Level of care determination is an important process in treatment and service planning for children and their families both in mental health and child welfare. This area of service delivery is beginning to develop systematic approaches for decision-making. The process and implementation of the Child and Adolescent Level of Care Utilization System (CALOCUS) within the context of the Children's Program Outcome Review Team (CPORT) evaluation and a full sample of data will be presented examining the CALOCUS levels of care across age, gender, race, and compared with CAFAS, CBCL and CPORT system outcome data on children in state custody in Tennessee.

Child welfare workers respond to human tragedy and the job stresses associated with their positions that may result in their own trauma, secondary traumatic stress, compassion fatigue, emotional exhaustion, and burnout. Workers continue to leave their positions at alarming rates, influencing service quality and the ability to meet the needs of vulnerable populations. Decades of research have attempted to solve this national crisis by identifying salient factors found to influence the child welfare worker's experience and intention to leave their position. However, the problem prevails. Addressing a major gap in the literature, this mixed methods study took a unique approach by exploring how the stress of working in public child welfare affects workers’ personal health. Using secondary data analysis from a statewide sample of public child welfare workers, qualitative thematic content analysis and binary logistic regression were used to explore what child welfare workers identified as unhealthy habits they have developed as a result of stress from their positions. Findings from this study provide clear evidence that the demands associated with working in this capacity negatively impact the health of the child welfare worker. Qualitatively, five self-reported themes emerged when workers were asked to describe the health consequences of their work. Workers described their affinity for unhealthy consumption (e.g., food, alcohol, tobacco) and the development of a number of unhealthy behaviors (e.g., disturbed sleep, lack of exercise, angry outbursts) as a result of the stress of their positions. Workers also provided descriptions of the physical and mental health implications of working, compounded by the poor work-life balances reported. Quantitatively, significant differences were found across all subscales of the Child Welfare Employee Feedback Scale (CWEFS) when examined by the current health status of the workforce. Workers reporting poorer health had worked at the agency longer and reported a greater intention to leave the agency in the next 12 months. Finally, a binary logistic regression identified Workload and Job Impact as factors predicting lower worker health outcomes. Although “marginally” significant, working outside of one’s home county and working in an urban area were factors contributing to the stress-induced health impact associated with respondents’ positions. The profession must recognize the health implications associated with working in public child welfare and organizational efforts to allow these employees to self-care seems to be an absolute necessity. Future research should integrate the use of biometric screening and multidisciplinary collaboration to investigate organizational, supervisory, and individual level efforts to improve the situation.

This exploratory study looked at Child Protective Service workers' perceptions of how housing issues affect their decisions in the removal of children from their parents, and the reunification of children with their parents. The survey examined San Bernardino County Child Protective Service workers in the Inland Empire region of California.

This study reports the results of an exploratory factor analysis conducted to analyze the reliability of a pilot instrument created to evaluate social workers’ attitudes toward LGBT youth in the foster care system. The sample (n = 60) included social workers, supervisors, and staff from the County of San Bernardino Children and Family Services. Data were collected from February 2011 to March 2011. A two factor solution yielded the best results; Chronbach’s alpha for factor one yielded a strong result for internal consistency reliability (α = .777) and for factor two yielded a less strong result (α = .628). Strategies are recommended to increase the reliability and evaluate the validity of the measure in future.

This study explores the attitudes of social workers in relation to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) adoptions. Race, gender, generation, position and prior LGBT training are factors that can positively or negatively impact social workers’ biases towards LGBT adoptions. Researchers contacted adoption agencies whom agreed to partake in the 26-question survey, including eight demographic questions and an 18 item scale. The current study used an adapted version of the Attitude Toward Gay Men and Lesbians as Adoptive Parent Scale (APS) (α = .95). There were 28 survey respondents, however two surveys were discontinued due to incomplete informed consents. A series of Mann-Whitney U tests were conducted to find if two independent, yet similar groups of people answered questions significantly different. Results show that men answered two questions significantly different than women participants who answered the same questions, and that administrative workers answered four questions differently than front-line service providers answered the same four questions. Limitations of this study include time; sample size; and an overrepresentation of women, heterosexuals and Caucasians. Further research should be done on this population, because they may directly impact the progression of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender adoptions.

African American communities have been subject to institutional and societal inequalities for much of our nation’s history. A review of the literature has shown that these families have unequal access to resources and opportunities, especially in the comparison to the rest of the population. These factors may contribute to African American children having higher rates of substantiated cases of abuse and neglect, as well as the amount of time that these children spend in the foster care system. A qualitative study was conducted in the form of focus groups. The study examined the African American community’s perspective of the child welfare system and the social workers they may have come in contact with in the scope of their possible child welfare experience. Common themes that emerged included a lack of understanding of both the system and services provided, a sense of mistrust between the community and government agencies, and the need for more resources specifically for the African American community. Proposed solutions to alleviate the disproportionality problems in child welfare included social workers teaming with families, mentorships between African Americans, and collaborations with other agencies.

