The influence of differential response and other factors on parent perceptions of child protection involvement

Merkel‐Holguin, Lisa; Hollinshead, Dana M.; Hahn, Amy; Casillas, Katherine L.; Fluke, John D.

doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2014.11.008

Cited by 29 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Examples of alternate pathways that seek to avoid court orders and/or child removal include: family group conferencing in New Zealand (Harris, 2008); the use of differential response in many parts of the USA (Merkel-Holguin et al, 2015); the requirement for preproceedings work under the Public Law Outline in the UK (Broadhurst, Holt & Doherty, 2012); the use of alternative dispute resolution initiatives in order to avoid the need for a trial or hearing in the Children's Court in New South Wales, Australia (Morgan, Boxall, al., 2015). This variability highlights the importance of child protection research that takes into account the local context.…”

Section: Diverting Families From Court and Out-of-home Care: The Use mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Kyte and colleagues (2013) note that defining differential response is complicated, as it "can simultaneously be understood as an administrative policy or clinical model for intervention, 44 with little guidance surrounding its operationalisation" (p.126). Despite this, the key requirement for categorising a differential response is that the child protection authority must have the legislated capacity to provide either an investigatory response or a noninvestigatory pathway (Kyte et al, 2013;Merkel-Holguin et al, 2015). Kaplan and Merkel-Holguin (2008) summarised six core values that the American Humane…”

Section: Diverting Families From Court and Out-of-home Care: The Use mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Further to this, qualitative ualitative studies have shown that differential response is associated with improved family engagement and satisfaction (Marshall et al, 2010;Pennell & Burford, 2000). The evidence indicates that parents who experience a differential response pathway are more satisfied with the intervention than their counterparts, who experience an investigatory pathway (Merkel-Holguin et al, 2015). In a variety of studies parents reported that they valued being treated with respect, involved in decision-making, supported and encouraged, and provided with concrete supports (Loman & Seigel, 2004;Merkel-Holguin et al, 2015;Seigel, 2012).…”

Section: Diverting Families From Court and Out-of-home Care: The Use mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Despite the growing focus on participation, partnership and engagement in the literature, there is a lack of consensus on what these terms mean and at times they are used interchangeably (Gladstone et al, 2014;Healy, 1998;Littell, 2001;Merkel-Holguin et al, 2015;Yatchmenoff, 2005). For example, Gladstone and colleagues (2014, p.56) suggest that engagement has been conceptualised in a variety of ways in the literature including 'involvement' (Randolph, Fincham & Radey, 2009); 'collaboration' (Altman, 2008);…”

Section: Defining Participation and Engagementmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is possible that this is due to certain services acting as a source of assistance to marginalised families with limited resources (Merkel-Holguin et al, 2015;Schrieber et al, 2013). This supports findings of other studies exploring differential response pathways in child protection, which indicate that the provision of concrete resources to parents enhances engagement (Kyte et al, 2013).…”

Section: Factors That Impact Parent Engagementmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Collaborative practice in statutory in child protection practice: Parental agreements and procedural justice

Venables¹

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Internationally, there is a growing trend to introduce alternative pathways for children and their families involved with statutory child protection systems. These alternatives focus on developing partnerships with families in order to promote children's safety and well-being within their homes. The form that alternative pathways take varies by jurisdiction.In Queensland (Australia), where this study takes place, the State Government has identified the use of parental agreements to be the least intrusive option available to the child protection authority when a child has been substantiated, via a full investigation, as in need of protection. These agreements are known as 'Intervention with Parental Agreement' (IPA) and allow for the statutory authority to work in partnership with families to address child protection concerns, without the use of a court order. Little is known about how IPA occurs and the extent to which its collaborative ethos is realised in practice.This study aims to provide a detailed understanding of collaborative practice in statutory child protection, using the example of IPA. The study has a key focus on procedural justice, that is the quality of treatment that people receive from an authority during decision-making processes (Tyler, 2006). Using a two-phase, qualitative methodology the study explores the perspectives of practitioners and parents involved in IPA practice.Phase one involved semi-structured interviews with 33 practitioners from the Queensland child protection authority, tertiary family support services and a service responsible for providing cultural guidance in cases that involve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families. Phase two of the study involved semi-structured interviews with four parents. The interviews captured their unique experience of being subject to IPA, with a focus on their procedural justice judgements.The findings of the study indicate that the crisis-driven nature of statutory child protection in conjunction with the dominance of a risk-adverse culture is perceived by practitioners to be a barrier to collaborative practice. However, the local office culture within branch offices of the child protection authority and relationship-driven models of practice were found to facilitate collaboration in IPA practice.In particular, the nature and quality of three key partnerships of practice was found to shape how IPA practice occurred. These partnerships are: intra-agency partnerships, particularly those between statutory officers at the branch office level; inter-agency 2 partnerships; and those between practitioners and parents. The findings highlight that each of these partnerships are characterised by hierarchical relationships between the different stakeholders. Within all three of these partnerships, procedural justice emerged as an important factor for facilitating positive and collaborative working partnerships. This demonstrated that procedurally fair treatment is important to both parents and practitioners during IPA practice.All of the p...

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Section: Diverting Families From Court and Out-of-home Care: The Use mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Diverting Families From Court and Out-of-home Care: The Use mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Diverting Families From Court and Out-of-home Care: The Use mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Defining Participation and Engagementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Factors That Impact Parent Engagementmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Collaborative practice in statutory in child protection practice: Parental agreements and procedural justice

Venables¹

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Families – Private and Sacred: How to Raise the Curtain and Implement Family Support from a Public Health Perspective

et al. 2019

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Commentary: Taking a deep breath before reflecting on differential response

Merkel‐Holguin

Bross

2015

Child Abuse & Neglect

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The influence of differential response and other factors on parent perceptions of child protection involvement

Cited by 29 publications

References 14 publications

Collaborative practice in statutory in child protection practice: Parental agreements and procedural justice

Collaborative practice in statutory in child protection practice: Parental agreements and procedural justice

Families – Private and Sacred: How to Raise the Curtain and Implement Family Support from a Public Health Perspective

Commentary: Taking a deep breath before reflecting on differential response

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