Showing papers in "Child Welfare in 2000"

Placement stability for children in out-of-home care: a longitudinal analysis.

Abstract: This study examines the number of placement moves experienced over an eight-year period by 5,557 children in one state who first entered out-of-home care between birth and age six. This group comprised 28% of all young children who entered care during this period. Nearly 30% of children in kinship care and 52% of children in nonrelative care experienced placement instability (defined as three or more moves after the first year in care). Children in kinship care, regardless of age, had fewer placement moves than those in nonkinship care. A multivariate analysis found that children who had more than one placement move during their first year of care were more likely to experience placement instability in long-term out-of-home care than if they did not move or were moved only once during their first year in care.

Family group decision making: protecting children and women

Abstract: With rising demands on child welfare, workers need to consider new options, including strategies that promote a collaborative effort of family, community, and government. Family group conferencing integrates efforts to advance child and adult safety and strengthens family unity while expanding its meaning. The conclusions in this article are based on family interviews and child protective services' file comparison from an outcome study of the Family Group Decision Making Project.

Understanding reentry to out-of-home care for reunified infants.

Abstract: Although many children placed in out-of-home care are reunified with their families of origin, a significant portion reenter care, reflecting continued family problems and weaknesses within the child welfare system. For infants, the stability of reunification is particularly crucial, given their developmental stage. This study reviewed the case records of 88 randomly selected infants who had been reunified with their families. Thirty-two percent of those infants reentered care within four to six years of their reunification. The identification of factors predictive of reentry into care has both policy and practice implications.

Costing child protective services staff turnover.

Abstract: This article details the process used in one state to determine the financial costs to the child welfare agency accrued over the course of one year that were directly attributable to CPS staff turnover. The formulas and process for calculating specific cost elements due to separation, replacement and training are provided. The practical considerations inherent in this type of analysis are highlighted, as well as the use of this type of data to inform agency human resource strategies. Retention of child protective services staff continues to be a challenge faced by public child welfare agencies nationwide. Although national figures on the number of CPS workers who leave CPS employment yearly are not readily available, a national survey conducted in the late 1980s estimated an 8% (+/-4%) rate of attrition for CPS workers nationwide [Fryer et al. 1989]. More recent data obtained from one midwestern state suggests an average of about 20% turnover in CPS positions annually from 1995 through 1999 [Nebraska Health and Human Services System 2000]. In an effort to understand and manage this turnover, researchers have devoted a great deal of attention to the construct of worker burnout (e.g., Armstrong [1979]; Daley [1979]; Maslach [1978]). Longitudinal research suggests that CPS worker burnout can result in high levels of worker turnover (e.g., Savicki & Cooley [1994]), although earlier studies have not found clear support for this relationship (e.g., Jayaratne & Chess [1985]). Beyond this focus on causal relationships between burnout and worker turnover, very little has been documented about the specific impact that CPS staff turnover has on child welfare agency functioning. Even moderate levels of staff turnover can create crisis conditions in any type of work organization if there is a shortage of trained replacements readily available to assume the workload. In the child protection field, the exit of an experienced investigator or case manager can have an overwhelming effect on the workload of the remaining staff in the work unit. The challenge of providing even basic coverage for the vacated caseload, much less a level of continuity in service to those families, is a daunting task. Abundant supplies of qualified, competent applicants are often not available, and so the process of filling the staff vacancy and getting the new hire "up to speed" invariably takes longer than supervisors would like. The continuous cycle of turnover in many CPS work units means that operating understaffed has become the norm, rather than the exception. Many agencies have instituted extensive preservice training programs designed to advance newly hired CPS staff to a minimum level of competence, including those in New York City, Los Angeles County, and Nebraska. These training programs represent a significant upfront investment of agency resources that are expended prior to gaining much in the way of productivity from the new hire. Field mentoring or "on-the-job" training (OJT) programs that utilize senior staff or supervisors to coach new trainees can involve significant expenditures of experienced staff time for developing new employee skills. If the new employee quits after only a year or two (or many times, less) of employment, the question arises as to whether the agency has recouped its investment of resources. Viewed from another perspective, given that long-term employment is not the norm for many child protection staff, what is a reasonable level of expenditure for the agency to invest in the recruitment, selection, and training of new staff? Understanding the agency's current investment in these human resource processes is an important first step in evaluating potential strategies for improving the hiring, training, and retention of staff. This article describes a method for quantifying the extent of these investments in a familiar, readily understood metric. Costing Human Resources Activities Methods for cost accounting of human resources began to receive attention in the 1960s and have been in limited use since that time (see Cascio [1991] for a review). …

Mapping child maltreatment: looking at neighborhoods in a suburban county.

Abstract: This study used administrative data, census data, and geographic information system (GIS) technology to map and analyze the rates and distribution of child physical abuse, sexual abuse, and neglect at the neighborhood level in a suburban jurisdiction. The results provide an example of how administrative data, census data, and GIS technology can give child protective services and community-based agencies a visual tool to help identify and target neighborhoods in which children may be at high risk for maltreatment.

Attitudes of Low-Income Parents toward Seeking Help with Parenting: Implications for Practice.

Abstract: Fifty-two low-income parents were surveyed to determine attitudes toward parenting and help seeking. Although a majority agreed that most parents, even "good" parents, need help or advice about parenting and thought they would seek help with parenting, low-income parents were less likely to believe in or seek out help than those with higher incomes. The most frequently selected sources of help were family, books and videos, telephone help-lines, and friends. The least likely sources of help were child protective services, school personnel, clergy, and social service/counseling agencies. Parent support and education groups were likely sources of support for only one in four low-income parents.

Using administrative data.

