Understanding Chronically Reported Families

Jonson‐Reid, Melissa; Emery, Clifton R.; Drake, Brett; Stahlschmidt, Mary Jo

doi:10.1177/1077559510380738

Cited by 88 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…However, this finding is tempered by the fact that sustained improvement still remains possible and that when this does occur, recidivism risk is reduced even among the most chronic cases in the system. This is consistent with recent administrative data findings also indicating persistent home-based service benefits across levels of chronicity (Jonson-Reid, Emery, Drake, & Stahlschmidt, 2010). Thus, the prognosis for these cases, and the wisdom of trying the same or very similar services again, is complex.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Change Trajectories During Home-Based Services With Chronic Child Welfare Cases

et al. 2011

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This study examines how risk factor change patterns vary with case chronicity, and whether risk factor improvement still predicts lower recidivism risk among chronic cases. 2,175 parents in home based child welfare services were surveyed for risk factors at pre-treatment, post-treatment and 6-month follow-up. Mixture modeling of latent difference scores identified change trajectory classes related retrospectively to chronicity and prospectively to recidivism. Five change trajectories were identified: stable low problem, stable high problem, sustained improvement, relapsing, and paradoxical. Chronicity was associated with a decreasing probability of membership in the stable low problem trajectory and increasing probability of membership in the stable high problem and sustained improvement trajectories. Cases with more favorable trajectories recidivated less across levels of chronicity. Findings suggest that chronic cases may improve little, but still retain a stable or increasing chance of sustained improvement associated with lower risk. A cumulative service benefit might be one possible explanation for this observation, and might suggest that repeated intervention efforts are not always wasted on chronic cases. The current episodic and reactive service delivery model in child welfare may be a mismatch with chronic cases where progress is absent or tends to occur cumulatively across service episodes.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Change Trajectories During Home-Based Services With Chronic Child Welfare Cases

et al. 2011

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“…Sloan et al 25 Finding a permanent home for the child has long been a public policy goal. However, recent studies have documented high rates of return to foster care following what was thought to be a permanent placement (Jonson-Reid et al 2010;Lee, Jonson-Reid, and Drake 2012). Partly for this reason, the policy goal has shifted somewhat from seeking permanency to achieving stability in child living arrangements (Waddell, MacMillan, and Pietrantonio 2004).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do Specialty Courts Achieve Better Outcomes for Children in Foster Care Than General Courts?

et al. 2013

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Objective: This study assessed the effects of unified family and drug treatment courts (DTCs) on the resolution of cases involving foster care children and the resulting effects on school performance. Method: The first analytic step was to assess the impacts of presence of unified and DTCs in North Carolina counties on time children spent in foster care and the type of placement at exit from foster care. In the second step, the same data on foster care placements were merged with school records for youth in Grades 3-8 in public schools. The effect of children's time in foster care and placement outcomes on school performance as measured by math and reading tests, grade retention, and attendance was assessed using child fixed-effects regression. Results: Children in counties with unified family courts experienced shorter foster care spells and higher rates of reunification with parents or primary caregivers. Shorter foster care spells translated into improved school performance measured by end-of-grade reading and math test scores. Adult DTCs were associated with lower probability of reunification with parents/primary caregivers. Conclusion: The shortened time in foster care implies an efficiency gain attributable to unified family courts, which translate into savings for the court system through the use of fewer resources. Children also benefit through shortened stays in temporary placements, which are related to some improved educational outcomes.

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“…Furthermore, there is a gap in the literature addressing cases that have more than one re-opening to child welfare (Johnson-Reid, Emery, Drake, & Stahlschmidt, 2010). Indeed, between provinces and communities variable measures contrast in definition, as do policies and practice.…”

Section: Recurrence In the Child Welfare Systemmentioning

confidence: 95%

The Use of Mapping in Child Welfare Investigations: A Strength-based Hybrid Intervention

Lwin¹,

Versanov²,

Cheung³

et al. 2014

Child Care in Practice

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To enhance strengths-based service, a large urban child welfare agency in Ontario, Canada implemented part of the Signs of Safety (SOS) model in 2010. SOS was created to engage families involved with the child welfare system, and is rooted in the beliefs of collaboration, strengths-based practice, and safety. The hybrid of the full SOS model focused on the mapping conference, where cases that have been previously opened four or more times to child welfare are brought forward and discussed in a methodological fashion. Repeat referrals to child welfare agencies have dramatically increased over recent years and extant literature lacks a solid understanding of cases that have been opened on multiple occasions. Thus, the goals of mapping conferences were to reduce the total number and increase the understanding of re-opened cases, while still ensuring child safety and improving clinical service. The mapping conference includes a prescribed clinical, strength-based approach and case mapping, which examines: danger/harm; strengths/safety factors; and goals and next steps. The mapping conference was evaluated using mixed methods. Primary results indicate that only 6% of the mapped cases re-opened after a 12-month period. Recommendations from front-line workers include: fully implementing SOS in the investigative process and greater agency support for strength-based practice; including families in the mapping process; and increasing workers' honesty and transparency when engaging with families.

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Understanding Chronically Reported Families

Cited by 88 publications

References 35 publications

Change Trajectories During Home-Based Services With Chronic Child Welfare Cases

Change Trajectories During Home-Based Services With Chronic Child Welfare Cases

Do Specialty Courts Achieve Better Outcomes for Children in Foster Care Than General Courts?

The Use of Mapping in Child Welfare Investigations: A Strength-based Hybrid Intervention

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