Improving children's sense of belonging through group-orientated individualisation

A sense of belonging is essential for children in preschool. During the past decade, there has been a striking change in the orientation of the Swedish preschool environment. Now more child observations tend to focus on individual skills and assessment of ability to handle future schooling. A new discourse is clear; one that moves from a group orientation to a more individual approach. School-related skills are now more clearly the focus, within which an individualised discourse easily leads to grouping by levels and special programmes. In this action research study, a model of inclusive individualisation was tested, in which individual opportunities were anchored in a group-orientated teaching method. Nine preschool departments from four preschools participated in the study. The work involved about 45 preschool staff. At work meetings, nine departments spent about two hours each, processing and evaluating the model. The results show that the majority of the staff felt that the model opened up new issues, ideas and perspectives. It was clear that the staff were eager to plan early interventions. Communication and social skills for the children were the areas exclusively focused upon in the work with the model.     

Coordination between child welfare agencies and mental health service providers,children's service use,and outcomes

ObjectiveInterorganizational relationships (IORs) between child welfare agencies and mental health service providers may facilitate mental health treatment access for vulnerable children. This study investigates whether IORs are associated with greater use of mental health services and improvement in mental health status for children served by the child welfare system.MethodsThis was a longitudinal analysis of data from a 36-month period in the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW). The sample consisted of 1,613 children within 75 child welfare agencies who were 2 years or older and had mental health problems at baseline. IOR intensity was measured as the number of coordination approaches between each child welfare agency and mental health service providers. Separate weighted multilevel logistic regression models tested associations between IORs and service use and outcomes, respectively.ResultsAgency-level factors accounted for 9% of the variance in the probability of service use and 12% of mental health improvement. Greater intensity of IORs was associated with higher likelihood of both service use and mental health improvement.ConclusionsHaving greater numbers of ties with mental health providers may help child welfare agencies improve children's mental health service access and outcomes.Practice implicationsPolicymakers should develop policies and initiatives to encourage a combination of different types of organizational ties between child welfare and mental health systems. For instance, information sharing at the agency level in addition to coordination at the case level may improve the coordination necessary to serve these vulnerable children.     

Improving quality of the child care environment through a consultancy programme for centre directors

This study examined the effects of a newly developed on-site consultancy programme to improve global quality of the child care environment in non-parental child care centres for 0- to 4-year-old children as measured with the ITERS-R/ECERS-R. Using a randomised controlled trial with a pretest, posttest, and follow-up test, we compared 35 experimental group with 33 control group. The consultancy programme comprised three consultations in total. Analysis on the items that were specifically targeted during the consultancy showed a significant improvement on these targeted items between pretest and posttest and between posttest and follow-up. The effect of the consultancy programme on the total scores (including the non-targeted items) was not significant.     

Reducing maltreatment recurrence through home visitation: A promising intervention for child welfare involved families

Maltreatment of children is a key predictor of a range of problematic health and developmental outcomes. Not only are affected children at high risk for recurrence of maltreatment, but effective interventions with known long term impact are few and limited. While home visiting is one of the most tested secondary prevention models for improving parenting, its primary focus on young primiparous mothers underemphasizes one of the most important risk groups: child welfare involved multiparous mothers. This study's focus is a randomized controlled trial of Healthy Families New York that included a subgroup of mothers (n = 104) who had at least one substantiated child protective services (CPS) report before enrolling in the program. By the child’s seventh birthday, mothers in the home visited group were as half as likely as mothers in the control group to be confirmed subjects for physical abuse or neglect (AOR = .46, p = .08). The number of substantiated reports for mothers in the control group was twice as high as for those in the home visited group (1.59 vs. 79 p = .02, ES = .44). Group differences were only observed after the child's third birthday, suggesting the possible effect of surveillance in early years. Post-hoc analyses indicate that home visited mothers had fewer subsequent births that may have contributed to less parenting stress and improved life course development for mothers. In light of our findings, we suggest considering and further testing home visiting programs as a tertiary prevention strategy for child welfare-involved mothers.     