Abstract: Child welfare agencies have always collected and reported some statistical data to their fenders and licensing agencies The computerization of the records upon which such statistics are based, however, has had a major impact upon the application of such data in the management of agencies and the daily work of caseworkers Equally important is the impact that the availability of such records is having upon the field of child welfare research The nature of automated data-that they are maintained on a regular basis, that they address critical aspects of agency work, that they are client based-leads to using the data not only for management but also for research This issue of Child Welfare presents a selection of studies by researchers who are using administrative data to better describe and understand social service programs Administrators and workers who think of administrative databases as simply filing cabinets for data on individual cases will be interested to learn how these data can be of much greater use Maza discusses the history of using the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) data to reward states that achieve increased adoptions Wulczyn et al, discuss the use of administrative data to measure contract agency performance Moore et al discuss the use of administrative data in developing outcome reports These three articles are examples of measuring critical components of performance through such databases English et al provide a description of the progress from data collection to data utilization and its impact on improving agency performance Graef and Hill's analysis of administrative data to determine costs of worker turnover provides an example of the use of such data for agency management Percy et al's study of Northern Ireland describes a new way of allocating funds to small local areas This set of articles clearly links the use of administrative data to agency culture and agency management The remaining articles discuss additional ways of analyzing data and speak to administrators and researchers, who may already have some experience in using such data Ernst combines census data with geographical mapping software to assess the risk of child abuse and neglect by neighborhood Fluke et al discuss strategies for overcoming problems caused by missing or noncomparable data in understanding the outcomes of an agency's services Garnier and Poertner discuss measurement problems in using administrative data Webster et al discuss the use of a subset of a larger longitudinal dataset to discover information new to the field Schoech et al introduce data mining and give some glimpses of potential uses by agencies as well as funders The term administrative data has its origins in the information used by agencies to manage and administer their programs and provide client services For example, a report in the 1960s by the US Children's Bureau discusses the universe from which a sample of data on children receiving child welfare services could be drawn The report states that "most public and voluntary agencies keep a frequent check, usually monthly, on the size of their caseloads for various administrative and reporting reasons" [Jeter 1963: 160] Administrative data, therefore, connotes data that are available because they are regularly collected to conduct the functions of the agency Among early child welfare agencies and indeed up to the present day, much of these data have been maintained in paper records One hundred years ago, orphanage workers kept logs in large volumes of children who entered their care and their characteristics Even now there are agencies and programs that keep their essential notes on children in their care on filing cards In spite of the availability of these paper records, child welfare researchers have traditionally used other sources of data to gain information about the characteristics of children who are served, the nature of the services that they have received, and the results of these services …

Concept mapping the needs of foster parents.

Abstract: This study describes the needs of foster parents as perceived by the foster parents themselves. Forty-nine parents from 30 foster families were asked to describe their needs in response to the question: "What do you need to be a good foster parent?" Five themes were apparent in their answers: (1) good working relationships; (2) cultural sensitivity; (3) harmonious and stable family relationships; (4) adequate payment for services; and (5) a range of personality characteristics and parenting skills. These themes are consistent with the literature, with the notable exception of respite, a need identified in the literature but not by the sampled foster parents. The study results lend credibility to the existing literature on the needs of foster parents.

Power through choices: the development of a sexuality education curriculum for youths in out-of-home care.

Abstract: Youths in out-of-home care demonstrate high rates of sexual risk-taking behavior and elevated rates of unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). This article profiles the development and characteristics of an innovative pregnancy/HIV/STI prevention curriculum tailored to the needs of youths in out-of-home care. Promising results from an implementation study suggest the need for further dissemination and rigorous testing.

Reforming child protective services.

Abstract: Child welfare analysts, practitioners, and the general public all agree: the child protective services system (CPS) is in crisis and is in urgent need of reform. Children at risk are not being adequately protected, and they and their families are not receiving the services that they need. This article briefly reviews the problems facing CPS today, outlines a vision for reforming CPS, and suggests ways to move from today's CPS to the CPS of the future. The child protective services system (CPS) is mandated by law to receive and respond to reports of child abuse and neglect. CPS agencies respond to the reports in a variety of ways. If upon investigation, CPS finds that a child was abused or neglected, then usually the case remains open for longer-term CPS intervention. Depending on the severity of the maltreatment and the level of risk, the child might be removed from the home and placed in out-of-home care, or the child might remain at home under the super-vision of CPS or another agency. If, however, CPS finds that a child was not abused or neglected (or if CPS determines that a report does not warrant an investigation), then typically the family's case is closed and no further services are provided. As this brief description suggests, CPS workers make a series of decisions about children's safety. Each of these decisions is subject to error-at each step of the way, CPS may err by not providing sufficient protection to children, or by intervening too aggressively. Most observers of the system agree that the rate at which such errors occur is unacceptably high (see, for example, Schene [1998]; Besharov [1998]). Nationally, about three million children were reported to CPS in 1997 [U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 1999], a more than fourfold increase over the number reported just 20 years earlier [Waldfogel 1998]. As the number of reports has increased, so too has concern about the operations of the child protective services system. In 1988, the National Association of Public Child Welfare Administrators concluded that the CPS system was in need of an overhaul; this group called for a new three-tier system, comprising a more narrowly focused CPS, an expanded voluntary/preventive family support system, and an adequately funded child well-being system [NAPCWA 1988]. That same year, a collaborative effort of the American Bar Association, the American Public Welfare Association, and the American Enterprise Institute recommended revamping child abuse and neglect reporting and investigation; it specifically called for providing better guidance to reporters and tighter screening criteria (see Besharov [1988]). In the late 1980s, Kamerman and Kahn conducted their own multistate study, concluding that the states were so overwhelmed by their child protective responsibilities that they were unable to provide either quality child protection or child welfare services. They too called for major reforms within CPS, as well as a strengthening of the child welfare and child well-being systems [Kamerman & Kahn 1990a; 1990b], as did a study by the Center for the Study of Social Policy [Farrow 1993]. Around the same time, the American Public Welfare Association [19911 and the U.S. Advisory Board on Child Abuse and Neglect [1991; 1993] also issued major reports calling for reforms to CPS. The growing consensus that the CPS system was in need of overhaul was the impetus for the convening of an Executive Session on Child Protective Services at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government in 1994. The Executive Session brought together a diverse group of individuals with knowledge and experience of the child protective services system to review the current state of CPS and make recommendations for reform. After a three-year review, this group also concluded that CPS was in need of major reform [Farrow 1997; Waldfogel 19981. Taken together, these reviews constitute a powerful critique of CPS today Cutting across these reviews are five common problems that must be addressed if CPS is to do an adequate job of protecting children [Waldfogel 1998]: 1. …

Policy challenges for child welfare in the new century.

Abstract: Recent changes in public policy reflect increased efforts to scapegoat poor women and children and to polarize the objectives of child protection and family preservation. This article challenges various stakeholders in the child welfare field to move beyond the quick-fix solutions and bureaucratic overregulation precipitated by horror stories of child abuse in the media. The new century presents an opportunity to pursue differential intervention strategies that protect children while empowering poor families and communities.

