Search results for ‘Subject term:"foster care"’ Sort:
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Market-based disparities in foster care service provision
- Authors:
- McBEATH Bowen, MEEZAN William
- Journal article citation:
- Research on Social Work Practice, 18(1), January 2008, pp.27-41.
- Publisher:
- Sage
This study examines in-agency and out-of-agency service provision to a sample of 243 foster children and their families. Data come from a longitudinal study of 243 foster children and families served by non-profit agencies that were operating under either a performance-based, managed care purchase-of-service contract or a fee-for-service reimbursement mechanism. Children and families served by agencies with performance-based, managed care contracts receive fewer of three of five types of services than those served by agencies reimbursed through fee-for-service contracts. Results suggest that performance-based, managed care contracting is related to suppressed service provision and may lead to service disparities between foster children and families served under different market environments.
Market-based disparities in foster care outcomes
- Authors:
- MEEZAN William, McBEATH Bowen
- Journal article citation:
- Children and Youth Services Review, 30(4), April 2008, pp.388-406.
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
Managed care and performance-based contracting in state child welfare systems have appeared as a consequence of the increased attention that federal and state policymakers are paying to system performance and service costs. This study reports findings from a longitudinal natural experiment that examined the effects of a performance-based, managed care contracting mechanism on foster care outcomes. Multivariate analyses identified market-based disparities in some of the outcomes experienced by foster children: controlling for child, family, and caseworker characteristics, children served by agencies with performance-based, managed care contracts were less likely to be reunified and more likely to enter kinship foster homes, when compared to children served by agencies reimbursed through fee-for-service contracts. Analyses also suggested that there were few other variables consistently associated with foster care outcomes. These results call into question the evidentiary basis for the diffusion of managed care and performance-based contracting in the child welfare sector, and suggest that state child welfare systems ensure that foster care placement decisions are influenced more by child and family needs than by financial considerations. In addition, they suggest that managed care and performance-based contracts should include specific financial incentives for family reunification.
Visualizing and describing foster care placement pathways
- Authors:
- McBEATH Bowen, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Public Child Welfare, 12(5), 2018, pp.515-539.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
This paper introduces a flowchart-based methodology for describing the movement of foster youth in and out of placements of differing types and durations. This longitudinal methodology is designed to be sufficiently simple to appeal to policymakers and administrators seeking to chart the movement of groups of youth over time and the sequencing of their placements, and sufficiently descriptive to be of use to researchers seeking to predict the placement trajectories of subgroups of foster youth. The paper provides an example of the use of the method drawing upon state administrative data from a large study of preadolescent and adolescent youth in foster care situated in Oregon. Implications for the application of the methodology to different issues of interest to researchers, policymakers, and administrators are discussed. (Edited publisher abstract)
Intervening to improve outcomes for siblings in foster care: conceptual, substantive, and methodological dimensions of a prevention science framework
- Authors:
- McBEATH Bowen, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Children and Youth Services Review, 39, 2014, pp.1-10.
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
In recent years, the child welfare field has devoted significant attention to siblings in foster care. Policymakers and practitioners have supported efforts to connect siblings via shared foster placements and visitation while researchers have focused on illuminating the empirical foundations of sibling placement and sibling intervention in child welfare. The current paper synthesizes literature on sibling relationship development and sibling issues in child welfare in the service of presenting a typology of sibling-focused interventions for use with foster youth. The paper provides two examples of current intervention research studies focused on enhancing sibling developmental processes and understanding their connection to child welfare outcomes. The paper concludes by presenting an emerging agenda informing policy, practice, and research on siblings in foster care (Publisher abstract)
Nonprofit adaptation to performance-based, managed care contracting in Michigan's foster care system
- Authors:
- McBEATH Bowen, MEEZAN William
- Journal article citation:
- Administration in Social Work, 30(2), 2006, pp.39-70.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
While performance-based and managed care contracting initiatives have become increasingly common in service sectors populated by nonprofit organizations, the impact of these new service arrangements on involved nonprofit agencies has not been fully explored. This study describes the obstacles that nonprofit agencies encountered, and the adaptations they made, as they moved from a traditional reimbursement system to a performance-based, managed care contracting environment in the delivery of foster care services. Based on analyses of telephone interviews with administrators and supervisors across nine nonprofit child welfare agencies, this study suggests that agencies' service delivery patterns, interdepartmental activities, and interorganizational relationships were substantially affected by the transition to this new contracting arrangement. These findings and their implications are discussed. (Copies of this article are available from: Haworth Document Delivery Centre, Haworth Press Inc., 10 Alice Street, Binghamton, NY 13904-1580).
Validation of a measure of foster home integration for foster youth
- Authors:
- KOTHARI Brianne H., McBEATH Bowen, BANK Lew
- Journal article citation:
- Research on Social Work Practice, 28(6), 2018, pp.751-761.
- Publisher:
- Sage
Objectives: This article introduces a youth-reported measure (Essential Youth Experiences [EYE]) developed to assess the experiences of foster youth in their home environment and their critical relationships across a number of service systems. Empirically, the article reports on the psychometric properties of a 9-item scale within the EYE that measures the construct of positive home integration (PHI). Methods: The EYE was administered to 328 preadolescent and adolescent youth (164 sibling dyads) enrolled in a larger randomized clinical trial. Results: Correlational analysis suggests that the PHI Scale shows good psychometric properties and strong current and predictive validity. Conclusion: The PHI is a reliable and valid scale that measures youth perspectives of inclusion in the foster home and relationships with their foster care provider. This scale quickly gathers youth perspectives and differentiates between youth who have more versus less significant needs. Implications for research and social work practice are discussed. (Edited publisher abstract)
Infusing culture into practice: developing and implementing evidence-based mental health services for African American foster youth
- Authors:
- BRIGGS Harold Eugene, McBEATH Bowen
- Journal article citation:
- Child Welfare Journal, 89(1), 2010, pp.31-60.
- Publisher:
- Child Welfare League of America
The consequences of insufficient access to culturally sensitive, evidence-supported interventions for African American foster youth are reviewed. The literature concerning why African American foster youth have disproportionately high mental health service needs is discussed, highlighting the role of culture in the design and delivery of mental health services and the implications of non-culturally sensitive mental health service provision for foster youth and their families. A framework for the development of culturally appropriate mental health programming is presented which is integrated within an evidence-based context. The article discusses cumulative stressors impacting African American young people and families, the role of culture and its use in mental health services, implications of culturally insensitive mental health programming, developing culturally competent mental health services for foster youth, and developing and implementing evidence based mental health services for African American foster youth.