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Foster care is intended to be a temporary placement option. Viewing permanency as central to child well-being, current U.S. policies aim to limit the length of time a child spends in out-of-home foster placements. There is little recent research, however, on predictors of length of time in out-of-home care. The purposes of this study were to test if more frequent contact with biological parents predicted less time in out-of-home care, and determine if more frequent contact with biological parents was associated with better mental health outcomes using three waves of data from the National Survey on Child and Adolescent Well-Being II, a U.S. nationally representative dataset of youth involved with the child welfare system. Findings revealed that more frequent contact with biological mothers was associated with fewer cumulative days in out-of-home care. Among covariates, older child age was related to longer stays in out-of-home care, and Black youth experienced more cumulative days in out-of-home care compared to White youth. Links between frequency of contact and youth mental health outcomes also were tested, and more frequent contact with both mothers and fathers was associated with lower mental health symptoms. Being separated from siblings also was associated with more mental health problems, and compared with foster care, being in kinship care was negatively associated with mental health problems. A discussion of the findings in light of U.S. polices and best-practices is included.

Youth living in out-of-home placement are presented with a number of challenges to their social-emotional well-being. At minimum, these young people have experienced a disruption to their family and living environment, and in most cases, they have experienced trauma originating from exposure to the abuse and neglect resulting in their out-of-home placement. Despite the complicated emotional consequences of out-of-home placements and the varied experiences that these young people go through, assessment of their social-emotional clinical or behavioral problems deriving from these experiences are rarely self-reported. Thus, an outside perspective limits the ability to understand the social-emotional well-being of these youth and their underlying strengths. This study sought to bridge this gap by investigating how young people themselves define their social-emotional well-being. We identified eight themes through the analysis of 20 individual interviews with youth living in a congregate care placement within the public child welfare system, discussing the implications of the study for practitioners working with these vulnerable young people and critical considerations for the contribution of qualitative methods.

Children of color are over-represented in the child welfare system. Research suggests that disproportionality is predominately attributable to the resource poor environments in which these children are raised. However, it is important to understand whether the child welfare system is able to diminish these societal level inequities, and consequently disproportionality, by reducing racial/ethnic disparities in outcomes of youth exiting state care. Encouragingly, research in this area has found few racial/ethnic differences in the outcomes of former foster youth. However, these studies are regional and have not investigated outcomes for a broad array of racial/ethnic groups. To fill this gap, the present study uses the National Youth in Transition Database (NYTD) to examine educational attainment, employment, homelessness, and incarceration for white, African-American, Hispanic, and American Indian/Alaska Native emancipated youth. Results reveal that African-American youth are less likely to be employed and more likely to report incarceration than white youth. However, African-American youth were 36% more likely to enroll in higher education than white youth and there were no significant differences in outcomes between white and Hispanic youth. However, AI/AN youth exhibited no advantages and significant disadvantages relative to youth from other racial/ethnic groups. Results suggest that child welfare services and state supports for youth exiting care can contribute to improved outcomes and racial/ethnic parity. However, additional effort is needed to reduce poor outcomes, particularly for American Indian/Alaska Native youth.

The number of families involved in the child welfare system (including child protective services, foster care, juvenile court) has increased since 2011(Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System, 2015). Professionals involved in these systems have discussed the increase in number of families who return to the child welfare system after an initial case closure. We aim to identify risk and protective factors associated with families returning to the system within a social ecological framework, to identify gaps in the current literature, and to discuss areas for future research. A literature search was conducted using PsycInfo, PubMED, and SociIndex through June 2017 on three case outcomes: reunification, re-entry/reactivation, and termination of parental rights. The authors then reviewed the articles located and highlight the findings using a social ecological framework.

The present study addressed institutionalised children and staff members' perspectives about bullying in Residential Care settings (RCs) in five European countries (Bulgaria, France, Greece, Italy and Romania.). Interviews and focus groups were conducted respectively with 123 institutionalised children and adolescents (age range: 6–18) and staff members (N = 95; age range: 23-63). Thematic analysis was adopted to analyse the data. Overall, findings indicated that participants were not fully aware of the specific features of bullying. Children and adolescents considered bullying as a normative behaviour and were reluctant to ask for adults' help when bullying happened. Staff members attributed bullying to children's traumatic experiences and to a need for adults' attention. Findings shed light on the lack of standardised protocols and of professional trainings to tackle bullying. Implications for intervention programs aimed at preventing and tackling bullying are discussed.

A common and critical issue faced by youth discharged from residential treatment is the gradual loss of gains made while in residential treatment. This can put these youth at greater risk for negative long-term outcomes such as poor behavioral and emotional functioning. The objective of this study was to identify factors that can improve long-term outcomes following discharge from residential treatment. Of special interest was the interplay of protective factors, including a variety of youth strengths (e.g., coping skills, family support, educational support) with youth behavioral and emotional outcomes. This study also considered the role of race/ethnicity, age, gender, and post-residential placement type. A sample of 799 youth who were discharged from residential treatment was examined. This study found a positive relationship between the total number of strengths at residential discharge and behavioral and emotional outcomes at 6 months following residential discharge. This study also found that the overall change in the number of youth's strengths (improvement or deterioration) after discharge from residential treatment was associated with decreased or increased youth behavioral and emotional needs over time. Additionally, change in two specific types of strengths—interpersonal and coping skills—following residential discharge was associated with decreased or increased youth behavioral and emotional needs over time. Overall, this study suggests that interventions that help to maintain or build youth strengths following discharge from residential settings may lead to decreased emotional and behavioral needs over time.