Child welfare education and training: future trends and influences.

Abstract: Based on a review of current economic, political, social, and professional trends, the authors propose recommendations for child welfare education and training. Future partnerships between child welfare agencies and schools of social work will need to incorporate cross-system collaboration, multiculturalism, and family-centered approaches with a broader conceptualization of child well-being. Perhaps no other field of social work practice is more influenced by its context than child welfare, By child welfare we mean primarily the "constellation of public provisions and professional processes which are created to meet the needs of children who have not 'fared well"' [Laird & Hartman 1985: 5]! Whether in policymaking, program development, or direct practice, those providing services to the most vulnerable families and children do so in an environment of constant change, limited resources, competing and sometimes conflicting expectations from a multitude of stakeholders, and new technologies, many of which are largely untested. Preparing professionals through professional education and training to work in this environment presents its own challenges. Schools of social work, as institutions, have their own obstacles to overcome as they try to both create and manage change in an academic environment that is not always conducive to rapid response. This article briefly discusses preparation for professional practice in child welfare in the United States today, then delineates some of the current social and political trends and events that are shaping child welfare. Some of these are broad social trends; others are changes and new directions that are professional in nature and that have a direct impact on the provision of child welfare services. The implications of some of these trends for educating social work professionals for child welfare practice are highlighted, and a set of recommendations for curriculum content and approach are suggested. Preparing for Professional Practice Professional practice in child welfare is primarily agency based, conducted in public agencies whose legislative mandate is to serve dependent and neglected children, and in private, nonprofit agencies providing contracted services to these children and their families. Social workers in these agencies are professionally trained and provide services in programs that range from child protection to out-of-home care, from adoption to adolescent support. They may work at any level in the agency, from director to supervisor to direct service provider. Other staff in these agencies, even those whose title is also "social worker," may have no professional training in social work. It is generally agreed, however, that formal education in social work is the best preparation for child welfare practice, with the B.S.W being the first level of professional education, followed by the M.S.W for advanced practice levels [Liederman 1995]. Child welfare staff with social work training perceive themselves as better prepared than their colleagues who lack such training in a number of knowledge and skill areas in child welfare [Leiberman et al. 1989]; they also provide higher quality services [Olsen & Holmes 19821. Schools of social work vary widely in their curriculum approaches to preparing professionals. Some offer specialties in fields of practice such as child welfare. Others specialize in preparing professionals with management, community, or clinical skills. The curriculum in most schools offering a master's of social work includes some content on child welfare, given its prominence as a field of practice, although the organization of this content is varied.' Regardless of an individual school's choice of curriculum approach, every accredited program must include curriculum content (in both the classroom and field education) in core areas such as human behavior and the social environment, research, diversity and work with special populations, and values and ethics. …

The role of friends, in-laws, and other kin in father-perpetrated child physical abuse.

Abstract: Thirty-five physically abusive fathers were matched with a comparison sample to test multiple systemic explanations for child physical abuse, using an ecological perspective, and to show the relationship between the structure of social ties and the function of those ties. The physically abusive fathers were found to have received significantly fewer emotional and instrumental supports from their friends, in-laws, and other kin than the comparison fathers, and were only weakly linked to members of their social networks--members who might have discouraged the fathers' aggressive impulses or provided additional support to them and to their families.

The heterogeneity of children and their experiences in kinship care.

Abstract: Increasingly, children in need of out-of-home care are being placed in kinship care, yet few studies have followed their placement histories longitudinally to determine if these children constitute a homogeneous group or heterogeneous subgroups. This study of 484 children in kinship care in San Diego County, California, indicates that children in kinship care have markedly different sociodemographic and maltreatment histories, as well as heterogeneous placement experiences.

The effectiveness of CASAs in achieving positive outcomes for children.

Abstract: Using a quasiexperimental design, this study evaluated the effectiveness of CASAs in achieving positive outcomes for children, and examined the process variables believed to lead to permanency for children. Data were collected from court and CASA program files over a two-year period on 200 children, who were compared to children without CASA volunteers on outcome and process variables. Findings indicate that CASAs may have helped reduce the number of placements and court continuances children experienced, and that more services were provided to children with CASAs than to those without. Additional research is needed to further evaluate the impact of CASA services on children. The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 1976 mandated that children involved in judicial proceedings due to abuse or neglect have a guardian ad litem (GAL) appointed to advocate for their best interests. In 1977, dissatisfied with the effort and cost of using attorneys as GALs, juvenile court judges in King County, Washington, began using citizen volunteers as GALs, calling them court-appointed special advocates (CASA). By 1998,843 CASA and CASA-affiliated programs were established nationwide, with more than 47,000 volunteers representing 183,339 children [National CASA Association 1998]. CASAs provide a voice for children in judicial proceeding and advocate for the placement of children in safe homes intended to be permanent. They are trained community volunteers who are asked to make a commitment for the duration of a child's involvement with the court and child welfare systems. Because CASA volunteers are usually assigned to only one case at a time, they typically can give more time and attention to it than can attorneys and/or child welfare workers. Additionally, children can benefit from having an advocate who is outside the court system, child welfare system, and parent-child relationship. CASA programs may follow one of four models: (1) the GAL model-the CASA is the child's GAL; 2) the "friend of the court" model-the CASA serves as an impartial observer, conducts investigations with key people, and makes recommendations to the court (Children assigned a CASA under this model also have attorney GALs.); (3) the "team" model-the CASA and attorney are appointed by the court to perform the functions of the GAL, and the CASA works "for" the attorney by providing the attorney with needed information to represent the child in judicial proceedings; and (4) the "monitor" model-the CASA monitors court orders for compliance and alerts the court about failures to comply, but has little, if any, contact with the children and families [Miller & Wolf Survey, in Condelli 19881. This study adds to the small body of literature presently available regarding the effectiveness of CASAs in helping achieve permanency for children who have been abused or neglected and are involved with the court system. Literature Review Since the inception of the CASA program in 1977, only a handful of quantitative studies have been conducted regarding the impact CASA volunteers have on the lives of the children they serve, with inconclusive, yet promising results. Utilizing a true experimental design, Abramson [1991] demonstrated that children assigned a CASA were less likely to re-enter out-of-home care once discharged than were children without CASAs. That study also showed that children with CASAs were more likely to have case goals that reflected permanency than those not served by CASAs. Three studies have demonstrated that children with CASA volunteers are more likely to be adopted than those who do not have CASA volunteers [Abramson 1991; Poertner & Press 1990; Smith 1992]. Two other studies have demonstrated that children with CASAs experienced shorter stays in out-of -home care than children without CASAs [Oregon Governor's Task Force 1995; Leung 1996]. Other research involving CASAs suggests that children and families served by CASAs have more services provided to them by child welfare agencies than do children without such volunteers [CSR, Inc. …

Ready or not: assessing youths' preparedness for independent living.

