A Case Study of an Agency's Three Family Preservation Contracts

This article presents a case study of a nonprofit child welfare agency that delivered family preservation services under three different purchase-of-service (POS) contracts. The research specifically focuses on how certain POS contract provisions and reimbursement rates influence the delivery of family preservation services. The three contacts examined differed on criteria, such as reimbursement mechanism, service volume, definition of clientele, and reimbursement rate. The study found that as reimbursement rates decline and as administrative costs increase, the service provider struggled with cash flow, staffing, fundraising, and service provision, among other things. It is concluded that contract-related resources, policies, and procedures impact provider agencies in multiple, significant ways that are critical to the provision of services and the accomplishment of positive client outcomes.

Family Preservation in Perspective

This essay traces the family preservation movement to its permanency planning roots; discusses the principles and underlying philosophy of the movement, and suggests the appropriate context for considering further development of child welfare services.

The Extended Family: Reviewing an Invaluable Resource

During the last two decades, the extended family has been rediscovered as a viable and meaningful resource for nurturing and protecting children. The purpose of this article is to provide an historical context for involving the extended family in child welfare cases and to identify key factors influencing that involvement.

Applying the Strengths Perspective to Increase Safety and Weil-Being: Views from Families and Providers

Consensus about the value of the strengths perspective is developing among child welfare and family service practitioners. Yet, few first-hand reports are available from the perspectives of family members and interdisciplinary service providers about the principles most important for engaging and supporting family members to achieve needed outcomes. This paper briefly highlights principles most often cited as key to application of the strengths perspective and compares first-hand accounts from family members and service providers. These views were elicited through focus groups facilitated by a community-based family support program.Implications for strengths-based practice with families are discussed.

Promising Practices to Engage Families and Support Family Preservation

The Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 (ASFA) is the latest legislation in two decades of important child welfare policy in the United States. The Adoption and Safe Families Act has served to shorten the period of time that caseworkers and families have to show that families are making progress toward family preservation, with permanency decisions being made after 12 months, rather than 18. The importance of engaging and motivating families in services has therefore increased. The practice directive of ASFA can be summarized as 'Act Smart, Fast, and Accountable. " Using findings from largely correlational research, concrete recommendations are made to ensure that practices to preserve families are smart, fast, and accountable, particularly critical given these new timeframes.

Supporting Families through Short-Term Foster Care: An Essay Review

Aldgate, J. and Bradley, M. (1999). Supporting families through short-term fostering. London: The Stationery Office. This essay reviews a British qualitative study of short-term foster care from the perspectives of birth parents, children, foster parents, and social workers. Respondents highlighted the value of short-term foster care as a family support service and also offered many recommendations for improving service delivery. The study provides useful implications for restructuring child welfare services in the United States and for promoting cross-national collaboration in future research activities in the area of child and family services.

Family Preservation Journal, 2002, Volume 6, Issue 2. (Entire issue)

Entire issue (large pdf file) Articles include: Applying the Strengths Perspective to Increase Safety and Well-Being: Views from Families and Providers. Diane DePanfilis, Joshua Okundaye, Esta Glazer-Semmel, Lisa Kelly, and Joy Swanson Ernst Changing Tides and Changing Focus: Mapping the Challenges and Successes of One State's Implementation Of the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997. Scottye J. Cash, Scott D. Ryan, and Alison Glover Promising Practices to Engage Families and Support Family Preservation. Marianne Berry Implementing Intensive Family Preservation Services: A Case of lnfidelity. Raymond S. Kirk, Kellie Reed-Ashcrafi, and Peter J. Pecora Supporting Families through Short-Term Foster Care: An Essay Review. Anthony Maluccio Failed Child Welfare Policy: An Essay Review. Anthony Maluccio

Perceptions of Family Preservation Practitioners: A Preliminary Study

This exploratory, qualitative study examined practitioners' perceptions about family preservation practice. Findings reveal a wide range of identified strengths as well as the limitations of such a model. Interestingly, the most frequently identified strengths were value based rather than practice based in perspective whereas limitations were practice based. Keeping families together was the most common perceived strength but concern about children's safety by keeping the family intact was a frequently reported limitation. Further, lack of support and a lack of theoretical clarity were identified as considerable limitations. Implications suggest these practitioners (mostly child welfare/mental health workers) believe in the approach for the sake of keeping families together but are concerned with endangering the child in the process and recognize the need for theoretical guidance.

Developing Emotional Security Among Children Who Have Been Adopted

This study investigated the development of emotional security among 6-10 year old children who have been adopted by exposing them to an experimental condition during which they could engage with either a live dog or a robotic dog. The live dog was a certified therapy dog; the robotic dog was a FurReal�� toy marketed by Hasbro as "Biscuit." Utilizing a mixed-method embedded experimental design, the experimental condition was intentionally structured to promote engagement between the participant and the dog or robot. 43 children who had been adopted from the child welfare system were randomly assigned to one of two groups. One group was exposed to a therapy dog (n=22), while another was exposed to the social robotic dog (n=21). The development of emotional security was targeted for measurement in this study using the "Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test," a test of social understanding that has been linked in the literature to oxytocin- a hormone premised to be a marker of the development of emotional security. Physiological anxiety was also measured as an indicator of emotional security using the Revised Child Manifest Anxiety Scale-2 (RCMAS-2). Both measures were administered before and after exposure to the experimental condition. A linear mixed-effect regression analysis showed that for boys only, there was a significant effect of engagement with either companion on social understanding (p<.01). Social understanding decreased as engagement increased. A second model indicated that for boys only, their history of animal cruelty had a significant effect on physiological anxiety (p<.05). If boys had an animal cruelty history, their anxiety was reduced after the exposure to either the dog or robot. Interpretations of the findings suggest that there are differences among children who have been adopted and have a history of animal cruelty that differentially influences their development of emotional security. Social work interventions designed for practice with children who have been adopted will need to assess the presence of these variations and develop appropriate treatment protocols.

Fostering Change: Toward Understanding, Valuing, and Informing the Therapeutic Role of Foster Parents

Foster parents have the potential to effect lasting therapeutic change through their role with the children they temporarily foster. Therapists working with foster parents can understand, support, and inform foster parents in their role based on a commonality that exists between the roles of therapists and foster parents. Similarities at different stages of both the therapeutic and foster parenting relationships are addressed, as well as the use of these relationships in a therapeutic manner. Advantages (for foster parents, foster children, therapists, and the foster care system) of articulating the foster parenting relationship through the lens of the therapeutic relationship are also discussed. Future research into the experience of foster parents in their role will be essential in creating an effective and sustainable system of care for vulnerable children.

Proteccio��n a la infancia; tribunales para nin��os,

At head of title: 2��� Congreso Americano del Nin��o.

Trabajos y actas del Primer Congreso Nacional de Proteccio��n a�� la Infancia : celebrado en Santiago de Chile del 21 al 26 de septiembre de 1912 : tomo u��nico /

Mode of access: Internet.

Resources for day care : a list of publications.

Updated by bi-monthly supplements.

A Growing crisis : disadvantaged women and their children.

Item 288-A-5

The meaning of family endowment,

Bibliography: p. 45.