Purpose This study examined the effect of privatization policy on the issue of racial disparity in the child welfare system. Method Specific outcomes for N = 118,761 foster children across 10 states were compared to determine if the state system type [privatized vs. non-privatized] had any influence on disparities in outcomes by race. Results A main effect emerged for race and in the interactions between system type and race. Discussion The extent of disparity for children of color in foster care was supported, but for some outcomes, both groups fared better in privatized systems.

This study sought to distinguish youth in the child welfare system who became involved with the justice system from youth who did not become involved with the justice system based on the youth's protective factors and their caregivers' parenting skills. This was accomplished by examining the frequency of specific youth protective factors and their caregivers' parenting skills. It was also accomplished by examining the differences in the total number of youth protective factors and the total number of their caregivers' parenting skills at entry into the child welfare system based on justice system involvement. We also sought to describe the demographic characteristics of youth protective factors and caregiver parenting skills. Using chi-square and analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests, study findings indicated that while the majority of children did not become justice involved, of those kids who did become justice involved, the majority of them were minority youth. There was also a higher proportion of youth with identified child-specific protective factors at baseline without later justice involvement compared to the proportion of youth who later became involved with the justice system. In addition, youth with a higher number of protective factors and caregiver parenting skills at baseline did not have future involvement with the justice system compared to youth with a lower number of protective factors and caregiver parenting skills. Lastly, in terms of parenting practices, the most notable demographic differences were related to race/ethnicity. Findings indicated that the biological parents and caregivers of White youth had more parenting skills compared to the biological parents and caregivers of minority youth. One of the implications of these findings is that reducing dual involvement for youth in the child welfare system may be achieved through strength building and providing additional services to youth and families at the beginning of the youth's care in the child welfare system.

There is limited research that examines the experiences of Guardians ad Litems or Court Appointed Special Advocates appointed to cases to represent the best interest of children involved with the child welfare system. The purpose of this paper is to (1) identify and explore the primary mechanisms through which Guardians ad Litem are recruited and/or learn about the program and (2) identify and categorize the motivations that individuals describe for becoming a Guardian ad Litem. Data were collected as part of a larger cross-sectional, qualitative study of the Florida Statewide Guardian ad Litem Office. The perspectives of 553 volunteers and employees comprise the sample. Themes pertaining to how advocates were recruited or became involved included personal contacts; media and advertising; involvement with GAL due to professional/career opportunity; targeted/purposeful recruitment efforts by GAL programs; and employment-related opportunity or involvement. In relation to what motivated advocates to volunteer, themes were life transitions; advocacy for children and families; volunteerism; personal fulfillment; personal/familial experiences; career or professional experiences; time; personal fit or interest; and attitudes/opinion of the GAL program. Implications for recruitment and motivation are discussed, as well as directions for future research.

Policies that improve the socioeconomic conditions of families have been identified as one of the most promising strategies to prevent child maltreatment, particularly neglect. In this study, we examined the impact of integrated Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and child welfare (CW) systems on child maltreatment-related hospitalizations and Child Protective Services investigations and substantiations in nine counties in Colorado from 1996 to 2014. Regression analyses showed TANF-CW integration was associated with subsequent year, but not second-year, increases rates of substantiated child maltreatment overall and neglect specifically (that is, there was no longer a difference in the rate two years after the change in integration). Neither unemployment nor the one- or two-year lagged effect of integration were significant for investigations or child maltreatment-related hospitalizations. Increased opportunities to interact with a family in crisis using an integrated case management model may help explain these findings. Implications for future research are discussed.

Policies and researchers have emphasized the need for interprofessional collaboration (IPC) in the child welfare system. However, few child welfare studies have sought to identify the components of IPC and no studies have been conducted in the U.S. to examine the perspective of guardians ad litem (GALs) on these components. Understanding the GAL viewpoint is warranted as they are mandated to be appointed in court-involved child welfare cases. This qualitative study addresses these gaps by exploring the GAL perspective on the main components of IPC. Interviews were conducted with 12 GALs in a mountain region state. Nine components of IPC emerged from the analysis, including communication and information sharing; problem-solving; respect and appreciation; joint decision-making; clarifying roles, responsibilities and expectations; sharing ideas and perspectives; mutual trust; shared responsibility; and establishing shared goals. The findings can inform the development of strategies to improve IPC in child welfare and guide future research.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are linked to many negative outcomes for adults, but scant research has examined their intergenerational effects. This study's purpose is (1) to identify whether an association exists between maternal ACEs and children's psychosocial functioning, and, if so, (2) to delineate whether such an association is linked to age in a sample of families involved with the child welfare system (N = 259). The relationship between maternal ACEs and child behavior was assessed using OLS regressions, and significant, positive associations were found linking the number of maternal ACEs and children's standardized Child Behavior Checklist scores, on both internalizing (B = 0.10, p

It is well established that crossover youth (those involved in the child welfare system who go on to be involved in the juvenile justice system) are disproportionately African American youth. However, little is known about the factors which reduce the risk of delinquency among this population. Participants were 534 adolescents who completed the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths assessment between 2007 and 2012. This study sought to identify the multilevel promotive factors among this population and assess whether these factors later reduced the likelihood of delinquency. It was hypothesized that youth have promotive factors at the individual, contextual, and system level and that each factor differed in importance by gender. Findings indicate that African American youth do have promotive factors across a range of domains. For all youth, age and time in care were important for reducing the risk of delinquency. Counterintuitively, social relationships were associated with an increased risk of delinquency. School achievement, caregiver resources, and time in care were more influential for African American males. Age was more influential for African American females. Implications for practice and policy are discussed.