Social disorganization and the profile of child welfare: Explaining child welfare activity by the community-level factors

This article addresses the question of the structure of local child welfare activities in light of community-level factors. It poses the following research questions: how are different community-level factors related to child welfare client structures in communities and what is the extent to which these factors explain structural differences? The applied theoretical framework is based on social disorganization and strain theories as well as human developmental approach. The data has been collected from two Finnish national databases and it consists of variables containing 257 Finnish municipalities. The method of analysis is multinomial logistic regression. The results suggest that the local child welfare structures are tied to social disorganization, policing and culture as well as to the intensity of control in the communities. In general, the more fragile the communal structures, the more last-resort child welfare there is in the community. Combining fragile communal structures with weak dependency ratio and high proportion of social workers, the more intense the level of child welfare statistics indicated. The results indicate that the theoretical framework for the application of child welfare activity analysis is justified, but they also suggest that it requires further development through both context-bound reflection and application.     

Trauma-symptom profiles of adolescents in child welfare

In the province of Ontario (Canada), over 28,900 adolescents are investigated by child welfare agencies each year because of suspected maltreatment. Exposure to childhood maltreatment represents a major threat to the psychological well-being of young people, particularly in terms of trauma-related stress. The present study investigated trauma symptom profiles among 479 adolescents (13–17 years) involved with the Canadian child welfare system between 2003 and 2010. Latent profile analysis identified three profiles using self-report data from the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children. Most adolescents (59%, n = 281) were classified into the profile depicting minimal trauma-related symptoms, 30% (n = 144) were characterized by moderate trauma-related symptoms, and 11% (n = 54) were in the profile reflecting severe trauma-related symptoms. Several variables predicted profile membership. Greater severity of sexual abuse and female sex were associated with a greater likelihood of belonging to the severe trauma symptom profile than both the moderate and the minimal trauma symptom profiles. In addition, having society ward status (compared to crown ward) was related to an increased likelihood of belonging to both the severe and moderate symptom profiles relative to the minimal symptom profile. This study provides some insight into the typologies of trauma experienced among child-welfare-involved adolescents and the set of factors which relate to the specific profiles. Findings are important for informing psychological assessment practices, as well as tailored interventions, for adolescents in the child welfare system.     

Caregivers' readiness for change: predictive validity in a child welfare sample

OBJECTIVE: To assess the predictive validity of continuous measures of problem recognition (PR), intentions to change (ITC), and overall readiness for change (RFC) among primary caregivers who received in-home services following substantiated reports of child abuse or neglect. METHOD: A modified version of the University of Rhode Island Change Assessment scale was included in interviews with a sample of 353 primary caregivers at 4 weeks, 16 weeks, and 1 year after referral for in-home services. Additional data were obtained from administrative records and caseworker surveys. Hierarchical linear and nonlinear models were used to assess relationships between PR, ITC, RFC and changes over time in measures of individual and family functioning (e.g., parenting behaviors, children's behaviors, housing and economic problems, social support, and life events). Bivariate probit regression analysis was used to examine relationships between PR, ITC, RFC and the likelihood of subsequent reports of child maltreatment and out-of-home placements within 1 year after referral. RESULTS: Initial problem recognition and intentions to change predict a few improvements in individual and family functioning, along with significant reductions in the likelihood of additional reports of child maltreatment within 1 year. Initial intentions to change also predict reductions in the substantiation of subsequent reports of maltreatment. An overall measure of readiness for change predicts reductions in the likelihood of out-of-home placement. CONCLUSIONS: Problem recognition and intentions to change predict somewhat different outcomes; hence, there are few advantages of a combined measure of readiness for change. Further inquiry is needed to determine whether and how these associations are mediated by intervention processes or other factors in child welfare services populations.     

Patterns of out-of-home placement decision-making in child welfare

Out-of-home placement decision-making in child welfare is founded on the best interest of the child in the least restrictive setting. After a child is removed from home, however, little is known about the mechanism of placement decision-making. This study aims to systematically examine the patterns of out-of-home placement decisions made in a state's child welfare system by comparing two models of placement decision-making: a multidisciplinary team decision-making model and a clinically based decision support algorithm. Based on records of 7816 placement decisions representing 6096 children over a 4-year period, hierarchical log-linear modeling characterized concordance or agreement, and discordance or disagreement when comparing the two models and accounting for age-appropriate placement options. Children aged below 16 had an overall concordance rate of 55.7%, most apparent in the least restrictive (20.4%) and the most restrictive placement (18.4%). Older youth showed greater discordant distributions (62.9%). Log-linear analysis confirmed the overall robustness of concordance (odd ratios [ORs] range: 2.9–442.0), though discordance was most evident from small deviations from the decision support algorithm, such as one-level under-placement in group home (OR = 5.3) and one-level over-placement in residential treatment center (OR = 4.8). Concordance should be further explored using child-level clinical and placement stability outcomes. Discordance might be explained by dynamic factors such as availability of placements, caregiver preferences, or policy changes and could be justified by positive child-level outcomes. Empirical placement decision-making is critical to a child's journey in child welfare and should be continuously improved to effect positive child welfare outcomes.     

