How Can Data Drive Policy and Practice in Child Welfare? Making the Link in Canada

Fallon, Barbara; Filippelli, Joanne; Black, Tara; Trocmé, Nico; Esposito, Thomas J.

doi:10.3390/ijerph14101223

Cited by 28 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…The ability to link administrative hospital and child welfare data to examine trends would provide valuable insights into services children receive. However, the infrastructure does not exist in Ontario to allow for these linkages to be made 28. It is also important to understand the experiences of hospital personnel in reporting to child protection authorities in Ontario.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trends in investigations of abuse or neglect referred by hospital personnel in Ontario

Fallon¹,

Filippelli²,

Joh-Carnella³

et al. 2019

bmjpo

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BackgroundThere is a dearth of literature surrounding mandated reporters to child welfare services in the Canadian context. This paper examines 20 years of reporting patterns from hospitals, which represent 5% of all referrals to child welfare services in Ontario.MethodsThe Ontario Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (OIS) is a representative study that has taken place every 5 years since 1993. The OIS is a multistage cluster sample design, intended to produce an estimate of reported child abuse and neglect in the year the study takes place.ResultsThere have been significant changes in referral patterns over time. Hospital referrals in 2013 are more likely to involve a concern of neglect, risk of maltreatment or exposure to intimate partner violence. In 1993, children were more likely to be referred from a hospital for a concern of physical abuse. Between 1993 and 1998, there was a significant drop in the number of sexual abuse investigations referred from a hospital. Hospitals have low rates of substantiation across all of the OIS cycles.ConclusionThis is the first study to examine hospital-based referral patterns in Canada. The relatively low percentage of hospital referrals across the cycles of the OIS is consistent with the extant literature. The findings warrant further discussion and research. This study is foundational for future research that can assist in identifying and developing responses across sectors that meet the complex needs of vulnerable families and that ultimately promote children’s safety and well-being.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trends in investigations of abuse or neglect referred by hospital personnel in Ontario

Fallon¹,

Filippelli²,

Joh-Carnella³

et al. 2019

bmjpo

Self Cite

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“…First, the phenomenon of "big data" in HSOs has potential for informing management practice, policy development, and implementation (Fallon, Fillipelli, Black, Trocme, & Esposito, 2017). HSOs are frequently required by policymakers and funders to gather information from service users, frontline workers, and managers.…”

Section: Advancing Human Service Organizational and Management Sciencementioning

confidence: 99%

Building Knowledge to Support Human Service Organizational and Management Practice: An Agenda to Address the Research-to-Practice Gap

McBeath¹,

Mosley²,

Hopkins³

et al. 2019

Social Work Research

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Leaders of human service organizations (HSOs) face significant pressures from policymakers and funders to justify practices and ensure successful outcomes, an issue that has implications for social work practitioners and evidence-informed management practice. Although empirical research has advanced understanding of the factors that improve human service effectiveness and organizational improvement, considerable research-to-practice gaps exist and the use and translation of knowledge into regular management practice remain limited. This article concerns how social work research can link human service organizational and management research to practice more robustly. Authors describe challenges that affect the ability of managers in HSOs to use research to inform practice. The analysis of these challenges supports a research capacity-building agenda focusing on (a) the identification and application of new methods of organization and management science, (b) the fostering of closer connections between researchers and practitioners, and (c) the provision of institutional and organizational resources for applied human services research. This macro-level agenda is designed to enhance practice-based research among schools of social work and leading HSOs, and also strengthen researcher-practitioner linkages, with the goal of promoting the advancement and utilization of research evidence in HSOs.

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“…30 Despite a decade of significant policy changes informed by Canadian incidence studies, surprisingly little is known about child welfare services provided to children and their impact on children's service outcomes and developmental trajectories. [31][32][33] These significant gaps in knowledge act as barriers to informed and responsive decision-making at both practice and policy levels. 31,32 The integration of evidence-based approaches is particularly challenging for the field given the complexity of the work, the lack of consensus and contradictions on the objectives of services, and the operationalization of child welfare's dual mandate of safety and well-being.…”

Section: Background and Ontario Child Welfare Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[31][32][33] These significant gaps in knowledge act as barriers to informed and responsive decision-making at both practice and policy levels. 31,32 The integration of evidence-based approaches is particularly challenging for the field given the complexity of the work, the lack of consensus and contradictions on the objectives of services, and the operationalization of child welfare's dual mandate of safety and well-being. 33…”

Section: Background and Ontario Child Welfare Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Promoting Protective Factors in Environments of Risk for Young Children: An Organizing Framework for Practice, Policy, and Research

Fallon

Filippelli

Joh-Carnella

et al. 2018

Gender and the Genome

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Early childhood is an important developmental period, which lays the foundation for future learning, behaviour, physical and mental health and gene expression. The most vulnerable children in society are often referred to and receive services from the child welfare system because of a concern of abuse and neglect and/or a poor developmental trajectory. This paper presents an organizing framework for how the child welfare system, in concert with allied partners, can support interventions for young children and families by acknowledging its crucial role in improving their development and well-being. The framework is informed by research amassed from numerous disciplines, including child welfare, development, neuroscience, neurobiology and epigenetics. Although the notions of protection and well-being are central considerations in child welfare legislation in Ontario, Canada, the operationalization of wellbeing has proven challenging in child welfare practice, policy and research. The framework proposes ten key indicators and priorities for identifying and promoting optimal child development. Findings from the 2013 cycle of the Ontario Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (OIS-2013), the only provincial source of aggregated child welfare investigation data, are presented to articulate the divide between the environmental context of a population of at-risk children and the conditions that both protect children and increase the likelihood that they will thrive in adulthood. This paper argues there are different points of entry and intervention across sectors and provides a foundation for further discussion on how to promote well-being for society's most vulnerable children.

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How Can Data Drive Policy and Practice in Child Welfare? Making the Link in Canada

Cited by 28 publications

References 49 publications

Trends in investigations of abuse or neglect referred by hospital personnel in Ontario

Trends in investigations of abuse or neglect referred by hospital personnel in Ontario

Building Knowledge to Support Human Service Organizational and Management Practice: An Agenda to Address the Research-to-Practice Gap

Promoting Protective Factors in Environments of Risk for Young Children: An Organizing Framework for Practice, Policy, and Research

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