Purpose LGBTQ youth enter the child welfare system often because they are at higher risk of experiencing child maltreatment compared to youth who are heterosexual (Friedman, Marshal, Guadamuz, Wei, Wong, Saewye, & Stall, 2011), and due to family rejection, which places them at higher risk of suicide, higher levels of depression and are more likely to use substances (Ryan, Huebner, Dias & Sanchez, 2009). Using national data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), this study had two purposes; first to examine mental health disparities among LGBTQ youth and their heterosexual peers who are involved in the child welfare system, and second to observe the effectiveness of systems of care with youth in child welfare and if any differences exist between LGBTQ youth and heterosexual youth. Methods Chi-square and logistic regression were used to analyze differences at intake between youth who identified as LGBT or Q and their heterosexual counterparts. Repeated linear mixed modeling was used to evaluate the outcomes and to compare the groups at fixed time points (intake, 6-months, and 12-months). Findings The study found LGBTQ youth had higher levels of suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, depression, and gender identity related problems compared to the heterosexual youth in child welfare. All youth in the study experienced significant improvement, further supporting the effectiveness of system of care approaches. Recommendations are also discussed.

Objective This article describes the results of a scoping review to better understand child welfare professionals' and service users' (families' and children's) perspectives on and experiences with family engagement in the child protection system. Method Forty peer-reviewed academic journals from multiple scientific databases published in English between January 1, 2010 and May 31, 2016 were analysed. Results Aspects of traditional child protection discourse still tends to dominate engagement practices, including the over-riding priority of child protection concerns; authority-based, coercive, and bureaucratized methods of engaging clients; children's participation as perfunctory rather than an important aspect of the process; limited information from the workers to children and families; and processes that are stigmatizing, focusing on families' deficits rather than strengths. Conclusions and implications for practice To improve the quality of relationships between workers and children/families, and, most importantly, to improve child welfare outcomes, a paradigm shift is needed, recognizing children's and families' rights and the importance of their participation. Methods are needed that help child welfare professionals increase their competence and confidence in effectively engaging children and families in child protection processes, including assessments that have critical implications for clients' lives.

Deaf children involved with child welfare systems are often overlooked both in terms of tracking and service delivery. These systems frequently do not offer accessible and equitable services to deaf children. The current paper explores this in terms of the Social Work Grand Challenge: Healthy growth and development of all youth. Literature regarding child welfare services for deaf children is discussed. Recommendations are proposed for prevention and intervention efforts which will promote the healthy development of deaf children involved with child welfare systems.

As a result of the Every Student Succeeds Act and its requirement that students in foster care be included in education report cards, states have a renewed sense of urgency surrounding accountability for the academic achievement of this vulnerable group of students. This study examined the effects of placement and school stability on students' academic growth before, during, and after out-of-home placements. The sample consisted of 7674 youth in 4th through 10th grades from one Mountain region state who were also in foster care at any point between 2008 and 2014. The findings from the current study underscore the importance of: (a) supporting “catch-up” growth when students initially enter the child welfare system; (b) considering the detrimental effects of co-occurring placement changes and school moves in case planning for students in foster care; (c) maintaining academic progress for those students who are meeting grade-level expectations; and, (d) implementing supports and services that extend beyond the duration of time that students are in foster care.

Citizen Review Panels (CRPS) are groups of volunteers mandated by United States federal law to examine policies, procedures, and practices of public (e.g., state) child welfare agencies, and make recommendations for systemic improvements. To date, several researchers have made clarion calls for training frameworks and approaches for CRP members. Despite the federal mandate, millions of dollars in resources allocated to these panels, and the potential to positively impact the child welfare system, no published training frameworks exist. This brief documents the evaluation of an online training for CRP members (N = 21) in one southeastern state. The training was developed based on needs identified in existing CRP literature, and delivered via an online learning platform. A pre-experimental (pre/post) approach was used to evaluate the training. Results indicate a significant improvement in knowledge associated with serving on the CRP, and overall, participants viewed the training as being positively impactful to their work as a CRP member. The brief will provide an overview of the training, evaluation approach, and briefly discuss salient implications derived from the results.

