Prevalence and Predictors of Intimate Partner Violence Among Youth With Foster Care Histories.

A small but growing body of research suggests that adolescents and young adults involved with the child welfare system and those transitioning out of foster care are at heightened risk of experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV). Understanding the factors that place youth at risk of IPV is central to prevention and treatment of this public health problem. However, questions remain about the prevalence and correlates of IPV among youth in foster care. Additionally, emotional abuse, a particular form of IPV in intimate partnerships, remains an understudied area in this population. This study aimed to address these gaps in research by exploring factors associated with IPV using longitudinal data from a representative sample of older youth in California Foster Care who participated in the California Youth Transitions to Adulthood Study (CalYOUTH). Our IPV outcome measures included victimization, perpetration, bidirectional IPV, and emotional abuse. Findings suggest that approximately one-fifth (20.4%) of CalYOUTH respondents had experienced some form of IPV at age 23, with emotional abuse and bidirectional violence being the most commonly reported types of IPV. Females reported emotional abuse, as well as bidirectional violence, at nearly double the rates of their male counterparts. Self-identified sexual minority youth (SMY; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning) were more likely to report IPV victimization, IPV perpetration, and bidirectional violence than their non-SMY peers. Youth with histories of emotional abuse, caregiver IPV victimization, sexual abuse in foster care, placement instability, substance use, anxiety, and incarceration were also at heightened risk of IPV involvement. Emotional abuse was most prevalent with SMY. The findings contribute to the growing research on IPV among transition-age foster youth with important implications for future research, practice, and policy.

Screening and Assessment of Suicidal Behavior in Transition-Age Youth with Foster Care Involvement.

Transition-age youth with foster care involvement (TAY, ages 17-22) are at heightened risk for suicidal behavior. Despite this, mental health screenings are not standardized across child welfare (CW) systems and existing assessment tools are not designed for use with this specific population. As such, TAY are unlikely to be adequately screened for suicide risk and connected with needed services. In this paper, we sought to identify screening and assessment tools that could be effective for use with TAY in CW settings. Using PubMed and PsycINFO, we conducted a search of the current literature to identify some of the most commonly used screening and assessment tools for youth. We then narrowed our focus to those tools that met predefined inclusion criteria indicating appropriateness of use for TAY in CW settings. As a result of this process, we identified one brief screening tool (the ASQ) and four assessments (the SIQ-JR, the C-SSRS, the SHBQ, and the SPS) that demonstrated specific promise for use with TAY. The strengths and limitations of the tools are discussed in detail, as well as the ways that each could be used most effectively in CW settings. We highlight three key points intended to guide social work practice and policy: (1) systematic, routine assessment of mental health and suicide risk across CW settings is critical; (2) the protocol for assessing suicidal behavior in TAY must account for the wide variations in context and service provision; and (3) CW workers administering assessments must be thoughtfully trained on risk identification and the protocol implementation.

An Examination of Coping Strategies and Intent to Leave Child Welfare During the COVID 19 Pandemic.

Child welfare work is inherently difficult, and child welfare agencies are known to experience high rates of turnover. We sought to expand the existing literature on intention to leave one's child welfare agency and commitment to child welfare work through examining the coping mechanisms of frontline workers. Having and utilizing healthy coping mechanisms has proved beneficial to child welfare workers in previous research. In this paper, we examine specific coping mechanisms identified in the Comprehensive Organizational Health Assessment and how they were associated with child welfare workers' intent to leave their agency and their commitment to remain in the field of child welfare during the SARS CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic. We surveyed over 250 child welfare caseworkers using the COHA instrument. Using both bivariate analysis and linear regression, we identify specific coping mechanisms, such as staying present with friends and family, as highly influential and discuss ways to strengthen these areas.