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This dissertation draws on semi-structured interviews with 20 former youth in care to examine their experiences in Ontario’s child welfare system and the long-term impacts of those experiences. Using a symbolic interactionist approach, the study analyzes the biographical disruption that experiences in the care system represented for participants and how this affected their life trajectories. The findings are organized and discussed around three themes: a) participants’ involvement with the system – how they experienced entering, being in, and exiting the system; b) the stigma participants experienced while in care, and their efforts to neutralize or manage the stigma; and c) the impact that their care experiences had on participants as adults. The data reveal a range of challenges that participants encountered while they were in care, including loneliness, isolation, neglect, general mistreatment and in some cases, abuse. Particularly damaging were the stigma and assaults on “self” that participants experienced as a result of their care status. The data also reveal that in one way or another, these early experiences followed participants into their adult lives, leaving them with a myriad of issues and concerns. The dissertation ends with a discussion of the substantive and theoretical contributions of the findings, as well as a section that addresses the policy implications of the research. / Dissertation / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / This dissertation draws on semi-structured interviews with 20 former youth in care to examine their experiences in the care system and the long-term impacts of those experiences. Participants described their time in care, including the stereotyping, stigma, abuse, and general mistreatment they encountered, as well as the loneliness and isolation they experienced. Leaving the care system also came with a distinct set of challenges that often persisted into their adult lives. The analysis focuses on impacts relating to identity, self-perception, and material circumstances for those who pass through Ontario’s child welfare system.

It has been said that children are the nation's most valuable asset, since the future of the nation depends on their inborn possibilities and Share and the development of these possibilities. From an economic standpoint, the bringing up of a child is an investment, in fact, a very profitable investment, not so much for the immediate family as for the community as a whole.

Child abuse and neglect in the United States resulted in 676,569 reports in 2011 (U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, 2012). Workers in this field struggle with low pay, high caseloads, inadequate training and supervision, and risk of violence, all of which contribute to worker burnout and poor worker retention rates. Worker self- efficacy is predictive of worker retention, job performance, and persistence in this difficult field. This paper reports the development of a new measure of self-efficacy from a sample of 395 child welfare workers. Factor analysis revealed two domains of self- efficacy, direct practice and indirect practice, which can be modestly predicted by worker characteristics upon hire and the training program the workers attend. Worker self- efficacy can be used to identify vulnerable workers who may be especially in need of strong supervisory support as well as understand who to target for recruitment. A review of the literature of self-efficacy in child welfare workers is included.

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Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / It is not a new phenomenon that there is a high turnover rate among social workers. In particular, child welfare has shown the highest rates of staff turnover. To address the issue, turnover and retention of child welfare workers have been studied for decades. The history of research produced a long list of determinants for child welfare worker turnover, more than 20 factors, and showed conflicting findings with the same variables. Moreover, the long list of factors for workers’ decisions to leave has poorly contributed to organizational practices for retaining child welfare workers. Therefore, this study aims to examine organizational factors, particularly leadership, for child welfare worker turnover intention, in order to help child welfare agencies to invent a practice model to prevent qualified worker’s turnover. To do so, it is important to examine the effect of organizational commitment on employees’ turnover intention. Therefore, following is the primary research question: Does the use of transformational leadership style in social work organizations explain child welfare worker turnover intention? A cross-sectional survey research was employed among workers in public child welfare agencies in a Midwest state, United States (N=214). Five models were examined in terms of the direct and indirect effects of transformational leadership on turnover intention of child welfare workers using STATA ver. 15. The study finding showed that transformational leadership styles of local office directors had a direct and negative effect on child welfare workers’ turnover intention. As a result, this study recommends that child welfare provide local office directors with leadership training to reduce preventable turnover of child welfare workers. However, the findings should be cautiously interpreted due to the sampling strategy used in this study.

Within the journey of self-determination, Indigenous Peoples are creating various systems that reflect their ways of knowing and being. Mi’kmaq Family & Children Services is such an agency, however, it is mandated to use provincial legislation, guidelines and policies that are deeply rooted in western ways of knowing. This thesis explores how to assess and mitigate risk from a Mi’kmaq perspective. Mi’kmaq social workers, who have experience assessing risk and developing plans to mitigate it, were interviewed regarding their perspectives on what needs to be considered when creating a model of assessment for Mi’kmaq families. Storytelling methodology was used for interviewees to share broadly what they felt as necessary aspects to incorporate into the assessment and mitigation processes. As the researcher I analyzed the interviews for themes and ideologies that would be necessary to consider when assessing risk and creating tools that assist with this process. Four open ended questions were provided to interviewees as a guideline for this exploration. They are: What do you believe the concerns, challenges and/or strengths of the current risk assessment model are when you are assessing the risk of Mi’kmaq children and youth? From your knowledge of Mi’kmaq ways of knowing and being what do you think a Mi’kmaq risk assessment would/could/should look like? Is risk assessment the right term for this work, or are there other words that best describe the work that we do from your knowledge of Mi’kmaq ways of knowing and being? What are the opportunities a Mi’kmaq risk assessment could offer Mi’kmaq communities? Due to Covid 19 restrictions the interviews had to occur by phone. They averaged one hour in duration. Interviewees agreed to be recorded, and following the interviews I transcribed the interviews. The transcription was given to each participant to review, edit and revise. The transcription was then formatted into a narrative format and each participant was given a name from the Seven Directions, with a pronoun being used to maintain anonymity. This narrative was given to each interviewee to review, edit and revise.
 The research found the following themes: ongoing cultural competence training is needed; the effects of residential school and other assimilation/oppressive tactics, not only affected Mi’kmaq lives in the past but continues to affect them currently; due to this, trauma informed and strength based practice, that is collaborative, is essential. Interviewees stressed the importance of using tools, such as risk assessments, that are more reflective of, and uphold a collaborative process, which holds up Indigenous epistemology, ontology, and axiology. This includes practices such as, the Medicine Wheel, Seven Sacred Teachings, reciprocity, reflection, circular thinking, use of Medicines and various Spiritual practices. / Graduate