In the past years, peer support programs in child welfare have been used to increase family participation in the case decision-making, give voice to parents, promote parent engagement with services, and ultimately improve child and family outcomes. These programs employ peers, who are parents with lived child welfare system experience, and who offer advocacy and support to parents presently involved in the system. The current study examined the impact of one such intervention, Parent Advocacy Initiative in Initial Child Safety Conferences at the New York City Administration for Children’s Services, on case outcomes of families served by parent advocates as part of this intervention. A multivariable analysis compared cases receiving the intervention (calendar year 2016; n = 3224) to cases from pre-intervention period—prior to the Initiative implementation (calendar year 2013; n = 5598) and cases not receiving the intervention in 2016 (n = 3450), to determine whether the presence of a parent advocate was associated with positive case outcomes, such as (a) reduced foster care placements and (b) reduced or unchanged rates of repeat indicated maltreatment investigations within six months of initial investigation. The results revealed that the rates of out-of-home placements significantly decreased, and children remained at home at higher rates when a parent advocate was present at the conference. Whenever out-of-home placement was recommended, placements in non-relative foster care significantly decreased and kinship care placements increased. The rate of repeat indicated maltreatment investigations within six months was unchanged. The results demonstrate that parent advocacy could have a significant impact on placement decisions and thus improve the outcomes of children and families. Study implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Permanent placements that are safe and stable promote well-being of children leaving foster care; however, placement disruptions and reentry into the welfare system following placements that were intended to be permanent are common (Konijn et al., 2019). What is not known is whether disruptions during foster care stays are particularly risky for children’s emotional health if they occur in the context of more than one removal of the child from their parents or guardians (i.e., from home). Using the most current data available through the nationally mandated Adoption and Foster Care Analysis Reporting System (AFCARS), we explored characteristics and removal reasons of children who re-enter foster care and used hierarchical, binomial logistic regression to analyze the moderating effect of multiple removals from home on the link between placement disruptions during stays in foster care and emotional disturbance (ED). The sample consisted of 659,105 children served by the U.S. foster care system during Fiscal Year (FY) 2018. Findings suggest that children who re-enter foster care are more likely to be older, and disproportionately more were children of color. Children who re-enter foster care tend to experience more placement disruptions in subsequent removal episodes than children who have been removed from their home only once. Finally, we identified an interaction effect for placement disruptions and multiple removals on the likelihood of a child in foster care having ED. This study discusses implications for targeted permanency and post-permanency services.

Most studies that have examined the employment prospects of system-involved youth have done so from the perspective of the child welfare system or the juvenile justice system to determine employment-related outcomes. In the current study, by contrast, the focus is on the workforce development system and the extent to which these systems address the needs of youth in child welfare or juvenile justice. The key research question for the study is: How do State and Local Workforce Development Boards (WDBs) address the needs of system-involved youth? Data were collected via open-ended qualitative interviews with key workforce personnel in 10 states. The data identify mechanisms by which WDBs addressed these specific populations of youth as well as strengths and gaps in these efforts. We offer suggestions for further efforts to meet the employment and training needs of these highly vulnerable populations.

Caregivers of children in the child welfare system (CWS) often need more support in their parenting efforts. Some of these caregivers only need parenting related advices, whereas others may need more intensive training to prevent recurrence of maltreatment. Few parenting interventions can be delivered to both groups of caregivers with satisfying results. This study investigated the treatment change associated with Positive Parenting Programme (Triple P) on 83 caregivers who completed either the Level 4 version or the Level 5 (Pathways) version of the programme (mean age = 40.6 years). Repeated measure analysis showed significant improvement in common outcomes such as parenting practices, children's behaviour problems, parental satisfaction, and parents' psychological adjustment for both groups of caregivers. However, changes on Level 5 (Pathways) specific outcomes were not statistically significant. Further analysis suggested this lack of change may be due to the distinct profiles of dropouts in Level 5 Triple P. Study limitation and its implication for future research as well as programme development was also discussed.

Youth aging out the child welfare system are being transitioned out of the child welfare system with few interventions in place to support their move to independence. In developed countries, compared to their peers, youth aging out of care face poorer outcomes when it comes to education, employment, and housing. A better understanding of the effectiveness of the existing interventions that support youth in care is warranted. This paper presents a critical scoping review of the available evidence on interventions available to youth who are aging out of the child welfare system and identifies gaps for future research. Arksey and O'Malley's framework for scoping reviews shaped the process of this review. A total of thirteen databases were searched resulting in the retrieval of 1978 articles. Of the 1978 retrieved, only 68 met the review's criteria. Studies included were in English, described an intervention that was implemented and evaluated in developed countries, and published within the last 20 years. Interventions were categorized as: housing, employment, education, mentorship, independent living, and health. The majority of studies fell under the independent living category which provide cohesive resources to improve education, housing, and employment. Studies evaluating these programs generally reported positive outcomes on youth's ability to complete their education and attain part- or full-time employment. Methods of evaluations were found to be methodologically weak with respect to determining the effectiveness of interventions in ensuring youth's successful transitions to independence. Future research should look at longitudinal outcomes of youth and cost-benefit analysis of supporting youth transitioning out of the child welfare system. Recommendations also include policy changes extending the age of eligibility for youth transitioning out of the child welfare system.

This study examines the decision-making skills of emerging adults that have aged out of foster care and transitioned to independent life. Emerging adults face a wide variety of life-direction determining decisions and those aging out of foster care experience even more significant transitional issues. Youth aging out of foster care may lack the requisite decision-making competencies for coping with these challenges. This study compares the decision-making skills of foster care alumni to a group of similar individuals who were not involved in the child welfare system. Using a validated quantitative survey instrument, 29 foster care alumni and 29 demographically similar non-fostered participants described their general decision-making skills and elaborated on their personal experiences of reaching the age of majority. Statistical analyses of group differences indicate foster alumni score lower on overall decision-making skills and the decision-making process. In anecdotal comments, foster alumni tended to focus on their experience of leaving the foster system, while the non-fostered population elaborated on what it was like to become a legal adult. This study suggests that youth aging out of the foster care system may need support with the aspects of decision-making relating to the generation of alternatives and inferential reasoning about decision consequences as one way to augment and improve the transitional services designed to prepare foster youth for independent life.

