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ObjectivesThis article describes the Standard Interview for Evidence Use (SIEU), a measure to assess the level of engagement in acquiring, evaluating, and applying research evidence in health and social service settings.MethodThree scales measuring input, process, and output of research evidence and eight subscales were identified using principal axis factor analysis and parallel analysis of data collected from 202 state and county child welfare, mental health, and juvenile justice systems leaders.ResultsThe SIEU scales and subscales demonstrate strong internal consistency as well as convergent and discriminant validity.ConclusionsThe SIEU is easy to use and can be administered as a complete scale or as three smaller scales to separately examine evidence in acquisition, evaluation, or application. The measure demonstrates potential in understanding the role of research evidence in service settings and in monitoring the process of evidence-based practice and application of scientific principles in social work practice.

Since 2017, immigration enforcement in the US has increased, and as a consequence, many more young children are vulnerable to being separated from their parents and are living with daily fear and stress of parental deportation. This article documents stories from interviews with early care service providers and immigrant parents in six states conducted by the Center for Law and Social Policy in 2017. It outlines concerns for children in the current immigration context and offers recommendations for classroom practice, family supports, and actions that early childhood educators can take when working with young children of immigrants and their families.

The Cultural Exchange Inventory (CEI) is a 15-item instrument designed to measure the process (7 items) and outcomes (8 items) of exchanges of knowledge, attitudes and practices between members of different organisations collaborating in implementing evidence-based practice. We conducted principal axis factor analyses and parallel analyses of data describing exchanges with intermediary organisations, treatment developers, other agencies in the same county, and agencies in other counties of 105 leaders of county youth-serving systems in California and Ohio participating in a randomised controlled trial of the effectiveness of community development teams in scaling up the use of an evidence-based practice for treatment of youth in foster care. The CEI scale demonstrates strong internal consistency and convergent and discriminant validity, and shows potential in understanding the role of cultural exchanges in evidence-based practice implementation.

Objectives: This article describes the Standard Interview for Evidence Use (SIEU), a measure to assess the level of engagement in acquiring, evaluating, and applying research evidence in health and social service settings. Method: Three scales measuring input, process, and output of research evidence and eight subscales were identified using principal axis factor analysis and parallel analysis of data collected from 202 state and county child welfare, mental health, and juvenile justice systems leaders. Results: The SIEU scales and subscales demonstrate strong internal consistency as well as convergent and discriminant validity. Conclusions: The SIEU is easy to use and can be administered as a complete scale or as three smaller scales to separately examine evidence in acquisition, evaluation, or application. The measure demonstrates potential in understanding the role of research evidence in service settings and in monitoring the process of evidence-based practice and application of scientific principles in social work practice.

Peer-learning networks (PLN) can be valuable tools for doctoral students. Participation in these networks can aid in the completion of the dissertation, lead to increased scholarship productivity, and assist in student retention. Yet, despite the promise of PLNs, few studies have documented their effect on social work doctoral education. This article explores aspects of an interdisciplinary PLN focused on child welfare. This study used a questionnaire with scaled survey items and open-ended questions to examine the use, benefits, and challenges to participating in the PLN. After a brief review of the literature, this article presents findings from the study, discusses the implications for social work education, and concludes by explicating strategies for developing PLNs in social work education programs.

Despite a rapidly growing U.S. Latinx child population and this group's representation in the child welfare system (CWS), limited research exists on Latinx children reported to the CWS for child sexual abuse (CSA). This study examined how the intersection of race/ethnicity, age, and biological sex impact case substantiation among Latinx, Black, and White children reported for CSA. We analyzed 2012 National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System Child File data using generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs) to examine a sample of children reported to the CWS for CSA (n = 179,199). GLMMs indicated that among children reported for CSA, Black (AOR = 1.12) and White (AOR = 1.17) children had significantly higher odds of case substantiation compared to Latinx children, controlling for other factors. Main effects indicate older children (in mean-centered years; OR = 1.09) and female children (OR = 2.52) had higher odds of substantiation. Out of the states included in the post-hoc analysis, 16 (84%) had female to male substantiation ratios that were higher for Latinx children compared to White children. In these same states, only 9 (56%) had ratios for Black children that were higher than the rate for White children. Results indicate it is critical to continue examining how child sex, race/ethnicity, age, and state differences may affect CSA case substantiation rates. These findings underscore the importance of providing accessible culturally and linguistically appropriate CWS services that are also responsive to sex and developmental stage., Author(s): Laurie M. Graham [sup.1] , Paul Lanier [sup.1] , Megan Finno-Velasquez [sup.2] , Michelle Johnson-Motoyama [sup.3] Author Affiliations: (Aff1) 0000000122483208, grid.10698.36, MSW School of Social Work, University of North [...]