Abstract: This article discusses the utility of the Ansell-Casey Life Skills Assessment (ACLSA) in assessing life skills necessary for living successfully in the community upon emancipation from out-of-home care. ACLSA, completed by youths and their caregivers, identifies skills that have been mastered and those yet to be learned. Assessment information can be used for goal setting, strength identification, and relationship building, as well as to direct program planning and training in self-sufficiency services. Sherri, age 18, was raised in family foster care from the age of 7. She was brought into care due to neglect and legal problems resulting from her mother's drug use. In high school she made and kept her own appointments, occasionally fixed family meals, and held a job at a fast-food chain. Sherri's demeanor, however, is that of a much younger person. Her friends and her boyfriend are all significantly younger than she is. Sherri is often unprepared for class and other commitments. She attended one semester of junior college and was placed on academic probation. During this time she received money from financial aid and employment. She paid her bills and met her other financial obligations, but spent nearly every penny by the time her next check came. Sherri now wants to move out of her family foster home to live with a roommate. Sherri is typical of many of the more than 200,000 adolescents in the United States in out-of-home care [Tatara 1997]. Several studies have found that youths placed in out-of-home care demonstrate less desirable outcomes than peers in the general population in the areas of education, employment, public assistance, and housing (for extensive literature reviews see McDonald et al. [1996] and Pecora et al. [1996]). The federal Independent Living Initiative of 1986 (P.L. 99-272) requires that all youths in out-ofhome care be tested for life skill competencies by the age of 16. The intent of the initiative is that life skill deficiencies be identified and remediated before emancipation. The disruptions and traumas often suffered by youths in outof-home care may delay or interrupt the development of the knowledge and skills they need for self-sufficiency.* Programming and services designed to fill the needs and gaps in skill mastery created by these delays are essential for successful emancipation and social integration of youths in out-of-home care. Youths, caregivers, and service providers must take responsibility early in the placement process for developing an overall selfsufficiency plan by identifying needed attitudes, skills, and behaviors [Mech 1994; North et al. 1988]. Part of this responsibility is assessing youths' readiness to live on their own. This article discusses the utility of the Ansell-Casey Life Skills Assessment (ACLSA) to address these needs. The ACLSA, completed by youths and their caregivers, assesses the life skills found necessary for living successfully in the community upon emancipation from out-of -home care. It is a strengths-based tool for assessing life skills, setting goals for skills not yet learned, and evaluating program effectiveness. Assessing Life Skills The literature on assessment of youth self-sufficiency and life skills broadly separates into two categories: tangible and intangible skills. Tangible skills are those skills needed for daily living, selfmaintenance, and obtaining and sustaining gainful employment. They can be described as skills "we know or do" (adapted from Polowy et al. [1986]). Included are skills such as money management, household management, transportation, finding and using resources for leisure and recreation, and vocational interests and aptitudes. Intangible skills are those needed for interpersonal relationships and for maintaining employment, such as decisionmaking, problem-solving, planning, communication, self-esteem, anger and grief management, and social skills [Cook et al. 1989; Ryan et al. …

Data-based organizational change: the use of administrative data to improve child welfare programs and policy.

Abstract: Administrative databases hold the potential to have a significant impact on the development of effective child welfare programs and policies. This article discusses the strengths and weaknesses of administrative databases, issues with their implementation and data analysis, and effective presentation of their data at different levels in child welfare organizations. The development and use of administrative data in public and private child welfare agencies presents both challenges and opportunities. There is little doubt that the child welfare field is on a trajectory of increased development of administrative databases (ADBs). Most, but not all states have responded to the opportunities and requirements to develop administrative databases afforded by the 1986 Title IV E Social Security Act, and the 1993 Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (PL. 103-66). The Title IV-E Social Security Act mandated that states establish an Adoptions and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS), and P L.103-66 provided funding incentives for Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information Systems (SACWIS). More recently, the SACWIS requirements have been translated into requirements for a National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System [NCANDS 1993]. In addition to federal efforts to promote a national child welfare database, national child welfare organizations and committees have been calling for the development of these data systems as part of the general movement toward outcomes and accountability measures (see Courtney and Collins [1994] and McDonald et al. [1989] for review). Both the American Humane Association and the Child Welfare League of America have promoted child welfare outcome-oriented initiatives to assist the field in developing and implementing program outcomes [Magura & Moses 1986; Gordon 1999; McDaniel 1999]. Administrative databases are a key component to the integration of outcomes into child welfare practice and policy development [Roos & Shapiro 1999]. Drake and Jonson-Reid [1999] outline many of the strengths and weaknesses inherent in administrative databases. Among the benefits of ADBs are an enhanced ability to meet expectations of accountability, the ability to examine policy-relevant questions on a longitudinal as well as cross-sectional basis, and opportunities for replication and linkage to other datasets to provide a more comprehensive analysis of public child welfare issues [Drake & Jonson-Reid 1999]. Identified limitations include predetermined variables that limit the scope of relevant policy and practice research questions, incomplete or inaccurate recording, and possible bias [Drake & Jonson-Reid 1999; Lurie 1990]. These and other authors argue, however, that administrative databases are a key resource for the current and future analysis of policy and program relevant questions [Drake & Jonson-Reid 1999; Worrall 1991; Raybould & Coombes 1992]. To realize the potential for these administrative data systems, their use needs to be integrated into policy development, practice innovations, and the development of program outcomes. Given the potential limitations and opportunities inherent in the development and use of administrative databases, two factors can determine whether an administrative database will prove useful in policy development or public agency practice: the extent to which the ADB is integrated into the decisionmaking process, and the nature and quality of the underlying data contained within the ADB. If the data in the ADB are unreliable, or if the data are reliable but no one values or uses the information, it is unlikely that the system will have long-term viability. This article discusses issues associated with the use of one administrative database, including the nature and the quality of the data contained within this management information system, and the integration of administrative data in decisionmaking in a public child welfare agency setting. …

Policy lessons from children's allowances for children's savings accounts.

