to state child welfare agents. The notion of cultural safety is examined in relation to the duty of care mandate assigned to child welfare workers when the state intervenes in family life.

Indicators of Social Well-Being and Elements of Child Welfare in Minnesota Rural Counties
Darmo Menanteau-Horta and Michael Yigzaw

Organizational and structural conditions of rural communities and counties are significant factors in determining child welfare levels and general quality of life in rural areas. This article analyzes the relationship between elements of child welfare and an index of social well-being estimated for the state of Minnesota. The study suggests that social workers may enhance their services by considering county data that depict the viability of rural communities.

Local Realities: A Frontier Perspective on Child Protection Team Practice
Maxine Jacobson

This article presents a case study of a child protection team in a frontier county in Montana. Narratives from individual and group interviews highlight team members' experiences and the structuring of team practice in their frontier community, the power and challenge of community culture and history, and the interplay of constructions of children and child abuse as key elements that influence and shape team practice. This exploration suggests a framework for rethinking child protection team practice in diverse locations.

Challenging the One-Size-Fits-All Myth: Findings and Solutions from a Statewide Focus Group of Rural Social Workers
Sharon B. Templeman and Lynda Mitchell

Of America's counties, 76% are rural, comprising 83% of U.S. land and 25% of the American population. Yet most child welfare programs are designed to fit the needs of urban and suburban families. This article reviews the unique needs and assets of rural children and families in Texas. It presents recommendations from a focus group for overcoming the inappropriate transfer of urban models to rural communities.

Social Services: The Navajo Way
Cecilia Belone, Edwin Gonzalez-Santin, Nora Gustavsson, Ann E. MacEachron, and Timothy Perry

The development of child welfare services in Indian Country followed enactment of the 1975 Indian Education and Self-Determination Act and the 1978 Indian Child Welfare Act. These acts allow tribal contracting with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to provide social services. Because the BIA model has not fit well with Navajo needs, the Navajo Nation Division of Social Services is creating a more holistic case management paradigm for child and family services, which is more congruent with its culture and its rural, sparsely populated land.

Rural Child Welfare Practice from an Organization-in-Environment Perspective
Miriam J. Landsman

An "organization-in-environment" perspective can help researchers understand how rurality influences child welfare practice. Drawing from theoretical perspectives on environment and organizations, researchers find rural/urban differences in practice at the level of the organization, which is the immediate environment of child welfare practice, and also in the relationship between organization and environment. Results challenge previous findings of few differences between rural and urban practice and offer particular implications for rural child welfare practice.

Strengths of Farming Communities in Fostering Resilience in Children
Nancy C. Larson and Melissa Dearmont

The cultural context in which rural farm children are raised has a significant effect on their lives. Researchers have traditionally viewed rural environments from a deficit perspective. Yet many children demonstrate resilience even in the face of significant adversity. This article focuses on strengths of rural farming communities in providing a cultural context that supports healthy development in children. It also notes practice considerations for child welfare in small agricultural communities.

A Rural Road: Exploring Opportunities, Networks, Services, and Supports that Affect Rural Families
Carole Cochran, Gemma D. Skillman, Richard W. Rathge, Kathy Moore, Janet Johnston, and Ann Lochner

The Great Plains Rural Collaborative project explored rural poverty through the experiences of people living at or below 185% of poverty. Researchers collected information through qualitative and quantitative research methods. They designed focus group questions to identify obstacles rural families face when trying to access economic opportunities, social networks, and services and supports. The article highlights the salient findings.

July/August 2002

Relative Foster Parents of HIV-Affected Children
Sally Mason and Nathan Linsk

The HIV epidemic is one of the reasons for an increase in relative foster care. Most children of HIV-infected parents are not infected, but both the children and their caregivers are affected by the parent's illness. Twenty-eight caregivers participated in an exploratory, qualitative study of the permanency planning needs of HIV-affected relative foster parents. Of the caregivers, 17 disclosed that the foster child's parent was HIV-infected; 11 caregivers did not report HIV infection in the immediate family. HIV-affected caregivers' greatest need was a more adequate response from social workers and therapy services for the children; nonaffected caregivers needed financial assistance most. More HIV-affected caregivers were considering permanency than nonaffected caregivers. Child welfare workers and relative foster parents need training on HIV's effect on the families so that appropriate services can be accessed as early as possible.

