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Development of an instrument to understand the child protective services decision-making process, with a focus on placement decisions
- Authors:
- DETTLAFF Alan J., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Child Abuse and Neglect, 49, 2015, pp.24-34.
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
When children come to the attention of the child welfare system, they become involved in a decision-making process in which decisions are made that have a significant effect on their future and well-being. The decision to remove children from their families is particularly complex; yet surprisingly little is understood about this decision-making process. This paper presents the results of a study to develop an instrument to explore, at the caseworker level, the context of the removal decision, with the objective of understanding the influence of the individual and organisational factors on this decision, drawing from the Decision Making Ecology as the underlying rationale for obtaining the measures. The instrument was based on the development of decision-making scales used in prior decision-making studies and administered to child protection caseworkers in several states. Analyses included reliability analyses, principal components analyses, and inter-correlations among the resulting scales. For one scale regarding removal decisions, a principal components analysis resulted in the extraction of two components, jointly identified as caseworkers’ decision-making orientation, described as (1) an internal reference to decision-making and (2) an external reference to decision-making. Reliability analyses demonstrated acceptable to high internal consistency for 9 of the 11 scales. Full details of the reliability analyses, principal components analyses, and inter-correlations among the seven scales are discussed, along with implications for practice and the utility of this instrument to support the understanding of decision-making in child welfare. (Edited publisher abstract)
Disentangling substantiation: the influence of race, income, and risk on the substantiation decision in child welfare
- Author:
- DETTLAFF Alan J.
- Journal article citation:
- Children and Youth Services Review, 33(9), September 2012, pp.1630-1637.
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
Using data from the Texas child welfare system this study aims to identify the factors contributing to disparities in decision making that leads to an overrepresentation of African American children in the care system in the US. Given the relationship between poverty and child maltreatment, the analyses control for the effect of family income, as well as other factors related to maltreatment, to better understand the effect of race on this decision-making point. Findings indicate that when family income is controlled, race is not a significant factor in the substantiation decision. However, when also controlling for caseworker perceptions of risk, race emerges as the stronger explanatory factor. This suggests not only an important relationship between race, income, and risk assessment, but also that disproportionality in the child welfare system is a complex phenomenon that cannot be explained by a single factor. These results further demonstrate that the effect of racial bias on decision-making remains an important consideration in understanding the overrepresentation of African American children.
Child maltreatment dynamics among immigrant and U.S. born Latino children: findings from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-being (NSCAW)
- Authors:
- DETTLAFF Alan J., JOHNSON Michelle A.
- Journal article citation:
- Children and Youth Services Review, 33(6), June 2011, pp.936-944.
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
This study examined the national prevalence of immigrant and US born Latino children who came to the attention of child welfare systems. It explored the role of nativity in child maltreatment patterns among Latinos and determined if disparities in child maltreatment patterns exist among Latino families using data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-being. Participants included 947 children identified as Hispanic/Latino ethnicity. Findings revealed that immigrant Latino children were slightly underrepresented among children presenting to child welfare systems when compared to the general population. Moreover, no significant differences were observed between immigrant children and US born children with regard to substantiation patterns. Differences emerged between the two groups in risk factors and maltreatment type: immigrant children were more likely to experience physical abuse; US born children were more likely to experience emotional abuse; and US born children were more likely to experience risk for maltreatment. The authors concluded that more research was required.
Mental health need and service use among Latino children of immigrants in the child welfare system
- Authors:
- DETTLAFF Alan J., CARDOSO Jodi Berger
- Journal article citation:
- Children and Youth Services Review, 32(10), October 2010, pp.1373-1379.
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
This study identified the need for mental health services, mental health service use, and unmet mental health needs among Latino children of immigrants involved in the child welfare system, and compares those factors to those of children in US born Latino families. Results revealed that important differences were present, both in the need for mental health services and the use of those services. The authors conclude that awareness of these differences is necessary to effectively respond to the unique needs and experiences of Latino immigrant children and families within the child welfare system.
An exploratory study of the range of implications of families' criminal justice system involvement in child welfare cases
- Authors:
- PHILLIPS Susan D., DETTLAFF Alan J., BALDWIN Melinda J
- Journal article citation:
- Children and Youth Services Review, 32(4), April 2010, pp.544-550.
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
Many problems associated with arrest and incarceration of parents are also risk factors for child maltreatment, such as substance misuse, mental illness, family violence and poverty. This exploratory paper outlines findings from a review of child protective services case records that was conducted to increase the understanding of the relevance of families' criminal justice system involvement in child welfare cases. Although limited in scope, findings show that 4 out of 5 children in foster care had family members with current or past involvement in the criminal justice system. The data suggested there are four broad categories of scenarios in which families' criminal justice and child welfare involvement intersect. These include: instances in which parental arrest and child maltreatment investigations coincide; consideration of parents' criminal histories in the decision to remove children from the care of their parents; consideration of relatives' criminal histories in decisions to place children in foster care; and instances in which child protective services agencies become involved with children whose parents are incarcerated because of risks to children's current safety or inadequate resources. Variations within these categories are described and discussed in the context of ongoing advocacy on behalf of incarcerated parents and their children.
Latino children of immigrants in the child welfare system: prevalence, characteristics, and risk
- Authors:
- DETTLAFF Alan J., EARNER Ilze, PHILLIPS Susan D.
- Journal article citation:
- Children and Youth Services Review, 31(7), July 2009, pp.775-783.
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
Children in immigrant families are often considered at increased risk of maltreatment due to the stress and pressure experienced by the family resulting from immigration and acculturation. Yet, despite the rapid growth of the immigrant population over the last twenty years, particularly among Latinos, little is known about the prevalence of Latino immigrant families involved in the child welfare system, their characteristics, or the risk factors associated with maltreatment in these families, and how these factors differ from those in Latino families who are native to the United States. This article uses data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-being (NSCAW) to report population prevalence estimates of the child and family characteristics, incidence of maltreatment, parent and family risk factors, and community and neighbourhood characteristics of children of immigrants involved in child maltreatment investigations. The analyses then examined whether these factors differed significantly from those in families with U.S.-born Latino parents. Findings suggest that significant differences are present, and that many of the risk factors associated with child maltreatment are more likely to be present in native-born Latino families.