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Currently, there are 565 federally recognized tribes in the United States who are independent sovereign nations. These tribes have varying capacities to manage and administer child welfare programs. Most provide some type of child welfare service to the children and families within their tribal land. However, there are no national resources to document the number of children in foster care or the extent of abuse and neglect in the families served by tribal child welfare agencies. Information is only known about those Native American/Alaska Native families and children who are reported to state child protection agencies. Native American children represented 0.9% of all children in the United States in the late 1990s, but they comprised 3.1% of the substitute care population in state-run child welfare systems (Morrison, et al., 2010). Incident rates of child welfare referrals, substantiated referrals, and foster care placement among Native American children and families are relatively high compared to other ethnic groups (Earle & Cross, 2001) but precise interpretation of Native American status is difficult due to variations in child welfare reporting systems (Magruder & Shaw, 2008).

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 wellbeing 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.

Infants and toddlers are more likely to be victims of neglect than any other form of maltreatment. Infants and toddlers are at highest risk of fatality because of maltreatment and experience behavioral, social, academic, medical, and cognitive consequences of neglect during their most formative years. Within an ecological framework, this study examines the correlates of the substantiation of neglect in children 0 to 36 months of age. Using an ex post facto design and a random sample of 148 child protective services cases, bivariate analysis revealed significant differences in families who were substantiated for neglect in the areas of child characteristics, home environment, social environment, caregiver, and maltreatment situations. Multivariate analysis found children who were substantiated for neglect were exposed to greater environmental dangers and had caregivers who had poor parenting skills. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

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?" (Contains 1 table.)

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2009.10.014 Byline: Szu-Yu Chen, Maria Scannapieco Keywords: Child welfare; Worker retention; Job satisfaction; Supervisor's support; Work related self-efficacy Abstract: Prior research shows child welfare workforce has constantly been challenged by worker's turnover issue. Although improving job satisfaction is adopted by many agencies as a solution to encourage workers to stay, little is known whether its effect remains under the influence of certain psychosocial factors of workers. The present study attempts to explore the effect of job satisfaction on child welfare worker's desire to stay through examining the intervening effects of worker's work related self-efficacy and supervisor's support. Our findings showed that the interaction effect did exist such that job satisfaction had greater positive impact for workers of high self-efficacy in terms of the desire to stay. Findings further revealed that job satisfaction had substantial impacts on improving worker's desire to stay under most of the circumstances, except for the circumstance when workers concurrently perceiving low work related self-efficacy and low supervisor's support. Finding also revealed that supervisor's support was particularly important to retain workers of low self-efficacy. In conclusion, improving job satisfaction may not be a universal approach for worker retention due to the influence of worker's self-efficacy. On the other hand, we recognize that supervisor's support is an important factor in addition to job satisfaction that cannot be overlooked in child welfare worker retention. In light of the significant interaction effect that was identified in the present study, we suggested the need to examine the interaction effect among retention predictors in future research. Author Affiliation: Center for Child Welfare, School of Social Work, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX 76019-0129, USA Article History: Received 22 May 2009; Revised 20 October 2009; Accepted 24 October 2009

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. [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]

Supervisors play a vital role in workplace productivity and organizational health, and are at the forefront of improving the capacity of the child welfare workforce. Yet there is limited research about their organizational longevity and satisfaction compared with child welfare caseworkers. This study uses data from 85% of supervisors statewide in a child welfare organization to describe intent to leave, supervision provided and received, and job qualities. Questions are: (1) what are the personal and job qualities of child welfare supervisors? (2) To what extent do supervisors report receiving and providing supervision, and (3) what personal and job qualities predict intent to leave among supervisors? Using bivariate and multivariate analyses, results showed that supervisors who receive more frequent supervision report lower levels of job stress and time pressure and more positive perceptions of organization leadership. These supervisors also reported providing more supervision to caseworkers. Greater time pressure predicted intent to leave among supervisors, indicating that there is an important balance between workload and resources in efforts to maintain quality supervisors. [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]