Problem-Solving Communication in Foster Families and Birthfamilies
Sam Vuchinich, Rachel A. Ozretich, Clara C. Pratt, and Blythe Kneedler

This study assessed child behavior problems and parent-child communication behaviors during problem solving in three groups of families with adolescent children: foster families, birthfamilies with a child at risk for behavior problems, and birthfamilies with a child not at risk. Levels of positive and negative communication behaviors in the foster families were similar to those in the lower-risk families and were significantly related to foster child behavior problems.

Parental Visiting and Family Reunification: Could Inclusive Practice Make a Difference?
Sonya J. Leathers

This study examines whether inclusive practice, or parental involvement in foster children's lives while in placement, is correlated with more frequent visiting and a greater likelihood of reunification. This hypothesis was tested among a random sample of 230 twelve- and thirteen-year-olds placed in traditional family foster care. Results suggest that mothers who visit their child and are involved in case reviews and child care activities visit more frequently than mothers who visit in settings such as agency offices and have no other types of involvement. In addition, visiting frequency is highly predictive of reunification. These associations were not explained by maternal substance abuse, mental illness, or the child's placement history.

Services for Maltreated Children: Variations by Maltreatment Characteristics
E. Milling Kinard

Mental health services were the most frequently recommended service for maltreated children known to a child protective service agency, but more than one-fourth of the children with serious behavioral problems did not receive referrals for such services. Children with long histories of maltreatment were more likely to be referred for some services, especially out-of-home care. Gaps in services remain, underscoring a need for research focused on the need for interventions targeted to maltreated children involved with child protective service agencies.

May/June 2002

The Emerging Role of Adoption Reunion Registries: Adoptee and Birthparent Views
Robert L. Fischer

Since the 1980s, government-sponsored adoption reunion registries have emerged as key access points for individuals separated by adoption to secure information and initiate efforts to be reunited with their birthfamilies. Despite the prevalence of such registries, little information is available about their operational effectiveness. This article presents data from a survey of adult adoptees and birthparents who used the services of a statewide reunion registry.

Bridging Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice: Preventing Unnecessary Detention of Foster Children
Timothy Ross and Dylan Conger, with Molly Armstrong

Gaps in service coordination between child welfare and other child-serving agencies are well documented. This article examines the gap between the child welfare and juvenile justice systems and discusses a program, Project Confirm, designed to reduce the problems associated with this gap. Project Confirm aims to improve cooperation between juvenile justice and child welfare agencies to prevent the unnecessary detention of arrested foster children in secure facilities. The program's design is outlined, and implementation statistics and government partner perceptions of the program in its first year of operations are provided. The article also identifies future challenges to implementation and discusses the broader implications of the program.

The Child Health and Illness Profile-Adolescent Edition: Assessing Well-Being in Group Homes or Institutions
Sandra J. Altshuler and John Poertner

The Child Health and Illness Profile-Adolescent Edition (CHIP-AE), a new standardized instrument, was administered to 63 adolescents living in group homes or institutions. Youth reported high levels of satisfaction with their physical health, resilience and problem-solving skills, and academic achievement. Youth reported low levels of self-esteem, emotional comfort and psychosocial stability, family involvement, and work performance. They also took more risks, had more threats to achievement, and had poorer peer influences than other youth. This study demonstrates the potential usefulness of the CHIP-AE as a tool for assessing the health and well-being of youth living in group homes and institutions. Suggestions for future use of the CHIP-AE are discussed.

After Adoption: Dissolution or Permanence?
Trudy Festinger

Results are presented on the whereabouts of 516 adopted children, based on a random sample of children adopted from placement in New York City in 1996. Data from interviews with adoptive parents were augmented by information from adoption subsidy records and state child tracking files, as well as interviews with caregivers of children whose adoptive parents were deceased. There were few dissolutions, but postadoption service needs were many.