Abstract: This article examines the history and current structure of children's allowances around the world as well as the history of such allowances in the United States in an effort to provide the United States with a policy framework for children's savings accounts. The authors also provide policy direction for children's savings accounts.

The future of residential group care.

Abstract: The author addresses some of the tensions and strains that have affected the development of group care in the North American context. An argument is advanced for rethinking group care resources within a total continuum of child and family services.

Family preservation: a potential not yet realized.

Abstract: When they received widespread promotion and support beginning in the 1980s, family preservation services seemed to hold much promise for the child welfare field, and for the lives of families and children. Unfortunately, this promise has never been fully realized throughout the United States. This article traces the recent history of family preservation services, examines some of the reasons why efforts to implement family preservation services have been less than completely successful, and proposes a strategy for ensuring that these services reach their potential in the future.

A preventive services program model for preserving and supporting families over time.

Abstract: Selected findings from a three-year study are reported regarding a prospective sample of 189 families served by the Center for Family Life's preventive services program and the nature and results of the services the families received. The program combines elements of both family preservation and family support services to provide a comprehensive, individualized response to families in need and prevent the unnecessary placement of children in care. Four program elements correspond with those typically identified as characterizing family preservation programs, and three key program elements differentiate the Center's approach from other family preservation programs. These latter characteristics are more typically found in family support programs and address limitations of current family preservation programs as identified in the literature. In this time of change in social policy and service delivery systems, the programmatic options available to address families' diverse and challenging needs and problems must be expanded [Kamerman 1996]. In the past two decades, two distinct program models have emerged to address the needs of vulnerable families: family preservation and family support. The first was specifically designed to prevent, through the provision of intensive brief services, the imminent out-of-home placement of children in families on the verge of breaking apart. The second was envisioned as providing a range of continuously available primary prevention services to all families who perceived themselves as needing such support. There are many families, however, whose needs place them somewhere on a continuum between these two extremes: families who are not yet at serious risk of breakdown, but whose needs and problems are too complex to be adequately addressed by family support services. This article describes a program to prevent the unnecessary placement of children in out-of-home care. The program combines elements of both family preservation and family support services into a comprehensive yet individualized response to families in need. The description draws upon the findings from a threeyear study of the Center for Family Life in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.l The discussion focuses specifically on the Center's preventive program, a core service in this multiservice community-based agency. Selected study findings are reported regarding a prospective sample of 189 families served by this program and the nature and results of the services they received. Study sample families received services directly and through intra- and interagency referrals by a social worker in the preventive program. At the conclusion of the study's data collection phase (30 months), almost all (98.6%) of the 423 study sample children remained with their families. All five families in which a child had been placed continued to receive Center services either in the preventive program, the neighborhood foster care program, or other Center programs. In addition, 87.9% of the sample families' service needs had been addressed. This model provides a prototype for delivering comprehensive, integrated, and individualized services required by families with complex and varying sets of needs and problems. Family Preservation and Family Support Programs: Two Models for Serving Families Even a cursory reading of the professional literature in the 1990s reveals the extent of the ongoing effort to identify programs and practice approaches that preserve families and prevent children's unnecessary placement in out-of-home care. Beneficial effects of family preservation services have been reported [Berry 1992; Cole & Duva 1990; Feldman 1990; Fraser et al. 1991; Fraser et al. 1997; Jones et al.1976; Kinney et al.1991; Kinney et al.1977; McCroskey & Meezan 1997; Wells & Whittington 1993]. Many difficulties and issues, however, have been identified in defining and measuring service effects [Fraser et al. …

Linking child maltreatment retrospectively to birth and home visit records: an initial examination

Abstract: The study reported here tested the feasibility of linking administrative datasets for evaluation of home visiting as a strategy to reduce the incidence of child abuse and neglect. It also examined associations between maternal and child attributes coded in the birth record, and subsequent child maltreatment. The results show that home visiting efforts in Vermont were, in general, targeted to the populations most at-risk for child maltreatment. Mother's educational attainment, in particular, was identified as a potent correlate of child maltreatment, a finding with implications for high school dropout prevention and recovery efforts. Language: en

Using administrative data to reward agency performance: the case of the federal adoption incentive program.

Abstract: This article explores the history of the federal Adoption Incentive Program, the first federal child welfare outcome-based incentive program to rely solely on administrative data, and discusses it within the context of other prior and ongoing federal child welfare incentive programs. Various data-related issues are also examined, including the use of data to project program utilization and costs, set baselines for the number of adoptions, and award funds. Challenges in the legislatively required use of AFCARS data for determining the amount of incentive funds awarded and the impact of the program on AFCARS reporting are also discussed. The article concludes with a look at the impact of the Adoption Incentive Program on adoption and predictions for the future. The Adoption Incentive Program represents the intersection of two major trends in federal and state child welfare programming-outcome-based accountability and the development and improvement of state administrative data systems and reporting. The Adoption Incentive Program (also known as the Adoption Bonus Program) is authorized by Public Law 10589, the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 (ASFA), which established Section 473A of the Social Security Act. This new section of the Social Security Act authorizes payments to states that increase the number of children adopted from the public out-ofhome care system. The first year states could earn incentive funding was FY 1998, with funds to be awarded in FY 1999. Initially, $20 million was authorized and appropriated in the FY 1999 budget for these payments and authorized for all subsequent years, (FY 2000-FY 2003) to cover the earning years FY 1999 to FY 2002. Because states earned more funds than anticipated in FY 1998, an additional $23 million was appropriated in the FY 2000 budget to meet the shortfall, resulting in a total amount of $43 million appropriated in the FY 2000 budget. In any year, if appropriated funds are not adequate to cover all the funds that states have earned, the awards are distributed on a prorated basis. Background In December 1996, President Clinton directed the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop specific recommendations for strategies to achieve permanency more quickly for children in out-of-home care and to double the number of adoptions to 54,000 in FY 2002. [U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 1997] Data available at that time indicated that although the number of children in out-of-home care had increased from 242,000 in 1983 to almost 500,000 in 1995, the number of adoptions of children in out-of-home care had remained relatively flat at between 17,000 and 20,000 during this same period [Maza 1999a]. Many of these children had been in care for an extended period of time, and it was clear that many would not be able to return home. In response to the President's request, HHS consulted with child welfare professionals, policy experts, advocates, and foster and adoptive parents at the national, state, and local levels. The resulting report, Adoption 2002, contained a number of recommendations, two of which are closely related. The first was primarily a planning program, generally referred to as Adoption 2002, that asked states to develop plans for how they would double their adoptions, and to set annual targets for the number of adoptions to be finalized through 2002. The second, later established in federal legislation, would reward states with an annual financial bonus for each adoption finalized over a baseline number of adoptions [U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 1997]. This was the first establishment of an entirely outcome-based program through federal child welfare legislation. Context of Other Child Welfare Incentive Programs The Adoption Incentive Program is not the first incentive program established under federal statute. In fact, one can argue that virtually all recent federal child welfare legislation, when enacted, established incentive-based programs since states do not have to meet the specified requirements unless they wish to receive federal funds-states choosing not to participate do not receive the incentive funds. …