(First Issue) These two special issues of Child Welfare revisit the topic of the intersection of immigration and child welfare 13 years after the journal's first issue on this subject. [...]

A growing population of immigrant children and families to the U.S. from Latin American countries requires consideration of their unique historical, sociocultural, and linguistic contexts in child abuse and neglect prevention. In light of the Family First Prevention Services Act's focus on evidence-based child maltreatment prevention interventions, this systematic review analyzed interventions with relevance for use with immigrant populations coming from Latin American countries. Sixty-two interventions met inclusion criteria. This review revealed few gold standard interventions that address the unique needs of Latinx immigrant populations, highlighting a need for the development and study of interventions for these populations that are federally reimbursable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A rise in the Latino population resulting from increased immigration to the United States over the past several decades has invoked increasing concern about factors contributing to the victimization of Latinas. The present study used the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being to explore experiences of physical intimate partner violence (IPV) and service receipt for IPV issues among Latina caregivers reported to the child welfare system for alleged child abuse or neglect. Results showed no significant differences in severity and overall rates of physical violence between immigrants and nonimmigrants, with the exception of the frequency of violence; U.S.-born women reported more incidents than immigrants. Despite experiencing a high overall rate of IPV during the previous year (33.0%), during the same period only 16.8% of Latinas reported being referred to services and 9.4% of mothers reported receiving services to address IPV issues. Despite evidence of disparities in use of other types of services by immigrant parents involved with the child welfare system, no differences in IPV service use were noted between immigrant and nonimmigrant mothers. Adjusting for covariates, neither nativity nor legal status was predictive of recent experiences of physical violence or service use. Potential reasons for these findings and implications are discussed., Author(s): Megan Finno-Velasquez [sup.1] , Ijeoma Nwabuzor Ogbonnaya [sup.2] Author Affiliations: (1) School of Social Work, New Mexico State University, 0000 0001 0687 2182, grid.24805.3b, , 11024 Montgomery Blvd., NE, [...]

We followed Latino infants prospectively through age 1 to determine whether maternal foreign-born status conferred a protective advantage against reported and substantiated maltreatment across Hispanic-origin groups, and whether the likelihood an infant was reported or substantiated for maltreatment varied by Hispanic origin. We drew data for all Latino infants born in California between 2000 and 2006 (N = 1,909,155) from population-based birth records linked to child protective services data. We used [chi].sup.2 tests to assess distributional differences in covariates and utilized generalized linear models to estimate the adjusted relative risk of report and substantiation in models stratified by nativity. We observed significant health advantages in reported and substantiated maltreatment for infants of foreign-born mothers within every Hispanic-origin group. Risks of report and substantiation among infants of Mexican and Central/South American mothers were consistently lower than Puerto Rican and Cuban mothers despite socioeconomic disadvantage. The presence of disparities among Hispanic-origin groups in child maltreatment report and substantiation during infancy has implications for the health of Latinos across the life course. Further research is warranted to unravel the complex processes underlying observed relationships., Author(s): Michelle Johnson-Motoyama[sup.1] , Emily Putnam-Hornstein[sup.2] [sup.3] , Alan J. Dettlaff[sup.4] , Kechen Zhao[sup.5] , Megan Finno-Velasquez[sup.2] , Barbara Needell[sup.6] Author Affiliations: (1) University of Kansas School of Social Welfare, [...]

Despite the field's understanding of individual and family level predictors of child maltreatment, research on neighborhood indicators of child abuse and neglect, especially in immigrant communities, is limited. This study employed a qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews to elicit perceptions of 28 key community informants to further understand the social dynamics of highly concentrated immigrant communities and their influence on child maltreatment. Thematic content analysis used coding consensus, co-occurrence, and comparison to analyze results. Findings suggest maltreatment reporting and behaviors may be related to three themes concerning the socio-cultural context of immigrant communities. Themes are cultural norms and values, fear and mistrust, and lack of knowledge and misinformation. Suggestions for neighborhood-level interventions in immigrant communities are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented discussing the issue's focus on child welfare and immigration.

Since 2017, immigration enforcement in the US has increased, and as a consequence, many more young children are vulnerable to being separated from their parents and are living with daily fear and stress of parental deportation. This article documents stories from interviews with early care service providers and immigrant parents in six states conducted by the Center for Law and Social Policy in 2017. It outlines concerns for children in the current immigration context and offers recommendations for classroom practice, family supports, and actions that early childhood educators can take when working with young children of immigrants and their families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]