March/April 2002 Special Issue: Contemporary Issues in Permanency Planning

Older Children in Preadoptive Homes: Issues Before Termination of Parental Rights
Susan B. Edelstein, Dorli Burge, and Jill Waterman

In many jurisdictions, after the end of reunification services to birthparents, but before termination of parental rights, children are placed with parents who are licensed as foster parents but are committed to adopting the child. Using case examples, this article discusses the emotional and psychological difficulties often encountered by children and their prospective adoptive parents when birthparent visitation takes place and legal uncertainties exist. In addition, this article offers clinical and policy recommendations to help both the children and families in these situations as well as the professionals who work with them.

Getting Home on Time: Predicting Timely Permanence for Young Children
Cathryn C. Potter and Susan Klein-Rothschild

The timelines of the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) (P.L. 105-89) require increased attention to the timing of permanent placement, regardless of the type of placement outcome. This study examines the multivariate predictors of timely permanence for children served by Colorado's Expedited Permanency Planning (EPP) project. EPP has used an intensive concurrent planning model aimed at reaching permanency within 12 months of initial placement for children aged 6 and younger. The EPP requirement that children be living in the permanent home by 12 months postplacement is more stringent than the technical ASFA requirements. This article uses qualitative interviews with child welfare and court personnel to identify critical barriers to and supports for effective permanency planning.

Psychological Stress in Adoptive Parents of Special-Needs Children
Katalina McGlone, Linda Santos, Lynne Kazama, Rowena Fong, and Charles Mueller

This article focuses on the nature and extent of parental stress among adoptive parents of special-needs children. In-depth face-to-face interviews of adoptive parents of 35 children were conducted, on average, four months postplacement (but before adoption). One-year follow-up interviews were conducted with parents of 15 (43%) of these children. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected, including parenting stress scores. Results indicated higher than average levels of stress, particularly on subscales related to parent-child dysfunctional interactions and to raising a difficult child. Increased stress levels were associated with poorer family adjustment and with higher levels of child behavior problems. Stress levels remained mostly unchanged over the year. Responses to open-ended questions identified five stress categories: child characteristics, parent-child interactions, family cohesion, parental adjustment, and adoptions service issues. Practice and research implications are discussed.

Making Visits Better: The Perspectives of Parents, Foster Parents, and Child Welfare Workers
Wendy L. Haight, James E. Black, Sarah Mangelsdorf, Grace Giorgio, Lakshmi Tata, Sarah J. Schoppe, and Margaret Szewczyk

Mothers of children recently placed in foster care, foster mothers, and child welfare workers participated in semistructured, clinical interviews focusing on the challenges of parent visitation with young children. Mothers described their feelings of grief, trauma, and rage about the forced separation from their children and stressed the importance of emotional expression and communication during visits. Child welfare workers described the complexities of supporting emotionally close parent-child interactions while monitoring and assessing parental behavior during visits. Foster mothers described the importance of preparing children for visits and the difficulties of supporting the children afterward. Implications of understanding mothers', foster mothers', and child welfare workers' perspectives on enhancing the quality of visits with young children are discussed.

Expedited Permanency Planning: Evaluation of the Kentucky Adoptions Opportunities Project
Mavin H. Martin, Anita P. Barbee, Becky F. Antle, and Bibhuti Sar

This article presents the evaluation findings of a Kentucky Adoptions Opportunities Project (KAOP), a three-year project funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Children's Bureau. The primary goal of the KAOP was implementation of three permanency planning activities: (1) risk assessment/concurrent planning, (2) one child/one legal voice, and (3) early placement in kinship or foster/adoptive homes. These activities were designed to expedite a permanency placement decision within 12 months for high-risk children. The evaluation of 124 high-risk children in the KAOP revealed that the majority of children had one or both parents coping with multiple risk factors, including mental illness, substance abuse, mental retardation, or family violence. The major barriers to permanency are discussed, as well as the policy and practice implications in the context of Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997.

