Parental Perceptions of the Authority of Public Child Welfare Caseworkers

1992 ◽  
Vol 73 (4) ◽  
pp. 222-235 ◽  
Author(s):  
William D. Diorio
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Child Welfare ◽  
Child Protective Services ◽  
Parental Perceptions ◽  
Parental Rights ◽  
Protective Services ◽  
Child Welfare Agency ◽  
Public Child Welfare ◽  
Research Interviews

Few efforts have been made to understand the experiences of “involuntary clients” who become involved in child protective services. Qualitative research interviews were conducted with 13 parents receiving mandated protective services from a public child welfare agency. Parental perceptions of the authority and “power” of child welfare caseworkers and the agency are documented. Caseworkers must realize the consequences of any use or abuse of their authority, respect parental rights, and not undervalue or disregard legitimate client dissent if families are to be fairly treated and children effectively protected when left in, or returned to, their own homes.

Child Fatalities in New York City: An Assessment of Child Protective Service Practice

2007 ◽  
Vol 88 (4) ◽  
pp. 583-594
Author(s):  
Madelyn Freundlich ◽  
Erika London Bocknek
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
New York City ◽  
Child Welfare ◽  
York City ◽  
Protective Services ◽  
The Public ◽  
Child Welfare Agency ◽  
Child Fatality ◽  
Public Child Welfare ◽  
Children In Foster Care

This article describes the results of two exploratory studies conducted in New York City that used reports of child fatality investigations conducted by the New York State Office of Children and Family Services. It describes the characteristics of children who died as a result of maltreatment and the quality of the child fatality investigations, risk and safety assessments, and protective services responses. Three groups are the focus: children who died while living with families not previously referred to the public child welfare agency; children who died while living with families previously referred to the public child welfare agency; and all children in foster care. The studies found that safety and risk assessments often were not conducted appropriately when children were initially reported to child protective services and when the safety of surviving siblings was at issue; there often was insufficient attention to the elevation of risk as a result of the presence of multiple risk factors in families; and foster parents often did not receive adequate information about health conditions that posed significant risks for children in their care. This article advances practice and policy recommendations for strengthening responses to families who are at high risk and identifies future research directions.

Who Is and Is Not Served by Child Protective Services Systems? Implications for a Prevention Infrastructure to Reduce Child Maltreatment

2020 ◽  
Vol 692 (1) ◽  
pp. 182-202
Author(s):  
Kristen S. Slack ◽  
Lawrence M. Berger
Keyword(s):  
Child Welfare ◽  
Child Maltreatment ◽  
Child Protective Services ◽  
Child Welfare System ◽  
Community Response ◽  
Welfare System ◽  
Child Safety ◽  
Children And Families ◽  
Protective Services ◽  
Child Maltreatment Prevention

The majority of alleged abuse or neglect reports to the U.S. child welfare system are either screened out prior to an investigation (i.e., at the “hotline” stage) or investigated only to be closed with no finding of immediate child safety concerns. Yet while many of these children and families are at risk of subsequent incidents of child maltreatment or child welfare system involvement, they are not systematically offered services or benefits intended to reduce this risk at the point that child protective services (CPS) ends its involvement. This article provides an overview of the “front end” of the child welfare system, commonly referred to as CPS, highlighting which families are served and which are not. We then argue for a systematic and coordinated child maltreatment prevention infrastructure that incorporates elements of “community response” programs that several U.S. states have implemented in recent years. Such programs are focused on families that have been reported to, and sometimes investigated by, CPS, but no ongoing CPS case is opened. We further argue that such programs need to pay particular attention to economic issues that these families face.

Child Protective Services Guidelines for Substantiating Exposure to Domestic Violence as Maltreatment and Assigning Caregiver Responsibility: Policy Analysis and Recommendations

2021 ◽  
pp. 107755952110026
Author(s):  
Bryan G. Victor ◽  
Ashley N. Rousson ◽  
Colleen Henry ◽  
Haresh B. Dalvi ◽  
E. Susana Mariscal
Keyword(s):  
Domestic Violence ◽  
Child Welfare ◽  
Child Protective Services ◽  
Adult Survivors ◽  
The United States ◽  
Protective Services ◽  
Child Exposure ◽  
Exposure To Domestic Violence ◽  
Welfare Systems ◽  
Child Welfare Systems