Abstract: Using longitudinal data collected over a 10year period from a statewide sample of all new public child welfare caseworkers hired between 2001 and 2010 (N =9195), the present study uses Cox Proportional Hazards Regression analysis to examine personal and organizational factors that affect length of employment among child welfare workers. This study adds to the expanding body of research on factors that impact retention of child welfare workers, as few other studies have explored how personal and organizational factors influence caseworker length of employment. Understanding factors that may influence caseworker retention, and specifically length of employment, is an important next step in understanding the type of caseworkers that agencies should target when hiring, as well as the types of workplace interventions and strategies that should be implemented to help retain caseworkers and move toward achieving a more stable workforce. The findings of this study suggest that a mixture of personal and organizational factors influenced the length of time that child welfare workers remained with the agency. Of the variables evaluated in the models, gender, social work education, Title IV-E involvement, organizational support and job desirability were shown to significantly influence longevity with the agency. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This study views the extent to which staff buy-in for an organizational innovation in child welfare (CW) relates to implementation progress. The study occurs during implementation of a statewide practice model that was supported with technical assistance from the Mountains and Plains Child Welfare Implementation Center (MPCWIC) and framed around the National Implementation Research Network model. Mixed methods were used to address three study questions: (1) what is the level and nature of buy-in related to the innovation? (2) does buy-in vary according to staff characteristics, and (3) what is the relationship between buy-in, local level agency readiness, and implementation status one year after project start? Survey data were collected from 568 CW staff in 13 local county agencies and 12 implementation specialists assigned as coaches. Focus groups and interviews were conducted with 52 staff in four agencies. Bivariate chi-square analyses and multivariate regression using a cumulative logit model showed that buy-in was related to gender and agency tenure. Implementation progress was higher among smaller agencies, and agencies with lower levels of job stress. Qualitative themes centered on staff inclusivity in project design, communication, and supervisor support. Findings highlight the need to adapt implementation strategies in urban and rural locales, and to attend strongly to staff selection, supervision, and inclusion during implementation. Addressing job stress may help bolster implementation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This article recaps the historic role of the U.S. Children''s Bureau in the development and professionalization of public child welfare services. A review of the empirical literature explores relationships between professional preparation and outcomes in service delivery, job performance and preparedness, social work values, and retention of staff. This review informs the evaluation study, which draws from a longitudinal appraisal of almost 10,000 child welfare workers in Texas, about one third with degrees in social work. The study found significant differences between the experiences and perceptions of those with social work degrees and those with degrees in other fields. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

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]

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]

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]

Kinship care, the placement of children with their relatives, has become an integral part of the child welfare system in the United States. It is also becoming a more established way of meeting the needs of children in care in other western countries (Greeff, 1999). However, kinship care did not emerge as a child welfare issue until the late 1980s, and only recently has it become a part of the formalized system for out-of-home care (Hegar & Scannapieco, 1995). Since that time, many states have come to rely more heavily on placements with relatives to meet the needs of children removed from parental custody. For example, California has placed approximately 51% of the foster care population in kinship care, while Illinois has placed 55% (GAO, 1999). Discussion about the reasons for the increases in kinship care has been widespread (Brooks & Barth, 1998; Gleeson, 1999; Harvey, 1999; Hegar & Scannapieco, 2000). Regardless of the impetus behind the increased use of kinship care, states must now incorporate kinship foster care into the traditional foster care system in order to qualify them for federal funding (O'Laughlin, 1998). The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 amended federal law to require that states give priority to relatives when deciding with whom to place children who are in the foster care system (GAO, 1999). The apparent paradigm shift from traditional foster parents to kinship care parents (Hegar, 1999) requires that agencies use both different approaches to assessment (Scannapieco & Hegar, 1996) and provide different types of intervention and services. Adapting placement services to the needs of kinship care providers is the focus of this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increase in children entering foster care, together with a range of other political, economic, and social factors, has helped fuel the newest phenomenon in the child welfare system--a substantial proportion of children in formal kinship care. Kinship care is defined as out-of-home placement with relatives of children who are in the custody of state and local child welfare agencies. The authors present a review of previous research and report on a study that examined differences and similarities between kinship and traditional foster care in Baltimore County, Maryland, a suburban county that surrounds the city of Baltimore. This study supports many earlier conclusions concerning kinship care, such as children remain in care longer, caregivers are primarily African American, and services provided by kin are less extensive than those provided by traditional foster parents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children in the care and custody of the state are increasingly placed with "kin" rather than in "unrelated" foster homes. Current estimates suggest that 400,000 children are in kinship care arrangements, with a projected increase to over a half million by 1995 (Center for the Study of Social Policy, 1990). This article provides an overview of the trend toward increasing use of kinship care for foster children and the reasons for this development. It then presents the case management models currently used in kinship care cases by two large public child welfare agencies, and it concludes with discussion of these models and their implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children in the care and custody of the state are increasingly placed with ‘kin’ rather than in ‘unrelated’ foster homes. Current estimates suggest that 400,000 children are in kinship care arrangements, with a projected increase to over a half million by 1995 (Center for the Study of Social Policy, 1990). This article provides an overview of the trend toward increasing use of kinship care for foster children and the reasons for this development. It then presents the case management models currently used in kinship care cases by two large public child welfare agencies, and it concludes with discussion of these models and their implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Family preservation services have been found effective in preventing the placement of children outside their homes. Most studies of family preservation services focus on the successful prevention of placement of children in out-of-home care, and relatively few studies have examined how such services affect family functioning. Recent research has begun to examine the relationship between family functioning and prevention of placement. This research has demonstrated improved family functioning for those families who received family preservation services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]