Overcoming Hopelessness and Social Isolation: The ENGAGE Model for Working with Neglecting Families Toward Permanence
Donna D. Petras, Carol Rippey Massat, and Elizabeth Lehr Essex

The Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 (ASFA) mandates policies designed to increase the frequency and speed with which permanency is achieved for children in the child welfare system. ASFA's focus is on child safety, permanency, and well-being. The expectation that parents correct neglectful conditions within specified time frames places an increased ethical responsibility on child welfare staff. Carrying out this responsibility requires vigorous and innovative approaches to engaging and working with neglectful families. Drawing on a well-established conceptual framework for understanding the determinants of effective parenting, the authors derive the ENGAGE (Engagement, Needs assessment, Goal setting, Assessment of progress, Goal achievement, Ending work) model for achieving permanency within the policy structure. The model incorporates creative client engagement, assessment of family needs, mutual goal setting, the goal achievement process, termination, and aftercare.

Judges', Caseworkers', and Substance Abuse Counselors' Indicators of Family Reunification with Substance-Affected Parents
Brad R. Karoll and John Poertner

The decision to reunify children with their substance-affected parent is highly complex and requires a tremendous amount of work and change on the part of the affected parent. This exploratory study identified indicators for safe reunification of children placed in foster care due to parental substance abuse. Judges who hear juvenile cases, private agency child welfare caseworkers, and substance abuse counselors from a large midwestern state were surveyed using an instrument composed of a preliminary list of indicators identified through focus groups with these professional groups. Responses from 196 professionals who rated the importance of each item and subsequent factor analysis resulted in identification of 97 indicators. These indicators were grouped into the categories of motivation, recovery, competency, and reliability; social support; parenting skills; and legal issues. Implications of the findings for practice are discussed.

Program Evaluation of the CREST Project: Empirical Support for Kinship Care as an Effective Approach to Permanency Planning
Catherine A. Hawkins and Tammy Bland

The number of children, especially from ethnic minority groups, in substitute care is growing rapidly even as the number of foster care homes is steadily decreasing. Kinship care has quickly become the permanency planning option of choice. This article describes a model kinship care project and the results of an extensive program evaluation. Results show that the project enhances functioning of relative caregivers and reduces the cost of care. Implications for contemporary permanency planning are presented.

Engaging Families in Child Welfare Services: An Evidence-Based Approach to Best Practice
Kari Dawson and Marianne Berry

Successfully engaging clients in the helping process is a critical task for child welfare practitioners. Drop-out and noncompliance rates in child welfare services are high and lead to high rates of removal of children from their families and to eventual termination of parental rights. Although no known interventions guarantee treatment compliance, this review of the empirical literature delineates critical components of engagement in child welfare services. Effective engagement strategies, including service components and caseworker qualities and behaviors, are identified as contributing to the positive case outcomes of treatment compliance, family preservation, and placement prevention. The unique needs of neglectful parents are also examined, with recommendations for practice.

Culture Loss: American Indian Family Disruption, Urbanization, and the Indian Child Welfare Act
Kelly Halverson, Maria Elena Puig, and Steven R. Byers

This study examined the perceptions and views of urban American Indian parents regarding foster care and American Indian family issues. Findings highlight four themes: (1) discouragement from working with the current foster care system, (2) the role of culture in caregiving, (3) differing definitions of family and relatedness, and (4) the effects of historical pain due to past family disruption. These themes are used to formulate guidelines for the development of an American Indian foster care and child welfare program.

Transracial Adoption and Foster Care Placement: Worker Perception and Attitude
Jan Carter-Black

This study explores black child welfare workers' perceptions of transracial adoption (TRA) and foster care placement (FCP). Informants were asked to discuss their attitudes toward the placement of black children with white families, as well as their perception of the Multiethnic Placement Act of 1994 and the supplemental Interethnic Adoption Provision of 1996. This study expands existing research regarding the viability of TRA and FCP by incorporating the previously ignored perceptions of social service professionals who are charged with the responsibility of providing child and family services. Findings illuminate the significant role that prioritization of client need plays in the perceptions of workers.

Developing Collaborations Between Child Welfare Agencies and Latino Communities
Hilda P. Rivera

Collaborative efforts to achieve permanency planning and family stability for all children in the child welfare system are increasing. As Latino children and families constitute the fastest growing ethnic group in the child welfare system, it is important to understand how to develop culturally sensitive collaborations with their communities. The purpose of this article is to suggest helpful guidelines for developing collaborations between child welfare agencies and Latino communities.

