abstract: In response to the need to accurately define group home types, this dissertation focused on providing a clear and distinct definition of the types of group home care, an articulated understanding of the role of group home staff, and an awareness of the impact individuals working in group homes have on the lives of the youth they serve and their influence on the group home environment. Using the qualitative research method Grounded Theory, ten in-depth interviews were conducted with staff who both currently work in group homes, and staff who have left the group home environment. The research question was “What is the influence of group home staff on the ecological environment of the group home?” Ecological framework was the overarching theory, and participants were asked questions regarding their relationships with youth and their impressions of staff impact within the group home. Data analysis influenced by Grounded Theory produced 5 themes: Walking into the unknown, in loco parentis with two sub- themes consanguinity and group home as a home, engagement with two sub- themes of staff/staff engagement and staff/youth engagement, staff impact on youth, with three sub-themes, managing transitions, loss and boundaries, and the final theme of supervisor support. The results indicate that staff do have an impact on the group home, both positive and negative. Also, the group home operates as an intricate ecological environment containing relationships and interactions that influence multiple internal systems. Currently there is a gap in the literature as it relates to clarity within definition of care settings. This dissertation provided a clear definition for the chosen research environment, non-locked, non-therapeutic group home. The results of this dissertation have implications for group home agencies and more broadly child welfare agencies and child welfare social workers in regard to hiring practices, training and supervision. This dissertation provides a springboard for a future research on the ecological group home environment and the people who work there and are responsible for the care of vulnerable children. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Social Work 2018

The purpose of this study was to examine child welfare social workers’ attitudes, awareness, and understanding of the needs of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning (LGBTQ) youth while in out-of-home placement. This study used quantitative data collection methods of social workers in three Southern California counties regarding these issues, and 27 such workers participated. It was found that only half of the child welfare social workers had received training on issues involving LGBTQ foster youth, but that the majority of those workers who received training were interested in learning more about the topic. It was also found that many workers had family, fiends, or colleagues who belonged to the LGBTQ community, and that this personal connection reduced the endorsement of heterocentristic views. Political orientation was also influential with liberal social workers being less inclined to endorse the idea that the world’s inhabitants should be heterosexual. The results found that many social workers either had none or were not aware of the presence of any LGBTQ foster youth on their caseloads. This was explained with a combination of the worker not enquiring or feeling that it was not appropriate to do so. Of those who indicated that they were aware of such youth, all stated that the youth shared their identities after being asked about it or after some time had passed in working with them. Also, those who acknowledged the presence of LGBTQ youth were more cognizant of identity development issues of LGBTQ youth, were more liberal politically, and had friends in the LGBTQ community. The limitations, recommendations for social work practice, policy, and suggested further research is also discussed.

Adoption is a common occurrence within the field of social work, yet adoptees and their adoptive parents grapple with a multitude of challenges unique to this population. The needs of these children and families are continually scrutinized by social service professionals prior to adoption, but less is known of the needs and services available to this population after adoption is finalized. This study addressed the question: Does adoptive families’ use of post-adoptive resources increase positive adoption outcomes? Ten adoptive parents participated in semi-structured interviews as part of this study. Most participants felt they had access to adequate services, and struggled with issues common to all types of parenthood, adoptive or biological. Two issues which parents identified as needs, and which provide direction for social work practice, were: normalizing their families’ experiences; and navigating conversations regarding adoption and birth families with their children.

