Search

Abstract The purpose of this systematic review is to summarize the effects of interagency and cross-system collaboration aimed to improve child welfare-involved children and family outcomes related to safety, permanency, and well-being. We conducted a comprehensive search to identify studies that evaluated interagency/cross-system child welfare collaborations, resulting in 11 studies selected for inclusion. The analysis included narrative and meta-analysis approaches. All selected studies focused on substance use; our search criteria did not identify any interagency collaborations related to other co-occurring conditions, such as domestic violence and mental health. Results from both narrative and meta-analyses revealed family drug treatment court (FDTC) collaboration intervention was positively associated with the entry (OR = 2.935, 95% CI [1.498, 5.753]) and completion (OR = 2.074, 95% CI [1.263, 3.406]) of substance use services. Additionally, FDTC (OR = 2.401, 95% CI [1.751, 3.292]) and recovery coaches (OR = 1.522, 95% CI [1.166, 1.987]) were positively associated with likelihood of reunification. Narrative and meta-analysis results related to the relationship between FDTC and days to reunification were less positive across studies (g = 0.470, 95% CI [0.247, 0.694]). Thus suggesting, although FDTC may positively influence the likelihood that children are reunified with their families in the future, this intervention may have less influence on how quickly families achieve the reunification process. We found positive client outcomes regardless if there existed a lower (co-ordination) or higher (integration) level of collaboration, demonstrating positive collaboration outcomes may occur using limited child welfare resources. This systematic review can benefit child welfare practitioners, policymakers, and families in selecting the most appropriate and effective interagency/cross-system substance use services. We discuss recommendations for future research. Highlights • Caregivers in family drug treatment court (FDTC) are nearly three times more likely to enter substance use treatment. • Caregivers participating in FDTC collaboration intervention are two times more likely to complete substance use treatment. • FDTC and recovery coach interventions increase the likelihood of reunification for families with substance use problems. • Positive collaboration outcomes related to permanency and well-being may occur using limited child welfare resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many children involved with the child welfare system witness parental domestic violence. The association between children's domestic violence exposure and child welfare involvement may be influenced by certain socio-cultural factors; however, minimal research has examined this relationship. The current study compares domestic violence experiences and case outcomes among Latinas who are legal immigrants ( n = 39), unauthorized immigrants ( n = 77), naturalized citizens ( n = 30), and US-born citizen mothers ( n = 383) reported for child maltreatment. This analysis used data from the second round of the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-being. Mothers were asked about whether they experienced domestic violence during the past year. In addition, data were collected to assess if (a) domestic violence was the primary abuse type reported and, if so, (b) the maltreatment allegation was substantiated. Results show that naturalized citizens, legal residents, and unauthorized immigrants did not differ from US-born citizens in self-reports of domestic violence; approximately 33% of mothers reported experiences of domestic violence within the past year. Yet, unauthorized immigrants were 3.76 times more likely than US-born citizens to have cases with allegations of domestic violence as the primary abuse type. Despite higher rates of alleged domestic violence, unauthorized citizens were not more likely than US-born citizens to have these cases substantiated for domestic violence ( F (2.26, 153.99) = 0.709, p = .510). Findings highlight that domestic violence is not accurately accounted for in families with unauthorized immigrant mothers. We recommend child welfare workers are trained to properly assess and fulfill the needs of immigrant families, particularly as it relates to domestic violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]