The Effect of Cross-Cultural Dialogue on Child Welfare Parenting Classes: Anecdotal Evidence in Black and White
Suzanne M. Murphy and Doris Bryant

The child welfare system indicates that evidence of successful completion of parenting classes is instrumental in determining whether parents are actively engaged in the process of permanency planning. Such classes vary in length and intensity with topics ranging from "How to Raise Healthy Families" to "How to Discipline Your Child." Two social workers (one white and one black), who initially disagreed about the format of a parenting class, chronicle their efforts to collaborate and create a class format that recognizes the psychosocial and, more specifically, the cultural influences inherent in facilitating these classes. The juxtaposition of the clinical concepts of projection and projective identification are evaluated against the backdrop of the social concepts of empowerment and diversity.

There's No Place Like Home: Achieving Safety, Permanency, and Well-Being for Lesbian and Gay Adolescents in Out-of-Home Care Settings
Gerald P. Mallon, Nina Aledort, and Michael Ferrera

A study was conducted with 45 self-identified gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, and questioning (GLBTQ) youth and agency staff at the two known gay-affirming child welfare agencies in the United States: Green Chimneys GLBTQ Programs in New York City and Gay and Lesbian Social Services in Los Angeles, California. The study examined the question, "What are the challenges presented in ensuring permanency, safety, and well-being for gay and lesbian youth in a gay-affirming child welfare environment?" Guided by the framework outlined in the Child and Family Services Reviews National Standards, which support better outcomes for children and youth, the investigators sought to explore the challenges of ensuring permanency, safety, and well-being for this population, as these challenges were identified by the agency staff and youth who live and work in either of these two gay-affirming programs.

January/February 2002

Questioning Strategies in Interviews with Children Who May Have Been Sexually Abused
Ellen R. DeVoe and Kathleen Coulborn Faller

This article examines the number and types of questions employed in clinical and computer-assisted interviews with children referred for sexual abuse evaluation. This research was part of a larger study to assess the efficacy of a computer-assisted protocol in the evaluation of child sexual abuse allegations. Interviews of 47 girls and 29 boys, ages 5 to 10 years, referred to a multidisciplinary clinic for sexual abuse assessment, were analyzed. A coding system was developed from interview transcripts. Nine types of questions were defined. Results indicate that during the initial interview children were asked an average of 195 questions (SD = 92) and that more than 85% of interviewer queries were open-ended. The majority of children who disclosed did so in response to focused questions. Findings suggest that many children are able to describe sexual abuse with careful questioning that includes nonleading but focused inquiry. Implications for practice and interviewing guidelines are discussed.

Motivation to Join and Benefits from Participation in Parent Mutual Aid Organizations
Gary Cameron

Findings from the Parent Mutual Aid Organizations (PMAOs) in the Child Welfare Demonstration Project are presented with particular emphasis on parents' motivation to join PMAOs and the benefits from their involvement. Members' perceptions from qualitative investigations are compared with a controlled outcome study. PMAO members show less loneliness, more enthusiasm about their lives, and improved self-esteem and confidence. PMAOs result in substantially less reliance on child protection professionals, fewer child placements, and cost savings for the host agency.

Beyond Termination: Length of Stay and Predictors of Permanency for Legally Free Children
Susan P. Kemp and Jami M. Bodonyi

Despite growing awareness of the complex needs of legally free children in child welfare care, relatively little empirical investigation has been done of these children and their experiences. This article reports the results of a study of length of stay and predictors of permanency in a sample of 1,366 legally free children in state custody in Washington state. A Cox proportional-hazards event history model was developed to explore the effects of gender, race, and ethnicity, and age at initial placement, on the likelihood of achieving legalized adoption or guardianship. Results indicate that older children, boys, and African American children were all significantly less likely to achieve a permanent outcome than were Caucasian children. Hispanic children, in the other hand, were significantly more likely to achieve a permanent outcome. The implications of these findings for permanency planning practice and policy development are discussed.

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