Child Welfare Citizen Review Panels (CRPs) are groups of citizen volunteers authorized by Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA; P.L. 104-235) to examine practices of public child welfare agencies. Increasingly, state CRP groups are engaging in university-community partnerships to assist in meeting CAPTA mandates. Despite this trend, there are no published studies that examine this practice. This research brief examines group differences between CRP members of university and non-university affiliated panels, respectively. Factors of interest included CRP Knowledge, Member Satisfaction, Member Engagement, Personal Influence, Perceived CRP Impact on Child Welfare System, CRP Member Dynamics, and Meeting Format. Results indicate that respondents perceived themselves to be no more knowledgeable or engaged in their panels and expressed no greater confidence in the potential impact of CRPs on the child welfare system, whether affiliated with a university or not. After a brief review of literature, this brief will explicate findings derived from this study and discuss salient implications and areas for future research.

Children involved in the child welfare system display elevated or clinically significant behavioral problems. However, there is a dearth of literature on the behavioral problems of American Indian children following child welfare involvement. Grounded in Patterson's Family Adjustment and Adaptation Response theory, this study fills that gap. Baseline, 18-month, and 36-month follow-up data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-being were utilized. The sample (n = 3498) consisted of American Indian, African American, and Caucasian children ages 2–16 at baseline (M = 8.13 years old, SD = 3.85) and 51.7% were female. Nearest neighbor propensity score matching analyses were used to estimate the effect of race on clinically significant internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems. Findings suggest that although externalizing behavioral problems do not differ based on race after controlling for other important factors, internalizing behavioral problems do differ. American Indian children are more likely to display clinically significant internalizing behavioral problems.

•The child welfare system exists to ensure safety, permanence, and wellbeing of children.•Case manager training on health and wellbeing needs of children in foster care is often minimal.•National advocacy groups recommend comprehensive health assessments within one month.•Children in foster care have more health problems compared to general pediatrics.

Re-entry in child welfare is traditionally viewed as a child exiting to permanency and then reentering the child welfare system. Using this approach is effective for understanding child welfare practice from a single-system lens, but gives an incomplete picture of how children may move between related child serving systems. The present study expands the definition of re-entry by examining re-entry for 2259 children who either return to the child welfare system or move into the juvenile justice system after reunification from foster care. When measuring a broader concept of re-entry (into either system) the rate of re-entry went from 18% to 25% - a 33% increase. Regression analyses further suggested that many of the risk and protective factors associated with standard child welfare reentry were also predictive of multisystem re-entry such as having previous child welfare experience (OR = 1.79, p p

This study evaluated the effectiveness of a system-wide reform effort to implement trauma-informed care (Trauma Systems Therapy [TST]) across a large, private child welfare system. The longitudinal associations among implementation of TST and four measures of children's well-being (functioning, emotional regulation, and behavioral regulation) and placement stability were examined. A description of the implementation of TST can be found in a separate article in this issue. Latent growth curve models were estimated using child-level administrative data on children's well-being, placement stability, and exposure to TST dosage for 1499 children in out-of-home placements. Results indicate that, as children's care teams implement TST, children demonstrate greater improvements in functioning, emotional regulation, and behavioral regulation and they experience increased placement stability. Moreover, results demonstrate that positive effects of implementation of TST are produced by both those who work closely with the child (caregivers, case managers, and therapists) and those who work more distally with the child (case manager supervisors and family service coordinators), suggesting that no one staff member or caregiver is central to providing trauma-informed care; rather it may be the confluence of the TST skills of the child's entire care team that produces better outcomes.

The present study used state administrative databases to examine the 2-year outcomes of a large-scale randomized study of the impact of the Healthy Families Oregon (HFO) home visiting program. 2727 eligible first-time mothers were randomly assigned to either the HFO program or to a community services-as-usual control group. Outcomes for the current study were tracked for 2 years post-random assignment for all study participants through administrative data linkages to Oregon's statewide child welfare system, self-sufficiency services, and substance abuse treatment programs. Results indicated that families assigned to HFO program were no more or less likely to have a substantiated child abuse report than were controls (6.3% vs. 6.0%), but were significantly more likely to have an unsubstantiated report (9.7% vs. 7.9%). Among HFO families who were reported to the child welfare system, 86.2% (94 children) were reported after they had exited the program, while 13.8% (15 children) had a report while enrolled. However, 50.5% of children with unsubstantiated reports were reported while families were receiving HFO services, suggesting a surveillance effect for unsubstantiated reports. HFO families, compared to controls, were also significantly more likely to have been enrolled in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) services for the first time, to have received more days of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and to be enrolled in publically-funded substance abuse treatment services. Results suggest that early effects of home visitation on outcomes that can be measured through administrative data are small to modest, and that findings related to documented child welfare systems involvement may require more nuanced data than are typically used and/or available from state agency systems.

Children who come into contact with the child welfare system are at greater risk of experiencing internalizing and externalizing behaviors. This secondary analysis of the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being explored how caregiver characteristics and behaviors, and caregiver–child closeness influence these outcomes over time. The final sample was 877 caregiver and adolescent (11–17 years old) dyads. Weighted multivariate regression analyses were performed. Caregiver characteristics associated with depressive symptoms included age and education; caregiver health was not associated with internalizing and externalizing behaviors. For adolescents, being female, older, or Hispanic was associated with internalizing behaviors. Although not significant for externalizing behaviors, caregiver–adolescent closeness was protective against internalizing behaviors. Understanding factors that contribute to the mental health of child-welfare-exposed adolescents has far-reaching implications for family-based interventions with child-welfare-involved youth.