Improving child welfare performance through supervisory use of client outcome data.

Abstract: Despite their benefits, there is little evidence that outcome data are being widely used by program managers or field level supervisors. Three interdependent factors that facilitate the use of outcome data are well-constructed reports, and organizational culture that supports learning and outcome achievement, and managerial skills in interpreting data and taking relevant action. This article describes an outcome reporting package and training oriented toward frontline supervisors to help them use outcome data, shape a learning culture, interpret data, and take focused action toward improving outcomes for children and families.

Using administrative data to assess child safety in out-of-home care.

Abstract: This article describes efforts to produce useful safety measures from administrative data. A measure similar to that proposed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is presented and compared to a measure that takes into account the length of time children are in placement. These measures are also reported for out-of-home care placement types. The challenges posed in constructing such measures from extant data are discussed. Social workers remove children from parents and place them in out-of-home care because it is their judgment that those children are at risk for (continued) abuse or neglect. What, however, is the risk of abuse or neglect to those children in outof-home care? The popular media abound with stories of neglect, abuse, and even death among children who are in the care of foster parents, group homes, and institutions. These stories do little more than inflame public opinion. They furnish little background regarding the prevalence of such outcomes for children placed in out-of-home care, nor do they indicate the relative risk of abuse and neglect within a child's home of origin or the rate of abuse and neglect in the general population. The professional literature provides little help. Despite the fact that child welfare professionals have for many years placed children in family foster care and other out-of-home care arrangements, a significant and reliable body of research on the safety of children in these living arrangements has not developed. Prior to 1984, reports of abuse or neglect of children in out-of-home placements were often counted as violations of placement licensing standards rather than as incidents of abuse or neglect. In 1984, the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect began requiring states participating in their basic grant program to treat reports of abuse and neglect of children in out-of-home care like all other reports of abuse and neglect [Rosenthal et al. 1991]. The relative lack of data on the safety of children in the care of public welfare agencies may be understandable, given the difficulty of acquiring such data. First, most child welfare jurisdictions do not have information systems that allow them to produce these statistics. Even in states that have the capacity to report safety data, there are considerable challenges in producing useful measures from administrative databases. Second, direct collection of this information is very expensive. Two recent initiatives should contribute to the understanding and assessment of the safety of children in-out-of home care. The first, Section 203 of the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 [PL. 105-89], mandates that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services develop a common set of child welfare outcome indicators to be the basis of annual reports to Congress. Among the indicators to be developed is a measure of abuse and neglect in out-of-home care. Specifically, Child Welfare Outcome 2 asks, "Of all children who were in foster care during the reporting period, what percentage was the subject of substantiated or indicated maltreatment by a foster parent or facility staff?" The second initiative is the Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System (SACWIS) authorized by the Social Security Act of 1996. SACWIS provides financial incentives for states to develop, as its name implies, automated information systems that can track and report systemwide child welfare outcomes, including safety. This study reports on the development of indicators for the safety of children in out-of-home care using administrative data from the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. First, rates of abuse and neglect are reported for a four-year period covering state fiscal years 1996 through 1999. Overall rates of abuse and neglect are reported for the four years as well as the relative rates across different types of out-of-home care living arrangements. Second, the measurement of abuse or neglect as a simple percentage is examined, and an alternative is presented that accounts for the length of time a child is exposed to risk of abuse or neglect. …

Data mining in child welfare.

Abstract: Data mining is the sifting through of voluminous data to extract knowledge for decisionmaking. This article illustrates the context, concepts, processes, techniques, and tools of data mining, using statistical and neural network analyses on a dataset concerning employee turnover. The resulting models and their predictive capability, advantages and disadvantages, and implications for decision support are highlighted. Child welfare agencies, like other organizations, are in the process of rapid change, primarily due to the growth in the use of information technology. Agencies have been automating records for the last 10 to 15 years, but it is only in recent years that these systems have collected detailed data on agencies, personnel, clients, and services. Although many agencies now have sophisticated information systems, few are using agency data as a key resource to guide decisionmaking. Decision support is especially needed at the worker level, where task complexity, lack of training, and high turnover prevail. Data mining, a new field, entails sifting through voluminous data and records to extract knowledge for decisionmaking. A 1997-98 META Group study found that nearly 80% of companies expected data mining to be a critical success factor in 1999 [Levy 1999]. This article examines the historical and larger context of data mining and describes data mining processes, techniques, and tools. These are illustrated using a child welfare dataset concerning employee turnover that is "mined" using logistic regression and a Bayesian neural network. A discussion of the data mining process, the resulting models, their predictive capability, their advantages and disadvantages, and their implications for decision support concludes the article. History and Context Organizations have always been good data accumulators. Employees, however, are often drowning in data, but starved for knowledge [Naisbitt 1982]. Modern computer and information technologies allow organizations to change data into information and knowledge. One modern management task is to create the organizational structure and processes whereby each employee has instant and easy access to the accumulated knowledge of the agency and the capacity to use that knowledge to improve his or her job performance [Ikujiro & Hirotaka 1995]. This collective knowledge or "organizational intelligence" implies that data are a shared resource, with everyone responsible for collecting, publishing, and using them. It also assumes an agency infrastructure that collects, stores, and manipulates data into knowledge for all to use. Thus, data become an interactive, fluid asset through which employees and stakeholders share, learn, improve, and create a more intelligent agency [Schoech 1999]. A primary role of management is transferring agency data and worker expertise into accumulated agency knowledge. Knowledge management involves systematically capturing organizational information and expertise, integrating it, and making it interactively available to employees who are trained to use it in decisionmaking to achieve goals. Knowledge management tasks include data warehousing, data mining, accumulating expertise, information dissemination, and organizational learning. This article focuses on the data mining task of knowledge management. Data mining can be formally defined as an analytic process designed to explore large amounts of data in search of consistent patterns or systematic relationships between variables, and then to validate the findings by applying the detected patterns to new subsets of data [Statsoft 1999]. Data mining can be distinguished from other forms of research in that with data mining, the dataset is explored without specific hypotheses to test. Data mining does not concern, disregard, or devalue intuition. Intuition falls within the knowledge management task of accumulating expertise. Data Mining Processes, Tools, and Techniques Data mining can be best understood by examining its processes, tools, and techniques. …

Measuring contract agency performance with administrative data.

