Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 8 of 8
Full-Text Articles in Social Work
Reunifying From Behind Bars: A Quantitative Study Of The Relationship Between Parental Incarceration, Service Use, And Foster Care Reunification, Amy C. D’Andrade, M. Valdez
Reunifying From Behind Bars: A Quantitative Study Of The Relationship Between Parental Incarceration, Service Use, And Foster Care Reunification, Amy C. D’Andrade, M. Valdez
Faculty Publications
Incarcerated parents attempting to reunify with their children in foster care can find it difficult to complete the activities on their court-ordered case plans, such as drug treatment services and visitation with children. Although much has been written regarding the obstacles that are likely to interfere with reunification for incarcerated parents, very little quantitative research has examined the topic. This study uses secondary data to examine the incarceration experiences and reunification outcomes of a sample of 225 parents in one large urban California county. In multivariate analysis controlling for problems and demographics, incarcerated parents were less likely to reunify with …
Parental Problems, Case Plan Requirements, And Service Targeting In Child Welfare Reunification, Amy C. D’Andrade, R. Chambers
Parental Problems, Case Plan Requirements, And Service Targeting In Child Welfare Reunification, Amy C. D’Andrade, R. Chambers
Faculty Publications
Only about half of parents attempting to reunify with their children in foster care succeed in their efforts. Parents are ordered by the court to use treatment services in order to resolve their problems. These treatment services thus play a critical role in reunification, and in fact the use of services appropriately matched to parents' problems has been found to be associated with a greater likelihood of reunification. However, there is little in the literature regarding the specific requirements of reunification case plans, and whether they are accurately targeted at reunifying parents' problems. This mostly descriptive study uses case file …
The Differential Effects Of Concurrent Planning Practice Elements On Reunification And Adoption, Amy C. D’Andrade
The Differential Effects Of Concurrent Planning Practice Elements On Reunification And Adoption, Amy C. D’Andrade
Faculty Publications
Objective: The child welfare practice of concurrent planning attempts to shorten children's stays in foster care. There is very little quantitative research on concurrent planning's effects. This study examines the influence of concurrent planning practice elements (reunification prognosis, concurrent plan, full disclosure, and discussion of voluntary relinquishment) on reunification and adoption. Method: Using a sample of 885 children, an observational design, and statistical controls, children who received concurrent planning elements were compared to those who did not. Results: Findings show discussion of voluntary relinquishment to be positively associated with adoption and full disclosure to be negatively associated with reunification. Conclusions: …
Risk And Safety Assessment In Child Welfare: Instrument Comparisons, Amy C. D’Andrade, Michael J. Austin, A Benton
Risk And Safety Assessment In Child Welfare: Instrument Comparisons, Amy C. D’Andrade, Michael J. Austin, A Benton
Faculty Publications
The assessment of risk is a critical part of child welfare agency practice. This review of the research literature on different instruments for assessing risk and safety in child welfare focuses on instrument reliability, validity, outcomes, and use with children and families of color. The findings suggest that the current actuarial instruments have stronger predictive validity than consensus-based instruments. This review was limited by the variability in definitions and measures across studies, the relatively small number of studies examining risk assessment instruments, and the lack of studies on case decision points other than the initial investigation.
Understanding And Measuring Child Welfare Outcomes, Amy C. D’Andrade, Kathy Lemon Osterling, Michael J. Austin
Understanding And Measuring Child Welfare Outcomes, Amy C. D’Andrade, Kathy Lemon Osterling, Michael J. Austin
Faculty Publications
The new "Children's and Family Services Reviews" (CFSR) process focuses on the effectiveness of services to children and families by measuring client outcomes. This article reviews the research literature related to child welfare outcomes in order to provide a context for federal accountability efforts. It also summarizes the 2001 federal mandate to hold states accountable for child welfare outcomes and describes California's response to this mandate. Implications of the outcomes literature review and measurement problems in the CFSR process suggest CSFR measures do not always capture meaningful outcomes. Recommendations for change are made.
Reasonable Efforts? Implementation Of The Reunification Exception Provisions Of Asfa, J D. Berrick, C Young, Amy C. D’Andrade, L Frame
Reasonable Efforts? Implementation Of The Reunification Exception Provisions Of Asfa, J D. Berrick, C Young, Amy C. D’Andrade, L Frame
Faculty Publications
The Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) of 1997 includes provisions to deny reunification services under specified conditions and gives states latitude to develop any number of additional “aggravated circumstances” in which parents need not be offered services. California legislators have developed a relatively large number of conditions enabling agencies to bypass reunification services. Based upon a case record review involving 1,055 parents, this study attempts to identify the proportion of parents eligible for a reunification bypass, the proportion recommended to the courts, and the proportion of parents who were denied reunification services, and examines the characteristics of parents associated …
Understanding And Addressing Racial/Ethnic Disproportionality, Kathy Lemon Osterling, Amy C. D’Andrade, Michael J. Austin
Understanding And Addressing Racial/Ethnic Disproportionality, Kathy Lemon Osterling, Amy C. D’Andrade, Michael J. Austin
Faculty Publications
Racial/ethnic disproportionality in the child welfare system is a complicated social problem that is receiving increasing amounts of attention from researchers and practitioners. This review of the literature examines disproportionality in the front-end of the child welfare system and interventions that may address it. While none of the interventions had evidence suggesting that they reduced disproportionality in child welfare front-end processes, some of the interventions may improve child welfare case processes related to disproportionality and outcomes for families of color.
Concurrent Planning In Public Child Welfare Agencies: Oxymoron Or Work In Progress?, Amy C. D’Andrade, L Frame, J D. Berrick
Concurrent Planning In Public Child Welfare Agencies: Oxymoron Or Work In Progress?, Amy C. D’Andrade, L Frame, J D. Berrick
Faculty Publications
Concurrent planning is used increasingly in child welfare practice as one strategy to expedite permanency for children. The strategy was developed in small, private agency contexts utilizing comprehensive and intensive services; how and with what success concurrent planning concepts have been implemented by large public child welfare bureaucracies is not known. This study examines the implementation of concurrent planning in six county child welfare agencies in a large western state. Quantitative data were extracted from case files of a sample of 885 children entering out-of-home care before and after implementation of concurrent planning legislation. Interviews and focus groups with 180 …