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Thesis (M.S.)--Boston University

U.S. Child Protective Services Agencies (CPSA) have had mixed success in achieving stable, permanent placements for foster care children. To address the adverse effects of unstable placements on foster care children's emotional well-being and physical development, the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 was enacted to better ensure permanency, safety, and well-being of children in foster care. Using Stone's policy paradox as the framework, the purpose of this qualitative document analysis was to explore whether policy constructs contributed to the success or failure of promoting permanency for foster care children. Data was used from 2 states, representing those most and least successful in terms of decreasing foster care populations during federal fiscal years 2011 to 2014. Data for this study consisted of publicly available documents, including statues, policies, and official publications. These data were analyzed using an inductive coding approach and then subjected to a content analysis procedure. Key findings indicated the states differed in 3 critical policy areas: incentives to achieve progress towards reunification; facts used to change behaviors among policy actors to achieve the goal of recruiting adoptive and foster care parents; power in terms of how authority was delegated to service providers. The findings of this research may enhance policymakers' and advocates' knowledge of policy issues critical to achieving permanency for children. It is recommended that future policy changes focus on the needs of the children and the alignment of statutes, policies, and publications so they promote adequate incentives, utilization of factual information, and consistent policy interpretation at the federal and local levels.

One important research direction that has emerged in Child Protective Services (CPS) is the potential of information technology (IT) to be used by CPS agencies in order to enhance organizational effectiveness by addressing the barriers that caseworkers face in integrating multiple stakeholders’ knowledge. Based on empirical findings with regard to numerous unsuccessful IT development initiatives, the present study strives to gain an in-depth understanding of the research question: How can CPS caseworkers be supported by their agency in the integration of knowledge resources, thereby contributing to organizational effectiveness? A literature review to answer this question revealed the following two major research gaps: the adoption of a technology-focused perspective of intervention and the use of direct research models to evaluate this kind of intervention. In order to bridge these research gaps, this study presented a knowledge-based and process-oriented mediation model, built around the concept of knowledge integration that involves related processes at the syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic levels. In this model, a process-oriented Knowledge Management System (KMS) stemming from a Socio-Technical System (STS) perspective was proposed as an alternative intervention model consisting of knowledge management intervention in three dimensions: techno-structural, socio-cultural, and inter-organizational practices. This mediation model partitions the effect of this KMS on outcome (organizational effectiveness) into two components: the direct effect and the indirect effect that is mediated by its output (a CPS caseworker’s knowledge integration ability). This research model was empirically tested using Structural Equation Modeling. This analysis used a sub-set of the 2008 Survey of Organizational Excellence (SOE) data set, which includes the perceptions of CPS caseworkers in the Texas DFPS about their work environment. Results indicate that each of the three dimensions of knowledge management practices enhanced a CPS caseworker’s knowledge integration ability. This ability was a critical factor in determining organizational effectiveness. The mediation effects of a caseworker’s knowledge integration ability were found to mediate the relationship between three dimensions of knowledge management practices and organizational effectiveness. Overall, this mediation model was more useful in explaining the complex relationships among the variables of interest than other direct models. / text

<p>  </p> <p>As the default state response to child maltreatment in the U.S., child welfare system (CWS) interventions are delivered to caregivers of 1.3 million children annually (USDHHS, 2021). In theory, CWS interventions aim to reduce risks for child maltreatment by providing services to parents; however, research and anecdotal evidence from stakeholders suggest that many families do not benefit from CWS intervention as intended (Russell et al., 2018). One important feature of CWS interventions is that they differ greatly between families – in ways both intentional and unintentional (Jonson-Reid et al., 2017). As such, exploring how differences in intervention delivery may explain outcomes is of value. For instance, the explanatory potential of parents’ experiences of interventions has been overlooked. The overarching goal of this dissertation was to expand the empirical evidence base related to how focusing on parents’ experiences and well-being during and after CWS interventions can help explain differences in outcomes as traditionally measured (i.e., chronic CWS involvement and ongoing child maltreatment). Paper 1 quantitatively explores levels and trends in parent well-being for three years following a CWS investigation, including how indicators of parent well-being relate to child welfare outcomes. Results suggest that only parents’ mental health remains a consistent predictor of child maltreatment risk after three years, and that no parent well-being indicator predicted CWS re-involvement. Paper 2 expands upon Paper 1 by exploring the role of parents’ experiences with CWS services and caseworkers in shaping trends in parent well-being and child welfare outcomes. Overall, results indicated that no indicators of parents’ experiences predicted odds of CWS re-reports, but that some aspects of parents’ experiences may predict ongoing maltreatment risk. Results also indicated that parents who received or were mandated to a greater number of services overall also reported changes over time in well-being related to mental health, IPV victimization, and drug use-related problems. Findings also suggested that parents from marginalized backgrounds may have different experiences with interventions. Paper 3 qualitatively explored parents’ experiences in a specialized form of CWS intervention (Family Treatment Court), with an emphasis on how parents experience and make sense of the many manifestations of state power during interventions. Together, these three studies offer modest implications for future research and practice related to promoting parent well-being and child safety in the context of the evolving CWS.</p>