Abstract: This article uses administrative data to analyze the relative performance of contract agencies-those organizations under contract with a city child welfare agency to provide out-of-home care services to children placed in the custody of the public agency-by examining how long it took children placed in out-of-home care to return home to their families. The objective was to determine whether credible empirical evidence could show a relationship between length of stay and the agency providing care. Agency level reunification rates are widely distributed around the mean, indicating that contract agency performance differs and that "agency effects" leave an independent imprint on a child's out-of-home care experience. Since research with administrative records first intensified more than 15 years ago, studies of children's length of stay in out-of-home care and other permanency outcomes have tended to use characteristics of the child and family as variables that explain differences in permanency outcomes. Within this tradition, researchers identify a permanency outcome-reunification, adoption, reentry, or some other-and then analyze the data to determine whether certain subpopulations of children happen to be more or less likely to experience that outcome [Barth 1997; Barth et al.1994; Benedict & White 1991; Courtney 1994]. Researchers have generally found that a child's characteristics-age, race or ethnicity, Title IV E eligibility, and prior placement history-- are indeed related systematically and consistently to the eventual permanency outcome. Over these same years, far less attention has been paid to how direct service providers influence the course of a child's placement, if at all. Within the child welfare system, service providers are charged with carrying out responsibilities that would otherwise be undertaken by the state. In the specific case of out-ofhome care, the providers offer a range of social and rehabilitative services in addition to basic board and maintenance. The organizations that provide out-of-home care do so under difficult circumstances and on behalf of children and families with complex needs. Nevertheless, one should expect differences between agencies in their ability to achieve permanency for children. Unfortunately, no research to date examines provider performance in a statistically rigorous manner. This represents an important gap in our knowledge for at least two reasons. First, public child welfare agencies are relying increasingly on the so-called private sector for the provision of outof-home care. Even in areas where service providers are well established, the relative scarcity of performance indicators at the provider level means that most public child welfare administrators have few insights into provider performance that they can use when making "purchasing" decisions that will affect large numbers of children. Second, the absence of provider-level performance data robs the field of crucial knowledge that could be used to advance child welfare reform more broadly defined. In health care, for example, Wennberg and Gittelsohn's (1973] original work showing the relationship between treatment, outcomes, and the organization of services had a profound impact on health care reform over the years [Wennberg & Gittelsohn 1973; McPherson et al. 1982; Wennberg 1984]. Similarly, findings from the Multistate Foster Care Data Archive project, which now includes data on out-of-home care from 11 states, show that children matched on basic demographic variables, but from different states, have very different lengths of stay [Wulczyn et al.1994; Wulczyn et al. 1999]. At some point in the not-so-distant future, differences in relative performance, whether they are observed at the state, county, or provider level, will have to be understood more clearly, or child welfare reform will likely stall. This article examines the performance of 43 out-of-home care providers operating in New York City Originally part of a larger project that tracked agency-level reunification, reentry into care, and adoption rates over time, the analysis presented here focuses on the reunification of children placed in out-of-home care for the first time by contract agencies at some point during calendar year 1995. …

Toward building a typology for the evaluation of services in family support programs.

Abstract: This article briefly reviews the history, philosophy, practice principles, and foci of family support programs, examines the typologies currently in use to classify these programs, and discusses the difficulties these classifications pose for program evaluators. The authors introduce a new typology that deconstructs family support programs into their component services and discuss the potential of this typology for evaluation of family support services. The creation of useful service typologies has been a difficult challenge for those working in the family support field. Leaders of the family support movement have recognized the limitations of current typologies, and have noted their inability to create mutually exclusive service categories, their shortcomings in fully reflecting the rich array of services currently delivered by family support programs, and their limited usefulness for classifying services for the purpose of program evaluation. Because of these and other shortcomings, the durability of current typologies is questionable (Kagan et al. 1996]. The difficulties encountered in creating a useful typology fox the evaluation of family support services are rooted in the evolution of these services. Modern family support programs developed as an amalgam of individual services. They are best described as a group of heterogeneous services, guided by a set of values and practice principles, derived from multiple theoretical underpinnings and numerous service delivery traditions. They thus differ significantly from one another and cannot be described as a unitary model with a set of defined, agreed upon outcomes. In fact, it is only in the last two decades that an attempt has been made to find commonalities among these diverse services and to unify them into a single, coherent "movement" [Kagan & Weissbourd 1994]. This article reviews the development of the early services and philosophies that helped to shape the modern family support movement, articulates how this movement emerged in the last 20 years, and describes the philosophical premises, principles, and practices that currently guide it. Family support program typologies currently in use are then detailed and critiqued to demonstrate their inability to guide outcome evaluations in the field. Finally, a typology of family support services is introduced that may better be used to conceptualize and design evaluations in this field. Historical Development of Family Support Programs The philosophical, theoretical, programmatic, and practice approaches of today's family support movement can be traced over the past 100 years to changing approaches to problem definition, the development of innovative services, the evolution of theory and knowledge, and an increasing commitment on the part of both community-based organizations and government to enhance the child-rearing capacities of families. Early Roots In reconceptualizing the causes of poverty, and shifting the responsibility for it from the individual to societal forces, the settlement house movement emphasized advocating for families within the community [Kagan & Weissbourd 1994], as well as helping residents to obtain services and concrete resources (Allen et al. 1992]. Thus, the settlement house movement foreshadowed some of the fundamental attitudes and values of the family support movement: a rejection of a deficit orientation, an emphasis on community and preventive interventions, an acknowledgment of the importance of providing social support, and the acceptance of advocacy as a service function [Kagan et al. 1996]. Parent education classes, a major component of today's family support programs, also had their beginnings in the progressive era, when organizations developed parenting guides and pamphlets, conducted training for parent educators and service providers, and brought mothers together in groups to discuss childrearing [Weiss & Halpern 1990; Weissbourd 1994]. …

Safety, permanency, and in-home services: applying administrative data.

