Differences in Trauma Exposure, PTSD and Child Well-Being as a Function of Parental Substance Misuse in a Child Welfare Sample

2021 ◽  
pp. 106326
Author(s):  
Mary K. Jankowski ◽  
Erin Knight-Zhang ◽  
Rebecca Butcher
Keyword(s):  
Child Welfare ◽  
Substance Misuse ◽  
Trauma Exposure ◽  
Well Being

Benchmarking Trauma in Child Welfare: A Brief Report

2021 ◽  
pp. 088626052110383
Author(s):  
Elinam D. Dellor ◽  
Susan Yoon ◽  
Alicia C. Bunger ◽  
Marla Himmeger ◽  
Bridget Freishtler
Keyword(s):  
Child Welfare ◽  
Substance Misuse ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Trauma Exposure ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
Older Children ◽  
Early Screening ◽  
Adults And Children

Trauma exposure is common; however, considerably higher rates are reported in some vulnerable groups including adults and children involved in child welfare systems. In this context, early screening and service linkage may ameliorate its negative impact on the physical and mental well-being of adults and children alike. Using data from two Ohio-based child welfare interventions targeting co-occurring maltreatment and substance use (Ohio START 1 and EPIC2), the purpose of this brief report was to first describe the rate of trauma exposure among participating adults (Adverse Childhood Experiences or ACEs, N = 402), children 0–5 years (CTAC, N = 271) and youth 6–18 years (CTAC, N = 177), and second to benchmark observed rates against reported rates in other child welfare or similar populations across the United States. Results show that adults were exposed to 4.2 ACEs on average, a 24% increase over previous child welfare estimates. While mean CTAC scores were not significantly different among young children ages 0–5, older children reported on average 5.6 exposures which is 27% higher than previously reported estimates. Our findings highlight the difference in risk profiles between families involved child welfare due primarily to substance misuse and those without substance misuse concerns, or where substance misuse was not the primary cause of entry. We discuss implications for service provision and time-sensitive child welfare requirements.

Structured well-being assessments in public child welfare: Observations across two states

2021 ◽  
pp. 251610322110046
Author(s):  
Crystal Collins-Camargo ◽  
Jessica Strolin-Goltzman ◽  
A. Nathan Verbist ◽  
Alison Krompf ◽  
Becky F. Antle
Keyword(s):  
Child Welfare ◽  
Behavioral Health ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Child Welfare System ◽  
Welfare System ◽  
Health Needs ◽  
Functional Improvement ◽  
Public Child Welfare ◽  
Case Planning ◽  
Over Time

Children entering custody within the child welfare system have been found to have high levels of trauma and significant behavioral health needs. In this paper, authors demonstrate how a structured functional well-being assessment can be used with the custody population to promote an understanding of behavioral health needs, inform case planning, and measure functional improvement over time. Specifically, this paper will: (a) briefly describe how two states implemented a common standardized assessment of functioning to inform case planning and measure well-being progress of children in the custody of a public child welfare system (b) examine what this common assessment tool reveals about the strengths and needs of children entering custody across two sites and (c) describe the magnitude of change in functional improvement measured across 6 months. This paper will contribute to the existing knowledge by sharing possible themes in functioning related to children entering custody while examining changes in functioning over time. Implications for practice, policy, and future research will be discussed.

scholarly journals Risk of Future Maltreatment: Examining Whether Worker Characteristics Predict Their Perception

2021 ◽  
pp. 107755952110314
Author(s):  
Kristen Lwin ◽  
Joanne Filippelli ◽  
Barbara Fallon ◽  
Jason King ◽  
Nico Trocmé
Keyword(s):  
Logistic Regression ◽  
Child Welfare ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Child Welfare System ◽  
Welfare System ◽  
Child Welfare Workers ◽  
Perception Of Risk ◽  
Worker Characteristics ◽  
Welfare Workers

Child welfare workers aim to promote the well-being and safety of children and are the link between the child welfare system and families. Families served by the child welfare system should expect similar service based on clinical factors, not based on their caseworker’s characteristics. Using secondary data analyses of the most recent Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (CIS-2008) and multilevel modeling, this study examines whether child welfare worker characteristics, such as education level and field, age, and experience predict their perception of the risk of future maltreatment. A total of 1729 case-level investigations and 419 child welfare workers were included in this study. Several one-level logistic regression and two-level logistic regression analyses were run. The best-fit model suggests that caseworkers with a Master’s degree, more than 2 years of experience, and more than 18 cases were significantly more likely to perceive risk of future maltreatment. Further, the interaction between degree level and age also significantly predicted the perception of risk of future maltreatment. Results suggest that the perception of risk of future maltreatment may be influenced by caseworker factors, thus service to families may differ based on caseworker characteristics.

Child Welfare as a Woman's Issue

1992 ◽  
Vol 73 (2) ◽  
pp. 67-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth D. Hutchison
Keyword(s):  
Child Welfare ◽  
Gender Bias ◽  
Practice Guidelines ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Gender Analysis ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Child Welfare Policy ◽  
The Impact

The recognition that ensuring the welfare of children is not possible without addressing the welfare of their female caregivers is notably missing from the child welfare literature. This article seeks to correct this omission by analyzing the welfare of children in the context of societal structures for caregiving. The author places the gender analysis of child welfare in historical context, discusses current themes of gender bias, and analyzes the impact of child welfare policy and practice on several categories of women. Policy implications and practice guidelines for improving the well-being of children are discussed.

scholarly journals Implementing trauma-informed care through social innovation in child welfare residential treatment centres serving elementary school children