Predicting re-involvement for children adopted out of a public child welfare system

Some of the approximately 400,000 children currently placed out-of-home in a public child welfare system will not reunify with their family of origin. They may instead be adopted into a new family. Adoption placements can be characterized by poor adjustment for children; some such placements even result in disruption or dissolution. We conducted a stratified Cox regression of 4,016 children from the Colorado public child welfare system. All of the children had a finalized adoption during the years 2002 through 2006. The two outcomes analyzed were new child protection and youth-in-conflict referrals and assessments for these previously adopted children. New child welfare referrals and assessments may be early indicators of poor adjustment for adopted children within the adoptive family. Study results indicate that older children and Hispanic children had higher rates of referral and assessment. Children with a pre-adoption history including longer time out-of-home or a larger number of out-of-home placements also experienced higher referral and assessment rates. Additional factors which predicted subsequent system re-involvement included presence of paid adoption assistance, adoption by a non-relative foster parent and younger adoptive parent age. Several study results were moderated by the presence or absence of an ethnic match between the child and the adoptive parents. We provide an overview of the statistical model used for analysis and we discuss implications of the study results for child welfare practice.     

Religious socialization of youth involved in child welfare

Increased religiosity is associated with a variety of improved outcomes, especially for youth in disadvantaged contexts. Although youth involved in child welfare may experience protective effects of religious participation or values, little is known about the impact of maltreatment on religious development. Using the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being, a nationally representative study of child welfare involved families, correlates of religious attendance and importance of religion for youth were investigated using weighted logistic regression at two waves 18 months apart. Youth self-reports of religious attendance and their ratings of its importance were associated with religious attendance of their caregivers, whether birth-parents or foster parents. Foster parents were more likely to attend religious services than birth parents. Increases in youth attendance from Wave 1 to Wave 2 were associated with high youth religious importance at Wave 1, whereas decreases in attendance were associated with moving between home and foster placements. Increases in religious importance from Wave 1 to Wave 2 were associated with religious attendance at Wave 1 and with the youth being Black.     

Improving outcomes for babies and toddlers in child welfare: A model for infant mental health intervention and collaboration

Children under three comprise a sizable and growing proportion of foster care placements. Very young children who enter the child welfare system experience disruptions of critical attachments that are essential to this formative stage of brain development, as well as other traumatic events, leaving them at great risk for lifelong impairments. To reverse these concerning outcomes, babies who have been removed from their homes require intensive, relationship-based interventions that promote secure attachment to a primary caregiver and holistic attention the child's developmental needs. Child welfare decision-makers must be informed of infant brain development and knowledgeable about the particular needs and circumstances of each child. This article describes a model with these features that has been developed and tested in the Bronx, New York, one of the nation's poorest urban counties with high rates of foster care. The Project utilizes evidence-based Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP) as its core intervention, and emphasizes collaboration and information sharing– driven by the CPP clinician– with judges, child welfare workers, attorneys and other social service and mental health providers, thereby encouraging developmentally and relationally informed case planning and permanency decisions. The model is evaluated using pre and post treatment psychosocial measures and program outcome data. Results indicate improvement in parenting interactions, positive child welfare outcomes (including increased rates of reunification, fewer returns to foster care), and improved safety and wellbeing. Results highlight the need for child welfare practices to be more closely aligned with the current science of infant brain development, and to incorporate a specialized approach to address the unique needs of infants.     

Speech training through children's plays

Four‐Star Scripts. By Lorraine Noble. New York: Doubleday, Doran, 1936; $1.50.

A History of the American Drama. By Arthur Hobson Quinn. New York: F. S. Crofts &; Co., 1936; pp. xxv + 432. $5.00.

Historic Costume. By Nevil Truman. New York: Pitman Publishing Corp., 1936; pp. 152; 300 illustrations. $3.00.

The Philosophy of Rhetoric. By I. A. Richards. New York: Oxford University Press, 1936; pp. 138. $1.75.

The Psycho‐Biology of Language. By George Kingsley Zipf. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1935; pp. ix + 336.

An Actor Prepares. By Constantin Stanislavski. Translated by Elizabeth Reynolds Hapgood. New York: Theater Arts, Inc., 1936; pp. 295. $2.50.