Children from wealthier families are more likely to have health insurance than children from poorer families on average. However, the relationship between family income and health insurance is non-linear, as children near the Federal Poverty Line (FPL) are less likely to be insured than children from both wealthier families (who obtain health insurance from the private market) and poorer families (who obtain government-funded health insurance). This health insurance dip has persisted even as Medicaid has been expanded to cover those above the FPL. One explanation for this is that families who are far below the poverty line are better connected to the welfare system, and consequently, are more likely to enroll in Medicaid. This study uses data from the 2001–2013 Current Population Surveys and finds that (1) controlling for many of the determinants of eligibility, those on other forms of government assistance are more likely to have health insurance, and (2) the relationship between family income and children's health insurance status is strictly increasing after controlling for enrollment in other welfare programs.

The child welfare system has focused on kinship placements, which have been found to protect against disruption. However, the existing literature has primarily studied time to disruption for a single disruption despite the fact that many children have multiple placements while in care. The current study used survival analysis to investigate whether the type of placement (kin versus non-kin) related to time to placement disruption across up to four placements. Participants included 447 youth aged 5–15 years (M = 9.94, SD = 2.40; 50.8% female) from a larger project examining the outcomes of a family finding intervention. Using survival analysis, we examined the role of a kinship placement on placement disruptions across up to four placements while controlling for demographics, externalizing behaviors upon entry into care, treatment group (family finding versus control), and kin involvement outside of the placement. Results revealed that kin placements contributed to fewer disruptions across the first three placements. Findings align with policies prioritizing kin placements and suggest that the benefits of kinship care hold even for later disruptions. Thus, caseworkers should continue to consider kinship care, even if prior kin placements have disrupted.

Despite the high rate of early parenthood among youths in foster care, relatively little is known about the employment outcomes of young parents after they age out of the child welfare system. This study analyzed administrative data for 1943 recently emancipated youths who were the parent of at least one child. Like prior studies of former foster youths, this study finds that only half of the parents were employed at any point during the first four quarters after exiting care, most of those who worked were not consistently employed, and the earnings of parents who were employed were very low. Several demographic and placement history characteristics were associated with an increase or decrease in the odds of being employed and/or with total earnings among the parents who worked. The implications of these findings for policy and practice are discussed.

Reunification is the preferred permanency path experienced by children following out-of-home placement (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2011, 2012). Emerging literature suggests a number of child, parent, family, and child welfare case characteristics predict the likelihood of reunification. However, research on the reunification of American Indians in child welfare system is limited. Given the unique historical and cultural context of American Indian families, a need exists to better understand what contributes to achieving permanency through reunification for these families. To develop a better understanding of reunification research, this article provides a critical review of the literature on predictors of reunification that is inclusive of American Indians. A search of the literature resulted in the inclusion of 17 articles. Findings suggest that although awareness of the factors associated with reunification for American Indian families is helpful, without consistent inclusion of child, parent, family, and case-related variables across statistical analyses, limited conclusions can be drawn. It is significant to note that a level that is not currently considered in literature is the tribe or band and what is done to assist the child in reunification from the tribal level.

Children and adolescents in child welfare have the highest rates of chronic conditions and disabilities of any studied child population. The purpose of this study is to determine the wellbeing of children and adolescents with special health care needs (SHCN) in child welfare compared to their peers without SHCN. Wellbeing was measured using the Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS) assessment; children and adolescents were assessed on the domains of Life Domain Functioning, Traumatic Stress Symptoms, Behavioral/Emotional Needs, Risk Behaviors, and Child Strengths. Scores on the CANS were compared between initial entry into the child welfare system and 18 months later. This is the first study to assess wellbeing over time of children and adolescents with SHCN in the child welfare system. This study found that children and adolescents with SHCN had increased wellbeing over an 18-month period. By the 18-month assessment, children and adolescents with SHCN presented similarly to their healthy peers, indicating that wellbeing improved more for children and adolescents with SHCN than those without SHCN across several domains of wellbeing. Children and adolescents with SHCN still had significant needs compared to children and adolescents without SHCN in the area of Life Domain Functioning. Adolescents (ages 12–18), with and without SHCN, had greater needs and fewer strengths compared to children (ages 6–11) both initially and 18 months later. Children and adolescents without SHCN also improved over the 18-month period. While this study specifically measured needs and strengths, the findings show that the wellbeing of children and adolescents, as measured across a variety of domains, improved while in child welfare.

This study describes factors associated with the implementation of family centered practice (FCP) across a state child welfare system. Using Multi-Level Model (MLM) analysis of self-report data from the child welfare workers and supervisors in one multi-jurisdiction state, individual and organizational factors that may influence successful implementation of innovative practice models are identified. Individual worker's characteristics such as social work degree, training, and age were all associated with higher levels of individual adoption of FCP principles. Organizational culture including innovation and flexibility and outward focus were associated with organization level implementation of FCP principles. Implications for child welfare practice and implementation of FCP are discussed.