Résumé : En protection de la jeunesse, les enfants ayant des comportements sexuels problématiques (CSP) suscitent l’incompréhension des intervenants et provoquent de l’inquiétude en raison des torts qu’ils peuvent causer. Prenant appui sur un modèle explicatif, cette étude visait à identifier les facteurs qui distinguent les enfants présentant des CSP des autres enfants pris en charge en protection de la jeunesse. Des analyses secondaires ont été réalisées à partir des données de l’Étude d’incidence québécoise de 2008 sur les situations évaluées en protection de la jeunesse. L’échantillon comprenait 1020 enfants ayant fait l’objet d’un signalement retenu et fondé. Les enfants avec CSP (n = 72) ont été comparés aux enfants sans CSP (n = 948) sur un ensemble de variables personnelles et familiales au moyen d’analyses univariées, puis multivariées. Le modèle final de régression logistique révèle que les enfants avec CSP sont plus susceptibles de manifester une variété de problèmes de fonctionnement, d’avoir fait l’objet d’un signalement fondé pour agression sexuelle et d’avoir un parent qui a vécu un placement dans l’enfance. À l’inverse, ils sont moins susceptibles d’avoir fait l’objet d’un signalement fondé pour mauvais traitements psychologiques. La discussion traite de l’implication des résultats pour l’intervention en contexte de protection. / Abstract : Sexual behavior problems (SBP) generate a lack of understanding from child protective services workers and is a source of concern as they can potentially harm children. Based upon an exploratory model, this study aimed to identify the factors differentiating children with SBP from other children cared for by protective services. Secondary analysis were realised with data obtained from the Étude d’incidence québécoise, with a sample of 1020 children aged from 2 to 12 years old and the subject of a substantiated report to the child protective services. Children with SBP (n = 72) were compared to children without SBP (n = 948) on several personal and familial variables using univariate, then multivariate analysis. The final model of the logistic regression reveals that children with SBP are more likely to show a variety of functioning problems, as well as more likely to be reported for sexual abuse and having a parent who has been the subject of a placement episode during his youth. Conversely, they are less likely to be reported for psychological maltreatment. The discussion covers the results implication for psychosocial intervention in a protective services context.