Modern Acting: A Manual. By Sophie Rosenstein, Larrae A. Haydon, and Wilbur Sparrow, New York: Samuel French, 1936; pp. 129. $1.50.

Reorganisation of the Supreme Court. The Reference Shelf, vol. xi, no. 4. Compiled by Julia E. Johnson. New York, The H. W. Wilson Co., 1937; pp. 326. $.90.

You, Too, Can Become a Public Speaker. By John Hewins Kern. New York: Governor Publishing Corp., 1937; pp. 72. $1.00.

Industrial vs. Craft Unionism, The Reference Shelf, vol. xi, no. 3. Compiled by Julia E. Johnson. New York: H. W. Wilson Co., 1937; pp. 320. $.90.

General Principles of Play Production. By Gilmor Brown and Alice Garwood. New York: Samuel French, 1937; pp. 177. $2.00.

The Art of Make‐Up. By Serge Strenkovsky. New York: E. P. Dutton Co., 1937; pp. 350. $3.75.

How To Teach Good Speech in the Elementary Schools, Letitia Raubicheck. New York: Noble and Noble, 1937; pp. 276. $2.00.

Twenty Short Plays on a Royalty Holiday: Edited by Margaret Mayorga. New York: Samuel French, 1937; pp. 435. $3.00.

The Flying Wasp. By Sean’ O'Casey. London: The Macmillan Co., Ltd., 1937; pp. xiii +201. $2.25

Ease in Speech. By Margaret Painter. Chicago: D. C. Heath and Co., 1937; pp. 420, $1.64.

Going To Make a Speech? By E. St. Elmo Lewis. New York: The Ronald Press, 1937; pp. x +350. $3.00.

A Contemporary of Shakespeare on Phonetics and on the Pronunciation of English and Latin. By H. G. Fiedler. New York: Oxford University Press, 1936; pp. 21. $1.00.

S.P.E. Tract No. XLVIII. New York: Oxford University Press, 1937; pp. 12. $.85.

Your Everyday Speech. By William Norwood Brigance. New York: Whittlesey House, 1937; pp. ix + 230. $2.50.

University Debaters’ Annual. Edited by Edith M. Phelps and Julia E. Johnson. New York: The H. W. Wilson Co., 1937; Vol. XXIII, pp. 533. $2.25.

The Speech Choir. With American Poetry and English Ballads for Choral Reading. By Marjorie Gullan. New York: Harper &; Brothers, 1937; pp. vii‐xix + 284. $1.75.

The Art of Choral Speaking. By Cécile de Banke. Boston: Baker's Plays, 1937; pp. 227. $1.75.

Reading, Writing and Speech Problems: A Presentation of Certain Types of Disorders in the Development of the Language Faculty. By Samuel Torrey Orton, M.D. New York: W. W. Norton and Co., 1937; pp. 215. $2.00.

Smith, Joseph E.: Better Speech Training Through Teaching Technique. (Papers from the Convention of the Western Association of Teachers of Speech). Ann Arbor: Edwards Brothers, Inc.; 1936; pp. 72. $1.60.

The New Better Speech (Revised Edition.) By A. T. Weaver, Gladys L. Borchers and C. H. Woolbert. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1937; pp. xii + 548. $1.60.

Handbook of Broadcasting: How to Broadcast Effectively. By Waldo Abbot. New York: McGraw‐Hill Book Company, 1937; pp. xi + 424. $3.50.

Ways of Thinking and Writing. By Frank W. Cushwa and Robert N. Cunningham. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1936; pp. xviii + 542. $1.80.     

Improving children's working memory and classroom performance

Previous research has demonstrated close relationships between working memory and children's scholastic attainment. The aim of the present study was to explore a method of improving working memory, using memory strategy training. Two hundred and fifty‐four children aged five to eight years were tested on measures of the phonological loop, visuo‐spatial sketchpad and central executive components of the multiple component model of working memory. Subgroups of children also completed tasks of following instructions and mental arithmetic in the classroom, and standardised tests of reading, arithmetic and mathematics. Half of the children then used Memory Booster, a computer game that teaches memory strategies, over a period of six to eight weeks. All the children were then retested on the memory and ability measures. The standardised tests were also administered five months later. The results revealed that working memory strategy training resulted in significant improvements in tasks assessing the phonological loop and central executive components of working memory, and tasks assessing following instructions and mental arithmetic in the classroom. However, no improvements were observed on standardised tests of reading, arithmetic or mathematics, either immediately following training or five months later. The results are discussed in terms of implications for educational practice.     