Existing research indicates that children who are involved with the child welfare system and placed in various forms of out-of-home care experience emotional and behavioral problems. It is also suggested that children placed in kinship care are less likely to receive mental health services than children placed in non-kinship foster homes. This study sought to compare children in non-kinship foster homes to children in kinship care to determine their receipt of mental health services and the time it took for children in kinship care to receive mental health services compared to children in non-kinship foster homes. Using a Cox regression, researchers determined that children in kinship care had a 14% lower likelihood of receipt of mental health services compared to their counterparts in non-kinship foster placements.

Informal kinship care is the most common form of care of related children and it occurs without the oversight or assistance of the child welfare system. This study examined whether and how social support, family competence, and family resources were related to parenting stress in a sample of 207 informal kinship caregivers. Results of GEE analysis supported the hypotheses that social support, family competence, and adequacy of family resources have direct effects on parenting stress in these families; and, adequacy of family resources mediate and moderate the effects of social support and family competence on parenting stress. Implications for practice, future research and policy are discussed.

Parental substance abuse significantly increases the risk of child maltreatment and loss of custody. If parental capacity due to substance abuse cannot be rehabilitated within a limited time period and if the child cannot be safely returned to his/her home, the state, in various jurisdictions, is empowered to initiate termination of parental rights proceedings. Despite the connection between substance abuse and termination of parental rights, the research literature in this area is limited. Based on a sample of 212 rulings in favor of termination of parental rights by Israeli courts, the present study examines factors that differentiate substance-abusing from non-substance-abusing parents. The findings indicate that substance-abusing parents constitute a unique high-risk group among parents whose parental rights were terminated. This group is characterized by a higher cumulative risk that includes mental health issues with an emphasis on personality disorders and emotional problems, criminal records, child neglect and maternal single parenthood. All these factors, as well as the overall number of risk factors in a particular case, were found to predict substance-abusing parenthood. A discussion of the findings and their implications for social work practice with families involved in the child welfare system follows.

Although nearly half of child maltreatment victims are under the age of five and at high risk for developing serious emotional or behavioral problems, few young children involved in the child welfare system receive treatment. As the first point of service contact, child welfare caseworkers can play a key role in quickly identifying children with mental health problems and linking them to services. This study examines caseworkers' perspectives on the challenges of addressing mental health problems in early childhood. Based on five focus groups conducted with 50 caseworkers from an urban, public child welfare agency, results suggest that although workers acknowledge the importance of early intervention, difficulty identifying mental health needs in early childhood and workplace barriers impede linkage to services. Given the lasting impacts of early experiences on children's development, it is imperative that these challenges be addressed. Implications for systematic mental health screening and caseworker training are discussed.

Existing literature suggests that youth with disabilities are known to be at increased risk of maltreatment in the form of abuse and/or neglect. Little is known, however, about the experiences of youth with disabilities who are living in foster care or who are supervised by child protection authorities. This study establishes a baseline estimate of the prevalence of youth with disabilities living in foster care, documents reasons for child protection system involvement, identifies placement types while youth are in care and explores case outcomes. This cross-sectional, exploratory study draws on data from the 2012 Adoption and Foster Care Reporting System (AFCARS) for foster youth in 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. A sample of youth with disabilities (N = 36.492) and a comparison group without disabilities (N = 601.539) were identified. Findings about demographics, reasons for child removal, foster care placements, permanency planning goals and case outcomes are presented. Findings have implications for the prevention the removal of youth from caregivers, the need for family supports to prevent foster care involvement, the promotion of community inclusion of foster youth while in foster care and the need for inter-system collaboration at the transitional age stage.

Litigation is the most prevalent mechanism for comprehensive child welfare system reform. Litigation has resulted in increased funding to child welfare systems. This study assesses the impact of litigation on budgets during and after litigation and the budgets correlation with child outcomes. This mixed methods study analyzes 7 years post-litigation data in 4 state case studies. Individual interviews were conducted with key stakeholders (N = 17) in the lawsuits to determine what impact the lawsuit had on budgets and outcomes. Findings indicate that litigation likely impacts outcomes at least partially through increased financial investments (decreased reunification impacting decreased reentry after reunification and rate served); however, the impact of these outcomes is mitigated because financial investment in child welfare is not sustained.

In this study, we examined the extent and type of contact with birth family in adoptive families headed by sexual minority and heterosexual parents prior to or at the time of placement, following placement, and currently. Data were drawn from the Modern Adoptive Families project, a nationwide, non-random survey of adoptive parents' beliefs and experiences that was conducted from 2012 to 2013. The current sample consisted of 671 families headed by heterosexual parents, 111 families headed by lesbian parents, and 98 families headed by gay male parents whose oldest adopted child was less than 18 years old and who was placed domestically either from the public child welfare system or from a private agency or independent adoption facilitator. For child welfare adoptions, sexual minority parents reported higher levels of contact and tended to have more positive relationships with birth family compared to heterosexual parents. Fewer differences by family type were found for private agency adoptions. Higher rates of contact and more positive relationships with birth family were found for private domestic placements compared to those from foster care. Secondary analyses suggest that family demographic and adoption placement differences between sexual minority- and heterosexual-parent families do not account for family type differences in contact with birth family. Policy and practice implications are discussed.

