Effectiveness of family group conferencing in preventing repeat referrals to child protective services and out-of-home placements.

Rigorous research on the efficacy of family group conferencing is rare. This randomized control trial study used an intent-to-treat approach to examine whether a referral to a family group conference (FGC) was associated with re-referrals, substantiated re-referrals, or out-of-home placements among child welfare-involved families receiving in-home services. We found no significant associations between treatment and control group assignment and the three outcomes for the sample as a whole. However, families with more children had higher odds of a re-referral and a substantiated re-referral, families with more than one parent had higher odds of re-referral, and families where a substance abuse services referral was noted had higher odds of out-of-home placement. In interaction models with race, we found that families with African American mothers who were referred for an FGC were more likely to be re-referred compared to other families, but no differences were identified with respect to their rates of substantiated re-referrals or out-of-home placements. Implications are discussed.

The influence of differential response and other factors on parent perceptions of child protection involvement.

As Child Protective Services (CPS) agencies examine how to produce better outcomes with the families they serve, child welfare literature has increasingly focused on the perspectives, emotional responses, and engagement of CPS-involved parents or other primary caregivers. Despite this encouraging trend, the construct of engagement is ill-defined and our understanding of precursors to and factors affecting parent engagement is limited. This article extends the literature by presenting a conceptual framework for examining engagement and associating the identified constructs with parent outcomes. Using data from a survey of parents who were randomly assigned to receive either an assessment response (AR) or investigation response (IR) in two states' Differential Response CPS systems, a factor analysis on 12 commonly assessed emotional responses reported by parents indicated that parents responded with three primary emotions: positive affect, worry, or anger and that these responses varied by their receipt of AR or IR. Further, the results of multivariate analyses indicate that pathway assignment (AR or IR), parents' assessments of the quality of the casework they received, and other parent or household factors contribute to differences observed on the three emotional response factors identified.

Longitudinal analysis of repeated child abuse reporting and victimization: multistate analysis of associated factors.

Most child subjects of maltreatment reports to child protective services (CPS) are involved just once, whereas other children experience repeated investigations and victimizations. This study examines individual, maltreatment, and service-related factors associated with maltreatment rereporting and substantiated rereporting in a multistate context. Case-level National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System data (505,621 children) were analyzed. Within 24 months, 22% of children were rereported, and 7% were rereported with substantiation. Younger and White and mixed race children, those with disabilities, and those whose caregivers abused alcohol were more likely to be rereported and rereported and substantiated. Service provision, including foster care placement, was associated with increased likelihood of subsequent events. When CPS agency performance is assessed using measures of reentry, separate measures may be necessary for children who receive services, so that improvements in safety can be appropriately recognized. Reentry into CPS is a complex interaction of risks to children and systemic factors tied to the intervention they receive.