浅析儿童福利视角下婴儿安全岛的人文关怀

随着社会福利制度和儿童群体的不断发展,儿童福利成为社会福利体系中的重要组成部分。新形势下的儿童福利制度正处于形成的初步阶段,弃婴问题频频曝光引发公众关注,是社会发展所需解决的难题。本文从社会功能和儿童福利方面分析了设立婴儿安全岛的现实意义,认为婴儿安全岛对儿童福利发展起到一定的积极作用。     

How much of a problem is resident mistreatment in child welfare institutions?

The purpose of this article is to provide information developed since 1980 by the Institutional Child Protection Project about the size and significance of the problem of mistreatment in child welfare residential institutions. In the 1.700 facilities surveyed, there are about 69.000 children and youths. Rates of utilization vary among Health and Human Services (H.H.S.) regions from 8 per 10.000 to 19 per 10.000 children and youths in the population. The average rate is 12 per 10.000. In 1961 this rate was estimated at 10 per 10,000. About 2,700 complaints were reported by facilities to the survey for 1979. Complaint rates range by H.H.S. region from 25 per 1.000 to 55 per 1.000 children and youth in care. The average complaint rate per 1.000 residents in care was 39. Observations of site visitors suggest that only one out of five complainable situations may be reported to child protection agencies. A list of complainable occurrences that came to the attention of site visitors is included to document the problem. An additional effort to assess the significance of this issue is made by comparing intrafamilial complaint rates with rates reported by child welfare facilities. The authors believe residential complaint rates may be twice as large as intrafamilial complaint rates.     

Family poverty, welfare reform, and child development

Our review of research suggests that family poverty has selective effects on child development. Most important for policy are indications that deep or persistent poverty early in childhood affects adversely the ability and achievement of children. Although the 1996 welfare reforms have spurred many welfare-to-work transitions, their time limits and, especially, sanctions are likely to deepen poverty among some families. We suggest ways policies might be aimed at preventing either economic deprivation itself or its effects.     

Liability considerations in child welfare: lessons from Canada

OBJECTIVE: Recent years have been fraught with investigations into the deaths of children receiving child welfare services throughout North America, Europe, and Australia. These inquiries have attracted considerable media attention and public outrage. Added to this have been increases in attempts to hold social workers in child welfare responsible for the abuse and deaths of children through the criminal and civil courts. As a result of fears regarding liability, many child welfare professionals are resorting to defensive practice strategies. METHOD: This article reviews recent court decisions and legislation in Canada regarding this issue in order to assess actual risks. RESULTS: Social workers who act according to accepted standards of practice and who in good faith make difficult judgments to the best of their abilities, will not be held to be criminally culpable or civilly negligent. CONCLUSION: It is concluded that child welfare professionals who exercise reasonable caution and engage in good clinical social work practice, good record keeping, effective communication and verification of information, can continue to strive to offer the high quality services to children and their families as they have always done without any serious fear of recrimination.     

Behaviors of youth involved in the child welfare system

OBJECTIVE: Using data from a nationally representative panel study, the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW), we address the following questions: (a) What are the youth, family, community, and child welfare system risk factors that place youth (ages 11-14 years) living at home, who are referred for maltreatment, at increased risk of delinquent behaviors over time? and (b) What promotive factors at the youth, family, community, and child welfare system levels appear to minimize the risk of delinquent behaviors for these youth over time? METHODS: The study uses the NSCAW data collected at baseline (Wave 1) and 18 months later (Wave 3). The multivariate analyses were conducted using a tobit model adjusted for longitudinal data and a complex survey sample. RESULTS: Several significant risk and promotive factors were found to influence the risk of delinquent behaviors over time. Older youth were more likely to engage in delinquent behaviors than younger youth. Girls were less likely to engage in delinquent behaviors than boys. Race or ethnicity did not have a statistically significant relationship with engaging in delinquent behaviors. Compared with neglected youth, youth who were physically abused were more likely to engage in delinquent behaviors. Increases in caregiver monitoring and in the quality of relationship with caregivers were associated with decreases in delinquent behaviors. Youth at greatest risk and those who engaged in more delinquent behaviors received more child welfare services then youth who did not engage in delinquent behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: The current child welfare delivery system emphasizes provision of services to youth experiencing the more serious problems and less on preventive services. The study findings suggest that preventive services when youth first enter the child welfare system that focus on enhancing caregiver skills in building positive relationships with their youth and increased monitoring of the youth's activity may alter the pathway to delinquent behaviors for these youth.