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 222-232
Author(s):  
Denise Brend ◽  
Nicolas Fréchette ◽  
Arnaud Milord-Nadon ◽  
Tim Harbinson ◽  
Delphine Collin-Vezina
Keyword(s):  
Child Welfare ◽  
Residential Treatment ◽  
Complex Trauma ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Task Force ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Worker Attitudes ◽  
Trauma Informed Care ◽  
Trauma Informed

Objectives: This article presents the theoretical basis, initial deployment strategies, and resulting preliminary findings of a program implemented in residential treatment centres (RCs) in child welfare. “Program Penguin” aimed to help workers develop trauma-informed attitudes and implement trauma-informed practices, make the workplace more responsive to the well-being of RC workers, and reduce the use of restraints and seclusion among school-aged children in RCs. Methods: Informed by the theories of complex trauma (National Child Traumatic Stress Network Complex Trauma Task Force, 2003), polyvicitimization (Finkelhor et al., 2007), Attachment, Self-Regulation and Competency (ARC; Blaustein & Kinniburgh, 2018) and Positive Behavioural Interventions and Supports (PBIS; Sugai & Horner, 2002), Program Penguin was developed and deployed using the social innovation approach (Fixsen et al. 2005). The key stages of social innovation will here be used to describe the implementation process. Results: Changes in practices were observed, RC worker attitudes towards trauma-informed care were assessed and showed strong effects between multiple covariables. RC worker support needs were identified, and a reduction in the use of restraints and seclusions was shown. Key strategies towards the development and maintenance of buy-in and meaningful change in practices are also described. Implications: Changes observed at all levels of this implementation suggest Programme Penguin is a promising approach, despite local issues that arose and the challenges inherent to program deployment within child protection settings. It appears a trauma-informed program using positive behavioural approaches and leveraging existing organizational strengths may impact intervention strategies, worker attitudes, and the use of restraints and seclusions against children in RCs.

scholarly journals Abolition, settler colonialism, and the persistent threat of Indian child welfare

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Edwards ◽  
Theresa Rocha Beardall
Keyword(s):  
Child Welfare ◽  
Settler Colonialism ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Child Welfare System ◽  
Welfare System ◽  
Indian Child ◽  
Family Separation ◽  
Indian Child Welfare Act ◽  
Tribal Communities ◽  
Tribal Nations

Family separation is a defining feature of the relationship between the U.S. government and American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) families and tribal nations. The historical record catalogues this relationship in several ways including the mass displacement of Native children into boarding schools throughout the 19th century and the widespread adoption of Native children into non-Indian homes in the 20th century. Child removal was commonplace, and explicitly directed at the elimination of Native cultures and nations through aggressive assimilation. This violent legacy eventually prompted the passage of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) of 1978. The ICWA introduced federal protections for Native children, families, and tribes against unnecessary removal and affirmed the role of the tribe as an important partner in child welfare proceedings. To what extent has this landmark legislation changed the prevalence and frequency of Native family separation since 1978? What can be done to reduce the threat of the child welfare system on the well-being of Native families today? In this Article, we use administrative and historical data to statistically evaluate the magnitude of change in AIAN family separation since the passage of the Indian Child Welfare Act and locate the institutional pathways by which AIAN families are funneled into the child welfare system. Our findings reveal that despite long-standing treaty responsibilities to support the health and well-being of tribal nations, high rates of separation among AIAN children persist. In particular, we find that the frequency of AIAN children's placement into foster care has remained relatively stable since the passage of the ICWA, that AIAN children remain at incredibly high risk of family separation through the child welfare system, and that the post-investigation removal decision by child welfare agencies is a key mechanism of inequality in family separation. We situate these findings within theories about settler colonialism and Indigenous dispossession to illustrate that the continuous removal of Native children from their families and tribal communities is not an anomaly. Instead, we argue that the very intent of a White supremacist settler-state is to dismantle Native families and tribal nations. Based upon these findings, we shift our focus away from the particularities of Indian child welfare and argue that the child welfare system more broadly must be abolished in order to stop the routine separation of Native children from their families by the state. Left intact, child protection systems prioritize surveillance and separation over welfare and support, affecting non-White children and families in immeasurable ways. We suggest that the ICWA has provided, and will continue to provide, a necessary intervention to protect Native families so long as this intrusive system remains. We conclude by exploring how an abolitionist approach to child welfare might positively impact Native families by immediately redirecting social and financial resources into the hands of Native families and working cooperatively with tribal communities to promote Indigenous communities of care.

scholarly journals Feasibility, Acceptability, and Clinical Trends of a Mindfulness-Informed Child Welfare Intervention: Implications for Trauma-Focused Practice

2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 369-386 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samantha M. Brown ◽  
Jennifer Bellamy
Keyword(s):  
Child Welfare ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Substance Misuse ◽  
Child Welfare System ◽  
Stress Coping ◽  
Early Life Trauma ◽  
Trauma Informed ◽  
Underlying Causes ◽  
Single Intervention ◽  
The Impact

Exposure to stress and early life trauma have been linked to child maltreatment and parental substance misuse. These issues often co-occur, yet few child welfare services target their shared underlying causes in a single intervention. Teaching mindfulness-informed strategies to substance-misusing families in the child welfare system may be one promising trauma-informed approach. As part of a larger pilot study testing the initial efficacy of a mindfulness-informed intervention for parents in public child welfare, this study explored the feasibility, acceptability, and clinical trends of the intervention using weekly reports of stress, coping, and mindfulness. Findings show support for the feasibility and acceptability of the intervention as well as positive responses to the intervention on measures of stress and mindfulness. However, the impact of the intervention varied with regard to improving weekly coping among participants. Implications for the integration of mindfulness into child welfare practice as a trauma-informed approach are discussed.

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