Submitted by Jorge Silva (jorgelmsilva@ufrrj.br) on 2016-10-19T17:14:40Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2015 - Leila da Silva Xavier.pdf: 2108439 bytes, checksum: bb16d5b419a89d9643f9c4ce3feef971 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-10-19T17:14:40Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2015 - Leila da Silva Xavier.pdf: 2108439 bytes, checksum: bb16d5b419a89d9643f9c4ce3feef971 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-08-25 / This study originates from the fact that 30.32 % of inmate population in Brazil has not concluded its primary education, 7.22 % are illiterate and two-thirds are 18-24 years old to verify if the relation between educational system and Child Protective Services have any impact in reducing the age bracket of inmate population, for evidences indicate that imprisoned youth has been through both education and Child Protective Services systems. Considering that coordinated action between the education system and Child Protective Services contributes to reducing the rate of 18-24 years old people among the Brazilian inmate population, the activities of Secretaria Municipal de Educa??o de Nova Igua?u (SEMED) and five of the city?s Child Protective Services are researched. The main goal is to find out if the relation between public schools in Nova Igua?u and Child Protective Services have any impact reducing the inmate population between ages 18-24. This is a basic search as well as a qualitative and an explanatory research, its main tool for collecting data is semi-structured interviews with people related to the research?s object. Primary and secondary sources are also used to this end. This research, developed in Nova Igua?u, indicated that a few elements were crucial to isolating institutions that are part of a safety net for children and teenagers. As city?s authorities interfered with Child Protective Services? structure, growing mistrust took place, making communication among education system and city councils even harder. Other data evidences the lack of records from the Secretaria Municipal de Educa??o on the amount of students taken to Child Protective Services during previous administrations. In 2013, the Child Protective Service of Vila de Cava pointed out to the Promotoria of 3? Vara da Inf?ncia e Juventude de Nova Igua?u the need to notify SEMED as a way to decrease the number of Fichas de Comunica??o de Aluno Infrequente (FICAI) as well as the number of children and teenagers involved in infractions. This diagnosis prompted the Promotoria to take action concerning SEMED and the city?s Child Protective Services to decrease the truancy rate, which revolves around 5%. The government?s failure to provide conditions to implement corrective measures as well as poor infrastructure and lack of training of Child Protective Services?s employees to deal with issues concerning schools takes part on the statistics from the Juizado da Inf?ncia e Juventude, which took 1446 cases from January 2014 to January 2015. / A pesquisa parte da constata??o de que 30,32% da popula??o carcer?ria no Brasil n?o completou o Ensino Fundamental, 7,22% s?o analfabetos e dois ter?os est?o na faixa et?ria entre 18 a 24 anos. Os dados apresentados foram extra?dos do censo de 2012 do Departamento Penitenci?rio Nacional (DEPEN) e serviram como refer?ncia para questionar se h? compassos e descompassos na rela??o estabelecida entre o sistema escolar e os Conselhos Tutelares e em que medida esses dados podem interferir na diminui??o da faixa et?ria da popula??o carcer?ria, uma vez que h? evid?ncias de que os jovens hoje encarcerados tiveram, em suas trajet?rias de vida, passagens tanto pelo sistema escolar, quanto pelos conselhos tutelares e/ou pela Vara da Inf?ncia e da Juventude. A hip?tese levantada por este trabalho sobre a exist?ncia da falta de sintonia entre a Escola e os Conselhos Tutelares surgiu de minha viv?ncia como professora da rede p?blica e das observa??es obtidas durante visitas a um familiar num pres?dio do Rio de Janeiro. Trata-se de uma pesquisa qualitativa, tendo como principal instrumento de investiga??o a coleta de dados por meio de entrevistas semiestruturadas com os sujeitos envolvidos no fen?meno investigado. Tamb?m foram utilizadas fontes bibliogr?ficas prim?rias e secund?rias. A pesquisa desenvolvida no munic?pio de Nova Igua?u demonstrou que alguns elementos foram determinantes para o isolamento das institui??es que comp?em a rede de prote??o a crian?as e adolescentes e que a interfer?ncia do poder local na estrutura dos Conselhos Tutelares da cidade provocou um crescente descr?dito e distanciamento destes com as redes de ensino, dificultando assim a comunica??o entre eles. Outro fato observado foi a inexist?ncia de registros na Secretaria Municipal de Educa??o sobre o quantitativo de alunos que s?o encaminhados para atendimento nos Conselhos Tutelares, desde gest?es anteriores at? o Governo atual. Em 2013, oConselho Tutelar de Vila de Cava tomou a iniciativa de apontar para a Promotoria da 3?Vara da inf?ncia e juventude de Nova Igua?u a necessidade de acionar a SEMED na tentativa de buscar medidas para reduzir o crescente n?mero de Fichas de Comunica??o de Aluno Infrequente (FICAI) e tamb?m a incid?ncia de crian?as e adolescente envolvidas em atos infracionais. O diagn?stico apresentado acrescido das estat?sticas do ?rg?o motivou a Promotoria a atuar de forma mais incisiva junto a SEMED e aos Conselhos Tutelares do Munic?pio no combate ? evas?o escolar que foi de 5% do total de alunos da rede em 2014. A neglig?ncia do Poder P?blico na oferta de condi??es materiais para implementa??o de medidas socioeducativas aliada ? falta de infraestrutura, ao despreparo de boa parte dos conselheiros para lidar com as quest?es da escola influenciou no registro de 1.446 casos de infra??o, entre janeiro de 2014 a janeiro de 2015, nas estat?sticas do juizado da inf?ncia e juventude.

Texas Child Protective Services has been struggling with keeping its workers. The turnover rate, which measures the frequency of workers quitting and entering the agency, has been extremely high since the 1980s. In 2012, CPS reported that about one-fourth of its skilled workers are leaving the agency. This puts extra burden on the remaining workers, eventually leading them to resign as well. To fix the turnover issue, the state of Texas initiated a major reform in CPS in 2006. Although the reform succeeded in improving the quality of work environment and other areas, it failed to bring down the turnover rate. To identify why the statewide reform had failed, former caseworkers share their experiences with the agency to reveal what causes the high turnover, the detrimental effects it has on children, and what should be done to reduce the rates. / text