This study explored Master of Social Work students’ attitudes towards transracial adoptions (TRA). The literature suggests that when children of color are transracially adopted, they are often deprived of the opportunity to learn and express their birth culture, and to develop a strong sense of self. The researchers decided to survey this population because MSW students are future foster and adoptive professionals. As such, they will have the opportunity to directly influence macro policies around TRA and adoptive families in micro practice. The researchers utilized a quantitative self-administered survey, with thirty-three questions to ascertain the attitudes of a diverse pool of MSW students at Cal State San Bernardino. Eighty-eight students completed the online survey. The researchers used descriptive and inferential statistics, including a t-test and one-way ANOVA to analyze the survey data. MSW students possess positive attitudes towards transracial adoption. Female respondents held significantly more positive attitudes towards transracial adoption than male respondents. Similarly, Black, White, and Latino/a participants held more positive attitudes towards TRA; however, these findings should be interpreted with caution due to the small number of Native American participants in our sample. We did not find significant differences in attitudes based on participants’ age, parental status, or life experiences related to diversity. Our findings are limited as our sample may not generalize to all MSW students or to social workers in general. The study suggests that MSW students, who are future social workers, view TRA as a positive option for children in need of families. Therefore, we suggest that schools of social work continue to provide and to expand their curriculum related to TRA so that future social workers are prepared to meet the needs of parents and children in TRA families.

Victims of child maltreatment are often subjected to both repeat interviews and physical exams over the course of an investigation. There are specialized centers across the country that serve this highly at-risk population with the goal of minimizing further traumatization of victims by repeat interviews and exams. These centers must maintain a high standard of practice and undergo outside scrutiny and evaluation, in order to best serve their clients and recognize possible shortcomings. An evaluative, pilot study was conducted at a Southern California Children’s Assessment Center (SCCAC). The purpose of this pilot study was to gain more knowledge about caregivers’ overall experiences at the center and the population’s willingness to participate in future studies. Twelve participants were identified through convenience sampling and completed a qualitative interview. Demographic information was input into SPSS and analyzed through descriptive statistics. In addition, interview response content was analyzed by the use of triangulation. Overall findings support existing literature which states that clients are generally satisfied with their experiences at the SCCAC. The significance of this study for social work will enhance the understanding of the need for additional policies to ensure proper training. This study will also benefit the field of child welfare by providing a small amount of insight into how different components of service factors may affect diverse individual’s experiences during a difficult time. This study will allow child welfare professionals to further customize their engagement approach and provide services that are considerate and effective for each individual.

The purpose of this study was to examine the beetles about substance abusing parents from California State University San Bernardino (CSUSB) NEW students. The biases that human device professionals hold toward substance abusers have the potential to negatively impact clients' health, well- being, and access to services. Understanding future social workers ' biases towards substance abusing parents is key as these future professionals are likely to serve families impacted by substance abuse in their future roles. This quantitative study used a self-administered, online survey to assess the beliefs of foundation and advanced-year MSW students from CSUSB. In general, the findings suggested that students believed substance abusing parents had the abilities to effectively address their substance abuse issues and parent their children. Foundation and advanced year students expressed considerable agreement with each other in this regard, with only a few exceptions. These findings are limited by a relatively small sample size and by unknown reliability and validity of the survey instrument. However, the findings suggest that MSW students, at least at this university, hold limited biases towards substance abusing parents. Further research should address whether and to what extent these biases change over time and with professional experience after graduation.

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of San Bernardino County’s Family Visitation Centers (FVC) and their effect on improving rates of reunification in families that use the visit centers, as opposed to those families who do not use the visit centers. The FVC were developed out of the Department Human Services Redesign to enhance the visitation experience for families, staff and others involved in the process. The FVC centers are a place to provide safe visits, in a non-sterile environment, for children to maintain the bonds with their parents that they have been removed from by child welfare while in a reunification process. The County of San Bernardino has invested approximately 1.9 million dollars annually into the FVC’s, and to date, there has not been a clear evaluation as to the effectiveness in reunifying families faster with usage of the FVC. The researchers used a descriptive statistical approach to examine the effect FVC’s has on the reunification process. The research methods used were quantitative in design and included comparative research, looking both at the results of clients use and non-use of the FVC’s. Data was collected February 2017. The size of our sample was ninety cases that used the FVC, and ninety families that did not use the center in the same regions, but were participating in visits and in reunification services, 180 families in total. To ensure that a random sample was used, a third-party person collected statistical information from Case Management System/Child Welfare System (CMS/CWS). The list was composed from preselected data included in the San Bernardino County Visitation Center Instrument. The variables used included families that were in the reunification process and having visits either at a CFS office or at the FVC, primary and secondary reason for removal, age of youngest child, age of parent, race/ethnicity, if a visit occurred and number of months in placement. Data was collected using every fifth family was selected, the researchers received a list, with only the above pertinent information for each of the families. The researchers did not need any Protected Identifying Information (PII) and no human subjects were used. All items related to the research was maintained in electronic form on password protected computers and was only calculated and read in a protected area. The hope of this research project was to find out if the money being invested in the FVC was working toward returning children in shorter time frames, than the traditional way of handling visits within the county at the CFS offices. Results from this study could change things dramatically within CFS. Positive outcomes could allow for more outside contracted agencies to be used to promote faster reunification, while lightening the duties of the social worker. Negative results could result in the FVC losing funding, the department would go back to supervising the visits within the offices, many social worker hours would be used supervising visits, the visit could be affected by the presence of the social worker. The outcomes could change business on a daily basis for the department or FVC in that, adjustments may need to be made, and provide a different standard of ideology of what visitation should be for families that are trying to work through their case plans to reunify with their children. This study found families who used visitation centers had longer placement episodes lengths than non-visitation center users. This outcome is contrary to our assumption, use of visitation centers help families reunify in less time