The purpose of this study was to examine the range of policy approaches used by child welfare systems in the United States to guide workers in classifying and substantiating child exposure to domestic violence (CEDV) as an actionable form of maltreatment. To that end, we conducted a qualitative document analysis of child protective services (CPS) policy manuals from all state-administered child welfare systems in the U.S. ( N = 41). Our findings indicate that a majority of state-administered systems (71%) have adopted policy requiring workers to demonstrate that children have endured harm or the threat of harm before substantiating CEDV-related maltreatment. Many state systems (51%) also include policy directives that require workers to identify a primary aggressor during CPS investigations involving CEDV, while far fewer (37%) provide language that potentially exonerates survivors of domestic violence from being held accountable for failure to protect on the basis of their own victimization. Based on our findings and identification of policy exemplars, we offer a recommended set of quality policy indicators for states to consider in the formulation of their policy guidelines for substantiating children’s exposure to domestic violence that promotes the safety and wellbeing of both children and adult survivors of domestic violence.

Participatory Management in a Public Child Welfare Agency

1998 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara A. Pine ◽  
Robin Warsh ◽  
Anthony N. Maluccio
Keyword(s):  
Child Welfare ◽  
Participatory Management ◽  
Child Welfare Agency ◽  
Public Child Welfare

scholarly journals Perceptions of Administrative and Supervisory Support in Public Child Welfare

10.18060/1955 ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 603-617 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tonya M. Westbrook ◽  
Josie Crolley-Simic
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Culture ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Child Welfare ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Supervisory Support ◽  
Social Work Educators ◽  
Child Welfare Agency ◽  
Public Child Welfare ◽  
Organizational Culture Inventory

Using the Child Welfare Organizational Culture Inventory (CWOCI) in a public child welfare agency, perceptions of administrative and supervisory support held by employees with social work degrees (BSW and MSW) were compared to perceptions of administrative and supervisory support held by employees without social work degrees. Child welfare employees with social work degrees reported lower administrative and supervisory support than employees without social work degrees. Implications for social work educators, public child welfare administrators and supervisors, and future research are presented.

Stories Less Told: Parenting Strengths and Family-of-Origin Experiences amongst Parents Involved with Child Protective Services

2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-136
Author(s):  
Hana Yoo ◽  
Kelsey Abiera
Keyword(s):  
Child Welfare ◽  
Parenting Practices ◽  
Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis ◽  
Family Of Origin ◽  
Child Protective Services ◽  
Limited Attention ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Protective Services ◽  
Relational Support ◽  
Parental Guidance

Abstract Strengths-based child welfare practice emphasises the importance of acknowledging clients’ capacities and potentials when addressing their presenting issues of child maltreatment. However, the child welfare literature has focused more on parents’ risk factors and deficits whilst giving limited attention to positive parenting practices that they may have employed. Based on semi-structured interviews with parents involved with child protective services (CPS), this study explored these parents’ self-identified parenting strengths in light of their family-of-origin experiences. Results of interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) revealed that participants identified parenting strengths in the areas of provision, protection, emotional care and relational support, and parental guidance and discipline. All demonstrated a strong desire to provide their children with a better upbringing than their own and shared what they believed they had done well in parenting. Interestingly, participants seemed to have parented most intentionally in the areas in which they felt most deprived in their own childhood, which may have played a role in creating deficits in other areas of parenting. Implications for practice include the need for a ‘both/and’ approach that attends to parents’ strengths as well as areas for growth and the importance of family-of-origin work in child welfare practice.

Child Protective Services Investigations and the Transition to Foster Care: Children's Views

2008 ◽  
Vol 89 (1) ◽  
pp. 90-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellen B. Bogolub
Keyword(s):  
Foster Care ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Child Protective Services ◽  
Research Practice ◽  
Protective Services ◽  
Birth Parents ◽  
Research Interviews ◽  
Children’S Views ◽  
First Time

During a pilot qualitative study about children's views of Child Protective Services (CPS) investigations, the problem for study broadened to include children's views of the transition to foster care generally. Findings indicated that (1) the CPS investigation was not an emotionally charged topic for these respondents, and (2) respondents were ambivalent about foster care, liking many aspects while also missing birth parents. Respondents (most in care for the first time) were in care for nonemergency reasons, and for brief periods (1 to 5 months). These circumstances may have influenced the findings. In some cases, videotape supplemented audiotape of research interviews. Videotape proved useful, but not necessary to establish findings. Implications for research, practice, and policy are provided.

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