Child welfare agencies are responsible for the overall care and custody of children removed from their caregivers due to substantiated child abuse allegations. After the children are removed it is standard department procedure to offer court mandated reunification services. The only exception of this is when parent’s rights are terminated. Both the parents and children are ordered services based on the needs of the family. These services include but are not limited to parenting classes, drug treatment, and therapeutic services. The purpose of this study is to examine whether families in different geographic areas, who are referred to different therapeutic providers, experience different reunification rates. The agency that provided the data for this study presumed that families in more affluent zip codes are more likely to be served by licensed therapists, while families in less affluent zip codes are more likely to be served by interns or unlicensed professionals, and that this difference in providers would lead to greater reunification rates in the more affluent zip code. The study used data collected from client case files at a local child welfare agency. This data included clients from two distinct zip codes - one more affluent and one less affluent - as well as basic demographic and outcome information on the client’s case. After data was gathered a chi square test was utilized to compare the outcomes for clients in the two zip codes. It was initially presumed that families in lower socioeconomic areas were referred to non-licensed therapeutic providers such as interns and this may have impacted their reunification. However, the analysis revealed that families in the less affluent area were more likely to reunify than families in the more affluent area. These results were statistically significant and support the first part of the agency’s hypothesis, that families in different zip codes experience different reunification rates. However, these findings do not support the agency’s hypothesis that families in more affluent zip codes have higher reunification rates. Rather this study found the opposite: that families in the less affluent zip code had higher reunification rates. Implications for social work practice and research are discussed.

Abstract not available

Minority children are involved in the child welfare system at rates disproportionate to their numbers in the overall population. Prior research argues that risk assessments conducted by child welfare agencies may be racially biased, and thus contribute to disproportionality. This study seeks to explore the effect of different risk assessment models on racial disproportionality. This is done by examining the relationship between race/ethnicity and various child welfare outcomes in three states that utilize the consensus-based model and three states that utilize the actuarial model of risk assessment. Results were similar for both groups of states, suggesting that one model is not more biased than the other. The results also indicate that racial/ethnic groups enter the child welfare system at different rates. However, groups remained involved in subsequent outcomes at consistent percentages. Finally, the results suggest differential treatment among the most restrictive child welfare outcomes. / McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts / Graduate Center for Social and Public Policy / MA / Thesis

These two mixed method studies are among the first to focus on resilience among Canadian Aboriginal (i.e., First Nations, Métis, and Inuit) youth living in out-of-home care. The first study was quantitative and consisted of cross-sectional and longitudinal components. For the cross-sectional investigation, the participants consisted of 510 First Nations (237 females, 273 males aged 10-16 years), 39 Métis (15 females, 24 males aged 10-16 years), and 10 Inuit young people (2 females, 8 males aged 10-16 years) who were drawn from an ongoing study of young people in out-of-home care in Ontario collected during 2007-2008. The second Canadian adaptation of the Assessment and Action Record (AAR-C2-2006; Flynn, Ghazal, & Legault, 2006) from the ongoing Ontario Looking After Children (OnLAC) project was used to collect data. The criterion variables were the young person’s self-esteem, score on a suicidality index, educational performance, pro-social behaviour, and positive emotional and behavioural development. The predictor variables included the young person’s gender, ethnicity, age, behavioural difficulties, cognitive impairments, attainment of LAC goals, and number of developmental assets. The longitudinal investigation used the same design as study one, but examined the OnLAC data for year eight (2008-2009) in following 260 young people from the sample in study one. The second study was qualitative and involved interviewing 21 First Nations children and adolescents residing in out-of-home care in northern Ontario to obtain their views about resilience and the factors related to the presence or absence of resilient outcomes. The results provided some support for the hypothesis, in that a greater number of developmental assets were related to more positive outcomes on four of the five criterion variables. The results of the focus groups and in-depth interviews suggested that family members, members of the community (coaches), teachers, and child welfare workers, all play important roles in fostering the youths’ success.

