“CPS is not a housing agency”; Housing is a CPS problem: Towards a definition and typology of housing problems in child welfare cases

Shdaimah, Corey S.

doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2008.07.013

Cited by 44 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…Moreover, the infrequent use of active referral strategies, which remained low in absolute terms although the prevalence of these strategies increased to 26 percent when need for housing assistance was institutionally registered through formal service referrals and 31 percent when embedded in case plans, suggests that frontline efforts to link caregivers with needed housing services are principally informational. Although individual demand for housing supports is apparent across studies, the level of organizational commitment and resources public child welfare systems have to secure housing supports is called into question by such non-tailored and impersonal caseworker referral strategies (Shdaimah 2009a, 2009b). …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the case of housing assistance, caseworkers may employ different referral strategies depending on factors particular to each case, such as specific allegations of child maltreatment and the presence of housing-related needs identified during the investigation process, the availability of and caregivers’ eligibility for housing services, and the extent to which housing assistance is required by court officials as a precondition for case resolution or noted as a factor requiring immediate redress (Shdaimah 2009a, 2009b). Caseworkers’ service linkage efforts may also differ by caseworker characteristics and, in particular, by whether caseworkers and primary caregivers share key cultural attributes.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Under What Conditions Does Caseworker-Caregiver Racial/Ethnic Similarity Matter for Housing Service Provision? An Application of Representative Bureaucracy Theory

McBeath

Chuang

Bunger

et al. 2014

Social Service Review

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In this article, we examine child welfare caseworkers’ housing-related service strategies when they serve culturally similar versus culturally dissimilar clients. Testing hypotheses drawn from representative bureaucracy theory and using data from the second cohort of the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being, we find that when non-Caucasian caseworkers share the same racial/ethnic background as caregivers, caseworkers use more active strategies to connect caregivers to needed housing services. The relationship between racial/ethnic matching and frontline workers’ repertoire of service strategies is most pronounced when the need for housing has been registered formally via referrals and case plans and thus legitimated institutionally. These results reinforce basic tenets of representative bureaucracy theory and provide evidence of the benefits of racial and ethnic diversity in the human service workforce. Our findings also highlight the need for research identifying institutional and frontline organizational factors that enhance the quality of service provision.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Under What Conditions Does Caseworker-Caregiver Racial/Ethnic Similarity Matter for Housing Service Provision? An Application of Representative Bureaucracy Theory

McBeath

Chuang

Bunger

et al. 2014

Social Service Review

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“…Conversely, CPS involvement can lead to residential instability and material hardship. After interviewing judges, lawyers, and other child welfare stakeholders, Shdaimah (2009) noted that family compliance with CPS service plans sometimes led directly to loss of housing and income.…”

Section: Homelessness and Cps Involvementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intersections of family homelessness, CPS involvement, and race in Alameda County, California

Rodriguez

Shinn

2016

Child Abuse & Neglect

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The homelessness and child protective services (CPS) systems are closely linked. This study examines the patterns and sequence of families’ involvement with homeless shelters and CPS, as well as whether involvement in each system predicts involvement in the other using linked administrative records for 258 families recruited in emergency shelters in Alameda County, California. More than half of families were reported to CPS at some point, but less than one fifth ever had a report substantiated. Reports that were uninvestigated or unfounded increased in the months leading up to shelter entry and spiked immediately afterward, but substantiations and child removals increased only later. Shelter use before study entry was associated with CPS referrals and investigations after study entry, although not with substantiated cases or child removals. However, CPS involvement before study entry was not associated with returns to shelter after study entry. These results imply that an unsubstantiated report of neglect or abuse may serve as an early warning signal for homelessness and that preventive strategies aiming to affect both homeless and child protective systems should focus on reducing homelessness. CPS workers should evaluate families’ housing needs and attempt to link families to appropriate resources. Black families were disproportionately referred to CPS after shelter entry after controlling for other family characteristics, but race was not associated with substantiations of neglect or abuse or with child removals. Findings lend modest support to human decision-making and institutional explanations of racial disproportionalities in CPS involvement, especially for reporters outside of the CPS system.

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“…Although not recognized by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing Act, 2009), families living doubled-up with family or friends are also experiencing homelessness. Even though these families might share similar needs as families living in emergency housing, they are likely to face greater challenges accessing housing and other social service systems (Shdaimah, 2009b). This issue is particularly salient because the number of families seeking emergency housing has increased in recent years (Simonsen-Meehan & Scholl, 2012).…”

Section: Practice and Policy Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In Philadelphia, need for emergency housing increased by more than 300% in the last year, resulting in large numbers of families being turned away (Perlman & Willard, 2012). To address the needs of families with unstable housing, Shdaimah (2009b) pointed to the importance of broadening the definition of housing instability to include families who are living doubled up with friends or relatives. In addition, she underscored the importance of child welfare workers being knowledgeable of how housing influences child safety, and what housing options and services are available to low-income families (Shdaimah, 2009b).…”

Section: Practice and Policy Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predicting Risk of Placement: A Population-based Study of Out-of-Home Placement, Child Maltreatment, and Emergency Housing

Perlman

Fantuzzo

2013

Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research

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Guided by a developmental epidemiology framework, this study examines the extent to which first experiences of child maltreatment and use of emergency housing are predictive of out-of-home placement in early childhood. The study sample is a population of 12,045 second-grade students in a large, urban school district. Information on birth, maternal, and social risk factors was obtained and linked through an integrated data system. Life table analyses were used to develop a descriptive picture of the timing of first out-of-home placement experience. Findings demonstrate that children are most likely to experience a first out-of-home placement during their first year of life. Cox regression analyses are used to examine the extent to which variables for risk factors (specifically child maltreatment and use of emergency housing) predict the first out-of-home placement experience while controlling for demographics, birth risks, and maternal risks. Results demonstrate that children with histories of child maltreatment or emergency housing use are more likely than peers without such histories to be placed in out-of-home care. Further, children with histories of both child maltreatment and emergency housing use are less likely to be placed in outof-home care than children who have experienced either child maltreatment or emergency housing use (but not both). Findings point to the importance of interagency collaboration and a focus on young children for addressing the needs of vulnerable young children and their families.

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“CPS is not a housing agency”; Housing is a CPS problem: Towards a definition and typology of housing problems in child welfare cases

Cited by 44 publications

References 10 publications

Under What Conditions Does Caseworker-Caregiver Racial/Ethnic Similarity Matter for Housing Service Provision? An Application of Representative Bureaucracy Theory

Under What Conditions Does Caseworker-Caregiver Racial/Ethnic Similarity Matter for Housing Service Provision? An Application of Representative Bureaucracy Theory

Intersections of family homelessness, CPS involvement, and race in Alameda County, California

Predicting Risk of Placement: A Population-based Study of Out-of-Home Placement, Child Maltreatment, and Emergency Housing

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