Responding to COVID-19’s impact on supervised family time: The supportive virtual family time model

Abstract

COVID-19 has put child wellbeing at risk, perhaps especially, for children and youth involved in the foster care system. For these children and youth, any stability they may have experienced since entering care has been disrupted and their contact with parents limited. A sudden shift to virtual only contact meant both parents and caregivers were in need of support to navigate these changes. This study reports on the rapid development and implementation of an eLearning and structured practice guide for visitation supervisors to help them facilitate virtual visits that promote parent-caregiver collaboration in support of the child. Over a four month period, April to August 2020, 140 people registered for the Supportive Virtual Family Time training. Of these participants, 101 (72%) completed a post-training survey which included an evaluation of the eLearning and assessment of the feasibility of implementing the model. Overall, participants were satisfied with the training content and delivery, agreed the training helped them develop new skills for interacting with parents and caregivers, and planned to start using the model right away. Given the ongoing and dynamic nature of the pandemic, there is likely continued need for virtual family time and training and support for supervisors who facilitate these interactions. It is critical these supports are timely, easily accessible, and include practice guidelines and resources that help practitioners facilitate and maintain youths’ critical attachments to their families. Given the potential benefits of supporting parent-caregiver collaboration, the model and accompanying materials address an overarching need in the field and remain relevant even after a return to in-person visitation.

The impact of COVID-19 on child welfare-involved families: Implications for parent–child reunification and child welfare professionals

“…Because in-person visits are not always possible, it is equally as important to ensure that child welfare workers and foster parents receive the necessary training and guidance to ensure cooperative and collaborative relationships between foster parents and families of origin, as well as support in coping with the technology challenges that are common in virtual communication (Orlando et al, 2021). Further, social service departments can facilitate access to computers at county facilities and/or stable internet connections as a way of helping parents of origins and foster parents who are disproportionately affected due to their economic constraints.…”

“…Amidst COVID-19, family time has been challenged due to state and agency rules and guidelines related to physical distancing and other virus mitigation strategies. Virtual contact has, in some locations and/or at certain points during the COVID-19 pandemic, been the only available option to support continued family visitation (Orlando et al, 2021). A survey of 197 child welfare professionals, birth parents, adoptive parents, and foster parents in the United Kingdom during the early part of the COVID-19 pandemic found that face-to-face contact had all but ceased and in most cases was replaced by video communication and other forms of electronically mediated contact (Neil et al, 2020).…”

“…Yet virtual contact may be undermined by overwhelmed, unsupported, and untrained caseworkers, as well as foster parents and families of origin who are unfamiliar with using virtual technology to support family time interactions and who may be reluctant about contact (Singer & Brodzinsky, 2020). Efforts to develop guidelines and training for virtual communication related to child welfare-involved families have begun (Barr, 2020; Orlando et al, 2021). However, there is still much to be learned about virtual communication in support of parent–child visitation during COVID-19, including whether it is perceived by professionals as adequately supporting reunification goals.…”

The Structural-Pragmatic-Situational Approach in Policy Determination for Optimizing E-Learning in UIN Raden Mas Said Surakarta

“…The study also compared universities in the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia (Joaquin et al, 2020). Another model is a training and mentoring model in the home to support online learning (Orlando et al, 2021). Studies of students' perception of online learning in pandemic times show many obstacles and are ineffective (Purwadi et al, 2020).…”

The voices of parents in child protective services: A qualitative analysis of families’ struggles with COVID-19

“…Children and parents in Child Protective Services (CPS) are considered the most vulnerable in this pandemic ( Bolborici, 2020 ; Fegert & Schulze, 2020 ; Frimpong-Manso et al, 2021 ; Goldberg, Brodzinsky, Singer, & Crozier, 2021 ; Goldberg, McCormick, & Virginia, 2021 ; Janssen et al, 2020 ; Langley, Ruderman, Waterman, & Franke, 2021 ; Orlando et al, 2021 ) as the majority families in CPS tend to have ongoing needs (see Caldwell et al, 2020 ). Several scholars believe that the vulnerability of children and families in need has intensified in this global crisis ( Bolborici, 2020 ; Franic & Dodig-Curkovic, 2020 ; Vilar-Compte, Pérez, Teruel, Alonso, & Pérez-Escamilla, 2020 ; Zhang, Li, Shi, Dong, & Wang, 2021 ).…”