Abstract: This article describes the construction and use of safety and permanency indicators, two aspects of a full set of indicators that also includes child well-being and family functioning. The indicators were constructed from Philadelphia's Family and Child Tracking System and were used to examine the city's Services to Children in their Own Home (SCOH) program. Cohort datasets were constructed through the use of extract files, and two independent data file construction algorithms were employed to calibrate the accuracy of the data construction process. The primary unit of analysis was the "family" spell in SCOH services. Contextual variables included family structure, race, and service intensity. The indicators associated with SCOH spells included reports of maltreatment after service, founded maltreatment after service, and out-of-home placement after service. Event history techniques were used to conduct the data analysis. Baseline indicator data for Philadelphia are presented, and future uses for such data are discussed. The management and operation of a large child welfare service delivery system is complex. Organizational performance measures are increasingly recognized as a crucial ingredient of child welfare services management [Casey Outcomes and Decision Making Project 1999]. Despite their limitations, administrative data are one of the primary resources for developing these measures. This article describes the use of administrative data in support of a project to develop outcome measures for the Children and Youth Division of the Department of Human Services (CYD/DHS) of the city of Philadelphia. The system of outcome measurement being designed in Philadelphia is based on three programmatic areas: (1) Services to Children in their Own Homes (SCOH); (2) Family Foster Care (FFC); and (3) Congregate Care (CC). All three areas are in some phase of implementation; the SCOH program outcome measurement system, however, is fully implemented. This article focuses on safety and permanency indicators for the in-home services program or Services to Children in their Own Home (SCOH). Using Administrative Data to Address Safety and Permanency Safety and permanency are two critical aspects of a set of outcome indicators, which also should include well-being and functioning. Obtaining well-being and functioning measures for child welfare has proven challenging. The production of safety and permanency indicators from administrative data, however, is becoming increasingly common in child welfare services, as the literature demonstrates. One important area of research that has developed focuses on understanding the range of services and their structure. Socalled pathways or caseload dynamics studies (c.f., Barth et al. [1994]; Courtney and Collins [1994]; Goerge et al. [1994]) are characterized by the use of computerized administrative data. Goerge et al. [1994: 543] offer a measurement framework for research in this area comprising the following elements: * Episodes or spells (duration of service), * Mean number of events (number of new services), Time between events, * Transition probability (likelihood of change from one state to another), and * Hazard rate (likelihood that the event will occur). In justifying the use of administrative data for these sorts of analyses, Barth et al. [1994] identify weaknesses in such data, but offer the most complete rationale for their use. Among their criticisms: administrative data are routinely incorrect due to errors in provision, and often, data are missing. Data are also limited to what is available from the data source, meaning that some information may not be obtainable. Among the strengths of these data are that their sample sizes are large enough not to distort the estimates of the populations. For low base rate events, these data may be the only way to obtain a large enough sample. The alternative process for collecting similar data-case record reviewis also problematic due to the potential for bias of the reader and the difficulty of obtaining sufficiently large samples. …

Future challenges and opportunities in child welfare.

Abstract: The advent of a new century stimulates a need in people to review the past and a readiness to contemplate future challenges and opportunities in one's area of interest. Those concerned with child welfare share this preoccupation. Looking back just a century ago, we see children riding orphan trains, no "safety net" for families, and child protection being addressed by voluntary organizations such as Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. Few then would have predicted the changes to and challenges in child welfare today. Given the developments of the past 100 years, it is natural for us to wonder what lies ahead in the next 100. What are the challenges facing the field? What resources need to be strengthened or developed to meet those challenges? Are there ways in which the field needs to think more creatively? Are there innovations or reforms that should be considered? In what direction is the field heading-and is this where we want to be going? Child Welfare sought answers to these questions from leaders in the field, who were invited to share their reflections and recommendations about the future of child and family welfare as we enter the 21st century Their responses are compiled in this special issue. This issue of Child Welfare also commemorates the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Child Welfare League of America, which from its inception has steadfastly served as an advocate for children and families in need. Overview The responses to Child Welfare's invitation were thoughtful and provocative, and the articles selected from them for this issue cover a range of topics: policy challenges, the future of family preservation, reforming child protective services, the future of residential group care, necessary paradigm shifts for child welfare workers and children, and child welfare education and training. The final article in this volume presents brief summaries of selected recent readings pertaining to the future of child and family welfare. An appendix provides contact information for the federally funded national resource centers in child welfare. The scope of child welfare is so broad that numerous other themes could have-and would have-been included in this special issue were it not for the limitations of space, including the focus on service outcomes, the impact of managed care, changes in federal and state legislation, the phenomenon of family violence, and the role and use of technology and data collection systems. Other pertinent topics have already been addressed in prior special issues of Child Welfare, most notably special-needs adoption [Sullivan & Freundlich 1999], family foster care [Barbell & Wright 19991, children with parents in prison [Seymour & Finney Hairston 1998], HIV /AIDS [Anderson et al. 1998], positive youth development [Nixon 1997], services for African American families and children [Jackson & Brissett-Chapman 1997], kinship care [Wilson & Chipungu 19961, and child day care [Hershfield & Selman 1995]. Policy Challenges Recent changes in federal law-particularly the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunities Act of 1996 [P.L. 104-1931 and the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 [P.L. 105-891-are challenging the current foundations of child welfare policy. In "Policy Challenges for Child Welfare in the New Century," Brenda G. McGowan and Elaine M. Walsh review these changes and their potentially negative impact on the stability of the child welfare system and the welfare of vulnerable children and families, especially the increasing number living in poverty and those with chronic personal or family problems. They delineate a number of opportunities to bring about positive change: increasing the involvement of child welfare professionals in presenting their views accurately and widely in the media, tracking the impact of recent legislative changes on the child welfare system (notably the potentially damaging effects of welfare reform), arguing more forcefully for the dual objectives of family preservation and child protection, and providing poor families with the opportunity to live in supportive and healthy communities. …