Children in the child welfare system face a multitude of challenges following maltreatment. These children frequently go on to report poor outcomes in many facets of their life, including education. It is thought that children who are removed from their home following maltreatment and placed in out-of-home placement (OHP), experience even more challenges due to their removal from their home and environment. The literature surrounding maltreated children's educational outcomes suggest that these children struggle in school when compared to children who have not experienced maltreatment. However, literature surrounding the educational outcomes of maltreated children who experience OHP, versus maltreated children who do not experience OHP, tend to collectively present with mixed results. The purpose of this study was to isolate the effect of OHP on the educational outcome of, school engagement, to get a clearer picture of how OHP affects the educational outcomes of maltreated children. This study utilized data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-being (NSCAW II) with a total sample of 1,490 children. Propensity score matching was employed to isolate the effect of OHP on school engagement. The results indicate that there is no statistically significant difference in the school engagement of maltreated children who experience OHP, when compared to the school engagement on maltreated children who remain in-home. Direction for future research, and clinical implications are addressed. / Master of Science / Children who experience any form of abuse (physical, sexual, neglect, and other), tend to experience a number of challenges in many parts of their life following the abuse. It is thought that children who are removed from their home following abuse and placed in out-of-home placement (OHP), experience even more challenges due to their removal from their home, family, and school. OHP is when the child is removed from the home and placed with a temporary caregiver in a: family or non-family foster home, group home, residential care, etc. When looking at the challenges that these abused children face, it is common for these children to experience challenges with school and their academics. The purpose of this research study was too narrow in on how OHP affects the child’s ability to do well in school, specifically how it affects the child’s school engagement. School engagement is best described as the way the child interacts and responds to school, including their attitudes and thoughts about school. The results indicate that there is no significant difference in the school engagement of children who experience abuse and OHP, when compared to the school engagement of children who experience abuse and remain in their original home. The results of this research study suggest that it is less about OHP, and more about abuse, that makes it difficult for abused children to have positive school engagement.

In the 2021-2022 fiscal year, the monthly average number of children and youth in care in Ontario was 8,700 (OACAS, 2022ₑ). Most of these young people have histories of developmental trauma and require safety, consistency, and predictability in order to heal. As such, placement stability is a key goal within child welfare. However, placement disruptions are common and often result in widespread negative outcomes for young people in care. Within the context of the many supports that must be offered to youths and resource parents, one area of intervention includes parenting support for resource parents. The overall objective of this two-study dissertation was to assess youth and caregiver associations with the number of youth placement changes and to address some of these factors by evaluating an in-service trauma-informed parenting program. For Study 1, hierarchical regression analyses examined youth and resource parent variables associated with the number of placement changes among 1,624 Ontario youths aged 10-17 years. Study 1 utilized data from 2017 previously collected as part of the Ontario Looking After Children project, which is an initiative designed to improve developmental outcomes for young people in care in Ontario. For demographic variables, parent-model placements (i.e., foster, adoptive, kinship homes) were associated with fewer changes than residential placements. Also, younger age when first placed in care, older current youth age, and a higher number of maltreatment types experienced by the youth were associated with a greater number of placement changes. For youth variables, greater conduct problems, peer problems, and prosocial behaviour, as well as fewer internal developmental assets, were associated with greater placement changes. For caregiver variables, lower placement satisfaction was associated with a greater number of placement changes. These findings highlight the importance of considering both youth and caregiver factors that are associated with placement changes and as such, provides insight into possible areas of intervention to increase placement stability for youths in out-of-home care. Building on these results, Study 2 involved conducting a preliminary evaluation of the Resource Parent Curriculum (RPC), which is an in-service, group-based parenting program developed by the National Child Traumatic Stress Network. This 8-module program was delivered virtually to resource parents in Ontario on six occasions during 2020-2021, with a total of 43 research participants. Youth and caregiver outcomes were examined by way of a quasi-experimental design that included 22 resource parents in the experimental group and 21 in the waitlist control and involved baseline, post-program, and 2-month follow-up assessments. In terms of resource parents' reactions, quantitative and qualitative results suggested that resource parents were highly satisfied with the program's content and delivery. For learning outcomes, RPC resulted in improvements in resource parents' knowledge and beliefs in trauma-informed parenting. While not statistically significant, post-hoc exploratory analyses revealed some potential small effects for improvements in resource parents' tolerance of challenging youth behaviours and in parenting self-efficacy. For behavioural outcomes among resource parents, several potential effects (not statistically significant) were noted with small to medium effect sizes regarding possible improvements in resource parents’ attachment relationship with their youth, increased social supports, improved family functioning, and reduced parenting distress. Study 2 was novel in being the first to evaluate RPC using a quasi-experimental design within a Canadian context and through virtual delivery. Findings highlighted both the benefits of the program as well as resource parents' ongoing training needs and required supports to improve youth well-being and placement stability.