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The purpose of this groundbreaking study was to evaluate outcomes of 482 LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning) youth and young adults who received services and supports through the Comprehensive Community Mental Health Services for Children with Serious Emotional Disturbances Program (CMHI). This study was a secondary data analysis using data from a larger study of 3208 LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ youth ages 11 through 21 who had a serious emotional disturbance (SED). This study is significant in that it evaluates functional outcomes for young people identified as LGBTQ based on a specialized service framework (i.e., system of care approach). In essence, do LGBTQ youth with SED benefit from a specific approach to intervention? In addition, a comparison at intake on suicidality, bullying and victimization was conducted between the LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ identifying youth from the larger sample. The youth and a caregiver were interviewed face-to-face separately at intake, 6-months, and 12-months. Significant improvements were found across all of the dependent variables, supporting the viability of SOC for improving outcomes for LGBTQ youth. Future research should continue to build on this study by adding to the design a control group to improve internal validity of the findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although a rather extensive literature concerning informal kinship care and kinship foster care has emerged over the past 30 years, much less is known about the children and families involved in kinship adoption. This article pays particular attention to recent research that investigates placement decisions and outcomes for former foster children adopted by relatives. This review suggests conclusions similar to broader reviews, in that kinship placement tends to show some consistently favorable outcomes across a range of study populations and methods. Financial need may be the greatest concern for relatives who adopt. The Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 expands adoption subsidies and provides states with the option of providing ongoing subsidies to certain relatives who take guardianship of family members from the foster care system. However, relative caregivers often are not well informed about financial supports afforded them by federal and state policies. Specialized programs for kinship adoptive families are still limited. Much of the growth of kinship placement has been due to the absence of other placement options for many children and value-based decision making that places a premium on kinship, rather than on evidence of the advantages of kinship adoption. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article presents the development and psychometric analysis of the Child Welfare Trauma-Informed Individual Assessment Tool, an instrument designed to measure the extent to which child welfare service providers employ trauma-informed practices with the children and families that they serve. Using the responses of 213 front-line child welfare workers, exploratory factor analysis was used on a seventeen-item scale, resulting in a four-factor model. Based on the results of this analysis, implications for potential uses of the instrument are discussed, and specifications for additional evaluation of the measure's validity are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three American Indian tribes utilized Business Process Mapping (BPM) as a tool to develop culturally-based tribal child welfare practice models. This study employed a multi-methods design to evaluate the cultural fit of BPM when used in tribal settings. Findings indicated that although programs considered BPM a "mainstream" intervention, each still found the process to be an effective means of creating models reflecting child welfare practice within tribal cultural contexts. Findings further suggested that BPM can, however, benefit from examination of how it might better articulate cultural values and norms, as well as differences between tribal and mainstream child welfare approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Child maltreatment and teen pregnancy are serious social problems facing America today. In 2010, 3.3 million referrals of child abuse and neglect resulted in approximately 461,297 confirmed victims. Teen pregnancy has similarly been a cause of serious political and social concern. Although the teen birth rate has declined overall during the last half century, the United States still has a higher teen birth rate than other industrialized countries. Young maternal age is generally considered a risk factor for child maltreatment. What is not known is what separates adolescent mothers who maltreat their children and those who do not. This study compares the ecological correlates of adolescent mothers who maltreat their children to adolescent mothers who do not maltreat. Implications for practice and future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study introduces a new measure that assesses the extent of organizational change tactics usage within a human service organization. The Organizational Change Tactics Questionnaire (OCTQ) was developed based on a comprehensive review of effective organizational change tactics and adapted to the unique needs of human service organizations. This study presents the psychometric properties of the OCTQ using the tool with 13 large child welfare organizations experiencing organizational change. Respondents who saw a greater use of change tactics and those who were more involved with the change process were significantly more likely to perceive the change process as successful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are 565 federally-recognized tribes who are independent sovereign nations in the United States. These tribes have varying capacity to manage and administer child welfare programs. Although many tribes have a Children's Code directing child welfare practice, standardized practice models—including procedures, policies, and subsequent forms and documentation—are not common, and management information systems are rare. A virtual implementation model informed by the Technology Acceptance Model was undertaken with three tribal child welfare agencies to design a management information system based on tribal child welfare practice models. Description and discussion of the implementation process, future research required, and lessons learned from the implementation project are presented. This article will inform Native American tribes, states who work with tribes, and rural area agencies similar in context as the tribal agencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Childhood trauma due to physical abuse, neglect, or sexual abuse is a serious problem in the United States. Trauma can result in disruption or injury to the developing brain and lead to neurodevelopmental deficits that affect a child's functioning and can result in lifelong problems. Research has provided insight into how early childhood maltreatment affects brain development. This article examines the research on trauma, its effects on the brain, and evidence-based interventions. An overview of normal brain functioning and posttraumatic stress disorder is presented. Implications for social work practice with children who have experienced child maltreatment are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The purpose of this paper is to explore how social work education for child welfare professionals in the United States can be used to inform the Chinese social work curriculum. The recent proliferation of social work education programs in China may be encouraging news to child welfare scholars, but the infrastructure needed to develop a professionalized child welfare work force in China remains lacking. In the United States, social work education for child welfare professionals is supported by Title IV-E funding, which is consistent with the prevailing philosophy that workers with social work education achieve better outcomes for maltreated children than do those without social work degrees. The authors of this article conducted a recent evaluation of public child welfare workers' performance in the state of Texas, which substantiates this belief. Results from this study are presented along with a discussion of how Chinese social work scholars might apply the conclusions to improve child welfare in China. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Disparities in health and mental health care delivered to racial and ethnic minorities became a focus of national policy following reports of the Institute of Medicine (IOM, 2002) and the Surgeon General (USDHHS, 2001). The Surgeon General (USDHHS, 2001) reported racial and ethnic minorities experience disparities in availability and quality of mental health services compared to whites. Two challenges that intersect and compound each other are the disproportionately high numbers of African American children in child welfare with unmet mental health needs remaining in their homes or placed in relative's homes after a substantiation of child maltreatment (USDHHS, 2002) and the lack of culturally appropriate, effective home-based treatments available to them. This study compared outcomes for the youth who received Multisystemic Therapy (MST) controlling for the impact of race and ethnicity. The findings provide further evidence for child welfare practitioners to consider when working with children and families from diverse populations in decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One key step in the evidence-based practice process directs practitioners to pose client-oriented, practical, evidence-search questions (COPES), seeking the truth about what will help their client (Gibbs, 2003) and inform policy (Gambrill, 2006) and not to take a “one method fits all” position. Literature focusing on providing services to minority children and families in the child welfare system strongly supports this approach (Cohen, 2000; Lum, 2004; Samantrai, 2004). This article poses an effectiveness question, locates and evaluates existing evidence, and then presents implications for working with families and children from diverse backgrounds. The effectiveness question posed is, “If families and children from diverse populations experiencing mental health problems receive Multisystemic Therapy, will they have similar outcomes across race and ethnicity?” [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the population of older adults increases and their potential for abuse and neglect increases, it is important a well-trained and competent workforce exists. Research has shown inadequate training of Adult Protective Services (APS) program staff is a major concern for adult protection programs, and one of the most important resources needed is staff training and development. This article describes a study examining the characteristics of new employees in APS and their experiences in a three-month basic skills development training program. The results of the study found participants felt very positive toward all aspects of the training and competent in many areas of APS practice. Implications for policy and practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although an association exists among risk factors of age of child, substance use and child maltreatment, less is known about the differences between substance abusing families who maltreat their children and substance abusing families who do not maltreat their children. The relationship among substance use and maltreatment needs to be further explored to identify specific assessment techniques to discriminate between the two groups. The study findings, based upon case records analyzed in 2002, show there is a set of significant characteristics of families who have a history of substance use and who maltreat their infant and toddlers and those families who do not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the relationship among supervisor support, availability of resources, and worker ability and their impact on workload management. Child welfare caseworkers struggle to maintain their workloads amid tremendously high caseloads and ever-increasing paperwork. A structural equation model is utilized to determine the dynamic relationship of these variables. Results suggest that supervisor support and availability of resources have a direct impact on workload management. Additionally, supervisor support is significantly associated with worker ability and availability of resources. While worker ability does not directly affect workload management, it is significantly related to availability of resources. Results of this study can be useful to public child welfare agencies by identifying variables associated with increased manageability of employee workloads. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Providing effective foster care is a major undertaking that continues to plague this country. The ultimate goal of substitute care is to provide child victims of maltreatment with a safe and nurturing home environment. The goal of this theory driven research project was to identify ecological factors correlated with effective non-kin family foster care. Various levels of analysis were considered including individual, family and community. The findings of this study identified three factors as significant predictors of effective foster care. Included are implications for social work in the areas of practice, policy, and research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children in poverty are at increased risk of maltreatment (Sedlak, 1997), but not all children living in poverty are maltreated. Identifying the differences between families who maltreat and those who do not is imperative to helping families in need. This paper presents findings from a research study looking at correlates of maltreatment and how they are related to poverty for our most vulnerable of children, infants and toddlers. It is reported that significant differences exist between families who live in poverty that maltreat their children and those who do not. Important practice and policy implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historically, the profession of social work has held a leadership role in the field of child welfare. Opportunities provided in a number of significant public policies allow schools of social work to be eligible to receive Title IV-E funding for professional development of child welfare workers. Today, hundreds of these partnerships throughout the country (Zlotnik, 1997) are spending millions of federal dollars to professionally educate Bachelor of Social Work and Master of Social Work students for careers in child welfare. Unfortunately, there is not a corresponding proliferation of evaluation research to measure the effectiveness of these partnerships. This article provides a comprehensive description and evaluation of a partnership between a school of social work and a state department of child protective services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]