Policy Implications and the Implementation of Differential Response in Child Welfare

Merkel‐Holguin, Lisa; Sawyer, Robert G.; Kaplan, Caren

doi:10.1037/e522532014-156

Cited by 10 publications

(18 citation statements)

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“…Differential response is defined and implemented somewhat differently from state to state, but generally allows CPS agencies to respond to reports categorized as low or moderate risk using a non-investigative assessment that typically does not require substantiation of abuse or neglect (Merkel-Holguin, Kaplan, & Kwak, 2006). This approach focuses on assessing the family’s strengths and needs and providing services and supports to address issues that are negatively affecting, or potential could affect, the safety and well-being of involved children.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Two key influences served as the driving force behind the development of North Carolina’s Multiple Response System (MRS): (1) the state’s dual focus of ensuring safety, permanency, and nurturing homes for children, while also improving the lives of their families and (2) placement in federal program improvement as a result of the 2001 Federal Child and Family Services Review (Merkel-Holguin et al, 2006). The North Carolina General Assembly mandated that the state Division of Social Services develop and pilot a county-level system that uses a Family Assessment track (described below) for selected reports of child maltreatment, in addition to the traditional investigative process.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Multiple Response System: Evaluation of Policy Change in North Carolina's Child Welfare System

Lawrence

Rosanbalm

Dodge

2011

Children and Youth Services Review

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Systemic challenges within child welfare have prompted many states to explore new strategies aimed at protecting children while meeting the needs of families, but doing so within the confines of shrinking budgets. Differential Response has emerged as a promising practice for low or moderate risk cases of child maltreatment. This mixed methods evaluation explored various aspects of North Carolina’s differential response system, known as the Multiple Response System (MRS), including: child safety, timeliness of response and case decision, frontloading of services, case distribution, implementation of Child and Family Teams, collaboration with community-based service providers and Shared Parenting. Utilizing Child Protective Services (CPS) administrative data, researchers found that compared to matched control counties, MRS: had a positive impact on child safety evidenced by a decline in the rates of substantiations and re-assessments; temporarily disrupted timeliness of response in pilot counties but had no effect on time to case decision; and increased the number of upfront services provided to families during assessment. Qualitative data collected through focus groups with providers and phone interviews with families provided important information on key MRS strategies, highlighting aspects that families and social workers like as well as identifying areas for improvement. This information is useful for continuous quality improvement efforts, particularly related to the development of training and technical assistance programs at the state and local level.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multiple Response System: Evaluation of Policy Change in North Carolina's Child Welfare System

Lawrence

Rosanbalm

Dodge

2011

Children and Youth Services Review

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…In B.C. for example, families that meet the threshold for being screened into the child welfare system, but are assessed as having a relatively low risk profile, are streamed into a non-investigative service track, which features collaborative approaches to determining and supporting family needs (Fallon et al, 2015;Merkel-Holguin, Kaplan, & Kwak, 2006). Nonetheless, a child protection mandate remains at the core of the B.C.…”

Section: The Socio-historical and Political Context Of State Intervenmentioning

confidence: 99%

Navigating Structural Violence with Indigenous Families: The Contested Terrain of Early Childhood Intervention and the Child Welfare System in Canada

Gerlach

Browne

Sinha³

et al. 2017

iipj

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Internationally, the welfare of Indigenous children continues to be severely compromised by their involvement with child welfare authorities. In this context, there are calls for greater investment in early childhood programs to support family preservation and children's well-being. This article reports on the findings from a critical qualitative inquiry undertaken with Aboriginal Infant Development Programs (AIDPs) in Canada. The findings highlight how AIDP workers' relational approaches countered Indigenous mothers' experiences of feeling "like a bad parent" as a result of their involvement with the child welfare system and how workers navigated an increasingly close relationship with this system. We draw on the concept of structural violence to discuss the impact of the child welfare system on Indigenous families and AIDPs.

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“…To date, research has focused on two distinct aspects of alternative response systems: (1) identifying and describing systems and their clients, and (2) examining the effect that receiving an alternative response has on child and family outcomes. It is clear that states implement alternative response systems differently (Merkel-Holguin, Kaplan, & Kwak, 2006;US HHS ASPE, 2005). Factors that differentiate states' systems from one another include the breadth of implementation (statewide versus pilots), case circumstances that warrant the response, and the number of response options that states have following a report of abuse or neglect.…”

Section: Examination Of the Literaturementioning

confidence: 98%

Rural Families' Connections to Services in an Alternative Response System

M.P.P.

2008

Journal of Public Child Welfare

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Alternative response systems, which address low-risk cases of child maltreatment, are based on three assumptions: that services are available, that services are accessible, and that service networks develop to connect families to services. This article examines whether the nature of rural areas challenges these assumptions. Findings from a qualitative study of families' connections to services in alternative response systems conducted in an urban and rural county in two states, Oklahoma and Kentucky, suggest that these systems operate differently in rural areas. While few service gaps exist, service providers may lack the capacity needed to serve clients, and transportation barriers make service access more challenging. Yet, service providers use the small nature of rural areas to develop tight-knit networks to better serve these families.

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Policy Implications and the Implementation of Differential Response in Child Welfare

Cited by 10 publications

References 0 publications

Multiple Response System: Evaluation of Policy Change in North Carolina's Child Welfare System

Multiple Response System: Evaluation of Policy Change in North Carolina's Child Welfare System

Navigating Structural Violence with Indigenous Families: The Contested Terrain of Early Childhood Intervention and the Child Welfare System in Canada

Rural Families' Connections to Services in an Alternative Response System

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