abstract: In the United States, approximately 400,000 youth are in out-of-home care in the custody of child protection systems (CPS). They are incarcerated, but not as punishment for a crime. States place youth in CPS custody for many different reasons, centered around legal determinations of families’ failure to provide adequate care. Such youth are forcibly separated from their biological (“bio”) families and required to live in shelters, group homes, and foster households at the threat of arrest. Through the socio-legal concept of parens patriae, the government assumes responsibility for their safety and development. In other words, the state assumes the role of parents to children it places in CPS. Still, despite years of social work research, three fundamental questions remain about CPS for criminology. First, criminologists are beginning to recognize the overlap between criminology and CPS but lack a theoretical framework for analyzing that intersection. Second, the proper role of the state in youth development and the measurement of its relative success are of central importance to criminal justice, but at best loosely defined. Finally, this dissertation asks: how do entering CPS custody, growing up in state care, and (someday) exiting CPS shape the experiences and perceptions of CPS youth? Given the attenuated social processes associated with CPS, criminologists might expect youth to experience significant barriers to transitioning successfully to adulthood. At the same time, therapeutic assessment and treatment in CPS should ameliorate those barriers. This dissertation addresses that theoretical paradox in eight chapters. After an introductory overview, Chapter Two posits social control, social support, and agency over the life course as a theoretical framework for understanding the implications of growing up in CPS. Chapter Three details the phronetic and ethnographic approach of the study, designed to encounter the perspectives of youth themselves in their “natural” setting. Chapters Four through Seven present findings from interviews with participants in an arts-based therapy program for youth in CPS (n=33). Chapter Eight concludes the study with a discussion of the implications of this work for criminological research, juvenile justice policy, and youth who grow up in CPS. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Criminology and Criminal Justice 2018

Bakgrund I Sverige har de som i sitt yrke har kontakt med barn skyldigheten att anmäla till socialtjänsten om de misstänker att ett barn far illa. Det har dock visat sig att hälso- och sjukvårdspersonal är mindre benägna att anmäla jämfört med andra professioner. Syfte Att undersöka på vilka grunder sjuksköterskor och undersköterskor väljer att rapportera misstankar om att barn far illa till socialtjänsten – eller att inte göra det – samt om det föreligger några skillnader i det avseendet mellan personal med lång och kort yrkeserfarenhet. Metod En komparativ tvärsnittsstudie. Data samlades in genom enkäter med sjuk- och undersköterskor som arbetade inom barnsjukvård vid två svenska sjukhus. Resultat Totalt deltog 60 sjuksköterskor och undersköterskor. Knappt hälften av dessa (n=23, 38,3%) hade någon gång gjort en anmälan. Deltagarna ansåg det mest troligt att de skulle upptäcka och anmäla i samband med fysisk misshandel (n=55, 91,7%), men de flesta anmälningar som de gjort var relaterade till omsorgssvikt (n=42, 75%). Det fanns en gränssignifikant skillnad (p=0.079) i orsak till anmälan där vårdpersonal med lång erfarenhet (n=29, 48,4%) oftare anmält för psykisk misshandel/omsorgssvikt (n=15, 65,2%) jämfört med vårdpersonal med kort erfarenhet (n=31, 51,6%). Dessa hade anmält för psykisk misshandel/omsorgssvikt vid åtta (n=8, 34,8%) tillfällen. Slutsats Det finns ingen bevisskyldighet för den som gör en anmälan. Trots detta hade hälften av deltagarna vid något tillfälle misstänkt att ett barn farit illa men inte anmält det. Det fanns inga skillnader i antalet gjorda anmälningar i relation till yrkeserfarenhet; dock fanns det en tendens att erfaren vårdpersonal oftare anmälde p.g.a. orsaker som kan anses vara något svårare att upptäcka. / Background In Sweden, all professionals working with children are obliged to report any suspicions of child maltreatment to the child protective services. However, health care professionals are less likely to report child maltreatment than other professionals. Aim The aim was to investigate on what grounds nurses and assistant nurses report – or do not report – suspicions of child maltreatment to the child protective services, and whether there are differences in reporting depending on work experience. Method A comparative cross-sectional study. Data were collected using a survey among nurses and assistant nurses working in paediatric care at two Swedish hospitals. Results In total, 60 nurses and assistant nurses completed the survey. Close to half of them (n=23, 38.3%) had at least once reported a suspected case of child maltreatment. The participants considered it most likely that they would identify and report physical abuse (n=55, 91.7%), yet most of the actual reports made were related to some other type of neglect (n=42, 75%). A borderline significant difference (p=0.079) was found in the purpose of reporting, where those with long experience (n=29, 48,4%) reported more often for psychiatric abuse/neglect (n=15, 65,2%) compared to those with short experience (n=31, 51,6%), who had reported for psychiatric abuse/neglect on eight (n=8, 34,8%) occasions. Conclusion No proofs are required of the one who makes a report, yet half of the participants had on some occasion had suspicions of child maltreatment without reporting this. There were no differences in the number of reports made in relation to professional experience, but there was a tendency that experienced nurses and assistant nurses had reported more often due to reasons that can be considered more difficult to identify.