The purpose of this study is to examine the experiences and outcomes of children in the foster care system in the United States who were removed from their homes at least partially in relation to their parent's or caretaker's disability. This study uses administrative data from the 2012 year of the Adoption and Foster Care Reporting System (AFCARS), the federal reporting system that collects case-level data on all children in foster care through state and tribal IV-E agencies. While this administrative dataset doesn't collect data on parental disability, it does collect data on parental disability as a removal reason for children in foster care. In 2012, 19.0% of children in foster care had parental disability indicated as at least one removal reason, and 5.18% had parental disability indicated as their sole removal reason. Logistic regression was used to explore how a removal reason of parental disability correlated with removal manner, type of placement, location of placement, current case plans, discharge reasons and termination of parental rights. T-tests were used to compare children with and without parental disability as a removal reason in regards to number of placements, age at removal, length of time since last removal, length of stay in current placement, and total days in foster care. As foster children could have multiple removal reasons, analyses were conducted separately for children with parental disability as at least one removal reason, and those with parental disability as their sole removal reason. Findings indicate that children who have parental disability as a removal reason have different experiences in child welfare and different child welfare outcomes than those without parental disability as a removal reason. While the AFCARS removal reason of parental disability is not a proxy for parental disability, the study points to a need for closer attention to parental disability within the child welfare system to ensure appropriate services and supports, as well as fair treatment.

LGBTQ youth in the child welfare system have historically received very little attention. The limited research available suggests that they encounter a number of disparities and double standards when compared to straight youth. The current study examines the role that foster family acceptance plays in the lives of LGBTQ youth as they navigate the child welfare system. The experiences of LGBTQ foster care alumni who had accepting foster family experiences are compared to those who had rejecting experiences. Findings suggest that foster family acceptance plays a pivotal role in creating an affirming and inclusive environment for LGBTQ youth. Similarly, findings provide further evidence for the need to educate, train, and recruit affirming and accepting foster families.

The heterogeneity of youth emancipating from the foster care system makes it difficult to establish the extent to which their functional outcomes are equivalent across different subgroups. In the present study, we use secondary data from the Multi Site Evaluation of Foster Youth Programs (MSEYP) to explore the challenges faced by sexual minority youths in comparison to their heterosexual peers. We focus on measurements of key independent living outcomes at age 19 to obtain a broad picture of how sexual minority youth fare during the period of transition to adulthood. Bivariate results indicate that the deficits for sexual minority youth are noteworthy across all categories of functional outcomes (i.e. education, employment, homelessness and financial stability). Furthermore, results from binary logistic regression models indicate that sexual orientation was associated with each category of functional outcomes, even when controlling for demographics and child welfare history factors. Findings suggest that sexual minority youth leaving foster care are particularly vulnerable to negative outcomes and may require more intensive supports during the period of transition to adulthood. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

The overrepresentation of Black children in child protection services has been reported continuously in Western societies, but remains poorly understood. This systematic review’s objective was: (1) to confirm or refute the existence of racial disparities and the overrepresentation of Black youth in child protection services in countries where Black communities constitute a minority; (2) to analyze the risk and protective factors associated with these observations. Our study confirmed the overrepresentation of Black youth and their disproportionate representation across stages of involvement with child welfare protection services. Two categories of factors: sociodemographic (gender, age, race and socioeconomic status) and racial discrimination (associated with referrals, investigations, and caregivers), were identified as contributing to these disparities. Implications for practice and policy are discussed.

Young children in the foster system, who have experienced various traumas, are at risk for mental health problems, particularly externalizing and trauma-related behaviors. Such problems are related to placement instability and future difficulties. Many interventions for foster children take months to implement and tend to target only children with moderate to severe behavior problems. This study presents preliminary findings from a county-wide implementation of Parent-Child Care (PC-CARE), a 7-session dyadic intervention, as a secondary prevention service for all children aged 1–5 years in new foster placements, with the goal of improving children’s behavioral adjustment and placement stability. Method Participants included 153 children aged 1–5 years (50% male) who participated in at least one PC-CARE session with their foster caregivers in the first 90 days of placement. Results Children who completed PC-CARE showed significant decreases in trauma and behavior symptoms and increases in positive behaviors (i.e., initiative, self-regulation), and caregiver-child relationships from pre- to post-intervention. Children who completed PC-CARE showed more placement stability and fewer placements disruptions to another foster home at one- and six-months post-intervention than children who did not complete PC-CARE. Conclusion PC-CARE appears to be a promising secondary prevention service within child welfare associated with improvements in children’s adjustment to new foster placements and increased placement stability.

Positive relationships with parents, caregivers and other adults are shown as critically important in supporting child and adolescent development. One consequence for youth of being involved in the child welfare system is the disruption of these relationships. Youth in care often lack relational permanence or meaningful bonds to sustain them in their transition to adulthood. Relationship-based interventions for youth in care, such as kinship care and mentoring, are poised to improve on youths’ relationships with adults, though many intervention programs for youth in care are skills-based. This study is based on interviews with 17 adolescents in care (88% African–American, 12% Latinx, 14–19 years old, from a large urban center) who were part of a program aimed at supporting high-school aged youth in care in their transition to adulthood. Through iterative coding of all interviews, adult-adolescent relationships facilitated by the program emerged as a strong area of focus within the data. Data reflecting this focus were further analyzed using an interpretivist thematic approach. Findings reveal that adolescents experienced the program-based relationships in family terms, which were further classified by attributes captured by the central conceptual framework reflected in the data, identified as steadfast benevolence. Findings point to steadfast benevolence as an umbrella for multiple positive and instrumental relational qualities. This article concludes with discussion of implications of this concept for practice and future research.