Objective: While child welfare policy and legislation in Canada and other regions has increasingly defined children who are exposed to intimate partner violence (IPV) as maltreated, little is known about the response of the child welfare system to children exposed to IPV. This dissertation seeks to determine the response of child protection services to reports about IPV; the outcomes of child protection investigations referred for children exposed to IPV; and what factors predict decisions made by child protection workers (e.g., court involvement, child welfare placement, closing the case, substantiation, and making a referral to other supportive services) for investigations involving children exposed to IPV. Methods: This study is based on a secondary analysis of data collected in the 2003 Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (CIS-2003). Bivariate analyses and multiple multinomial regression were conducted to study the substantiation of maltreatment, and logistic regression was conducted to predict child protection workers’ decisions to keep the case open, make a child welfare placement, take the family to court, and make a referral for investigations involving children’s exposure to IPV. Results: Seventy-eight percent of the investigations involving only IPV were substantiated. The multinomial regression could not accurately classify the suspected and unfounded cases. Substantiated investigations involving co-occurring IPV were three times more likely to stay open for ongoing child protection services compared to IPV only cases (adjusted odds ratio = 2.93, p < .001). Child protection service outcomes for substantiated investigations involving co-occurring IPV were ten times more likely (adjusted odds ratio = 10.61, p < .001) to involve a child welfare placement compared to IPV only cases. The factors driving child protection worker decisions were primarily the co-occurrence of maltreatment, younger children, and emotional harm. Conclusions: Due to the expansion in what constitutes a child in need of protection, there has been an overwhelming increase in the number of referrals about children being exposed to IPV in Canada. Future analyses should explore whether policies that direct IPV cases to child welfare services is both an effective way of protecting children and a reasonable use of limited child welfare resources.

This exploratory grounded theory study is a comparative analysis of kinship and foster care in the province of Ontario. This study sought the perspective of three constituent groups—caregivers (N=22), workers (N=14) and youth (N=9)—from both kinship and foster care constituent populations. The total number of participants was 45. This is one of the first comprehensive qualitative studies in the province of Ontario since the inception of the kinship model of practice implemented by the child welfare system in 2006. The study resonates with important practice, policy and research implications for Ontario and beyond. Recruitment for the study was generated through various child welfare organizations and a kin grandparents support network. Findings from each of the three groups include the following: (1) specialized kin workers recognize the complexities and unique needs of kinship placements; (2) foster parents and kin caregivers have very different needs related to training, financial remuneration and support; and (3) youth experience feelings of loneliness and frustration when moving to different placements, but also acknowledge the importance of relationships, particularly to their assigned worker. The analysis of these three group converges to a very simple but poignant conclusion: kinship programs are unique and require a level of intervention that is separate and discrete from the current foster care paradigm.

Objective: While child welfare policy and legislation in Canada and other regions has increasingly defined children who are exposed to intimate partner violence (IPV) as maltreated, little is known about the response of the child welfare system to children exposed to IPV. This dissertation seeks to determine the response of child protection services to reports about IPV; the outcomes of child protection investigations referred for children exposed to IPV; and what factors predict decisions made by child protection workers (e.g., court involvement, child welfare placement, closing the case, substantiation, and making a referral to other supportive services) for investigations involving children exposed to IPV. Methods: This study is based on a secondary analysis of data collected in the 2003 Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (CIS-2003). Bivariate analyses and multiple multinomial regression were conducted to study the substantiation of maltreatment, and logistic regression was conducted to predict child protection workers’ decisions to keep the case open, make a child welfare placement, take the family to court, and make a referral for investigations involving children’s exposure to IPV. Results: Seventy-eight percent of the investigations involving only IPV were substantiated. The multinomial regression could not accurately classify the suspected and unfounded cases. Substantiated investigations involving co-occurring IPV were three times more likely to stay open for ongoing child protection services compared to IPV only cases (adjusted odds ratio = 2.93, p < .001). Child protection service outcomes for substantiated investigations involving co-occurring IPV were ten times more likely (adjusted odds ratio = 10.61, p < .001) to involve a child welfare placement compared to IPV only cases. The factors driving child protection worker decisions were primarily the co-occurrence of maltreatment, younger children, and emotional harm. Conclusions: Due to the expansion in what constitutes a child in need of protection, there has been an overwhelming increase in the number of referrals about children being exposed to IPV in Canada. Future analyses should explore whether policies that direct IPV cases to child welfare services is both an effective way of protecting children and a reasonable use of limited child welfare resources.