BACKGROUND In recent years, a number of government-sponsored initiatives have been implemented in Germany that are focused on early preventive intervention in child protection. In response to the need for interdisciplinary training in this area, the internet-based e-learning program "Early Preventive Intervention and Child Protection" was developed for professionals in the child welfare and hea...

This article examines the community-level impact of concentrated child welfare agency involvement in African American neighborhoods. Based on interviews of 25 African American women in a Chicago neighborhood, the study found that residents were aware of intense agency involvement in their neighborhood and identified profound effects on social relationships including interference with parental a...

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to examine rates of psychotropic medication use over time among a national probability sample of youths involved with child welfare/child protective services (CW/CPS) in the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW). METHODS Growth mixture modeling was used to classify 2,521 youths into groups based on individual medication use trajectories...

Drawing on a case study generated as part of a larger evaluation, this article explores engagement between one family and an ‘edge of care’ intensive family support service, within a cold climate of public spending cuts and rising numbers of children in care. The focus on engagement in the case study illustrates theories about relationship building at the ‘edge of care’: the importance of an em...

This article highlights strategies that link the child welfare, court, and Early Intervention systems to enhance the healthy development of young children in foster care. It spotlights the need for infants and young children in foster care to be referred to the Early Intervention Program (EIP) and outlines the importance of implementing the new Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act Part C re...

Although public child welfare has historically been a major employer of professional social workers, within the last twenty years MSW graduates have shunned public social services for the private sector. Using Title IV-E funds, universities have responded to this shortage by providing financial and educational incentives for graduate social work students to work with the diverse and complex cas...

In the context of child welfare, family reunification refers to the services that are provided for purposes of returning children who have been placed in out-of-home care to their families of origin. Family reunification is the primary permanency goal for the majority of children who have been placed temporarily outside of their homes. This literature review focuses on the federal Child and Fam...

Placement disruptions undermine efforts of child welfare agencies to promote safety, permanency, and child well-being. Child behavior problems significantly contribute to placement changes. The aims of this investigation were to examine the impact of a foster parent training and support intervention (KEEP) on placement changes and to determine whether the intervention mitigates placement disrup...

Emergency shelter care for children entering foster care is widely used as a temporary first placement, despite its contraindications. However, little research has examined predictors of utilization (e.g., entry into care, length of stay in care). A sample of 123 children (ages 6-13) entering foster care was studied to explore the variables associated with an initial placement in shelter care v...

o Courts should adopt court performance measures to ensure that they can track cases, to increase accountability, and to inform decisions about the allocation of court resources; and o Incentives and requirements should be established for effective collaboration between courts and child welfare agencies on behalf of children in foster care; and o Children and parents should have a strong voice ...