Social Work Commons^™

Professional Discretion Of Child Protective Services Investigators In Foster Care Placements, Leonard Fikes

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Families of color in North Carolina have been disproportionately affected in the child welfare system, particularly in the foster care system. The purpose of this qualitative research study examined the discretionary powers of Child Protective Services (CPS) investigators and how they interpreted and applied child welfare policies that disproportionally impacted African American families from marginalized, underrepresented communities. Guided by Wallander and Molander’s professional discretion as the framework, this research expanded the current literature and increased awareness of racial disproportionality and the continued disproportionality of African American children in the child welfare system, especially foster care placements. The central research question …

Well-Being Among Foster Parents Of Children With A History Of Sexual Abuse, Jelenny Marquez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There are over half a million children and adolescents living in foster care in the United States, and many of them endure frequent disruptions to their placements. Disruptions are more common among children with a history of sexual abuse. The disruption of placement increases the likelihood of undesirable outcomes for both the children and their foster parents. Foster parents who are willing to offer a home that is safe and stable for a child in the foster care system are more important than ever. This qualitative study explored foster parents’ experiences of well-being after having fostered children with a history …

Transitional Experiences Of Young African American Women In Foster Care, Tiarra Michelle Myers

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Emancipated foster youth continue to experience fewer positive outcomes after foster care despite the changes in legislation and the implementation of additional transitional living programs and supports such independent living programs. This quantitative research study followed a non-experimental, secondary data analysis to examine how independent living programs impact the outcomes for African American young women who have transitioned out of the foster care system compared to their Caucasian young women peers at age 17 and age 21. The exploratory study used data from the Children’s Bureau National Youth in Transition Database (NYTD) Cohort 2. A cross-section comparison analysis was conducted …

Foster Parents’ Experience Of Placement Disruptions For Youths In Foster Care, Deyettea Kim Alexander

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Placement disruptions for youths placed in foster care have been the focus of multiple studies due to the negative and long-lasting impacts on these vulnerable youths. The purpose of this interpretative phenomenological study was to explore the lived experience of placement disruptions from the foster parent’s perspective to gain further understanding of potential causes of placement disruptions and what may be helpful to prevent them. The study was based on the lens of attachment theory. Data were collected from interviews with six participants recruited on social media who were licensed in the State of Washington for at least 1 year …

Social Support Experiences Of Stably Housed Emancipated Foster Youth, Camron L. Whitacre

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Youth emancipating from foster care are at increased risk of housing instability and homelessness and have reduced access to needed social supports to aid in the difficult transition to independent living. The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to understand the lived formal social support experiences of stably housed emancipated foster youth. Purposive sampling techniques and inclusion criteria guided the recruitment of nine study participants from a state-administered postemancipation services program to take part in semistructured interviews. A conceptual framework, including social convoy and attachment theories, informed inquiry, and interpretation of findings. Participant lived experiences illuminated the importance of …

Adult Attachment Functioning Of Former Foster Youth Initially Placed In Early Adolescence, Adrienne Miller

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Child attachment has been an area of study among scholars for several decades; however, early adolescent attachment is a specific age period that few scholars have examined, especially pertaining to child welfare where placement is a necessary but forced attachment disruption. The purpose of this nonexperimental study was to examine the likelihood of early adolescent attachment during initial placement and to explore the frequencies of this population securely attaching postplacement based on the added variables of placement setting (foster home/kinship home/group home/institution) and sibling accessibility. Attachment theory was the lens through which to analyze the 83 results received via anonymous …

A Phenomenological Study On The Challenges Experienced By Kinship Adopters, Allyson Foster Hamlin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This research addressed the social and emotional challenges kinship adoptive families have encountered when their adopted child's trauma symptomology surfaces. The unique relationship between the adoptive relative and the kinship child offered a different view on the coping techniques used by kinship families and uncovered areas where resources could support permanency. In this phenomenological study, 12 interviews with relative adoptive parents guided by the attachment and family system theories, offered insight to what fosters or degrades the bond with the adopted child. Using post-adoption resource events, service agencies, and community resources, this study recruited participants through flyers posted on websites, …

The Impact Of Caseworkers' Educational Background And Placement Outcomes For Foster Children, Katrina Haynes

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Decades of data document that permanent placements of children in the welfare system has been a concern in Mississippi. As foster care rates increase, more children are awaiting placement. Researchers have linked child welfare workers' educational background to placement outcomes for foster care children; however, researchers have not addressed the relationship between child welfare workers' educational backgrounds and foster care placement outcomes in Mississippi. This quantitative study examined the educational backgrounds of social work and nonsocial work child welfare caseworkers and other factors such as children's gender and race as predictors in placement outcomes for children in welfare custody. Attachment …

Understanding Social Workers' Knowledge Of Foster Care Drift, Joey Gardner

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Foster care drift is the extended stay in foster care without attaining family reunification or permanency with another placement. When foster care youth experience foster care drift, they face the possibility of aging out of the foster care system. Interventions and policies have been implemented to aid family service workers during the process of permanency planning; however, a great number of foster care youth remain in care. This study explored the perceptions of social work professionals regarding foster care drift regarding issues and challenges that social workers engaged in foster care placement face regarding foster care drift. The ecological system …

A Study Of The Decision To Remove Children From Their Parents By Child Welfare Supervisors, Charles F. Lorbeer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A STUDY OF THE DECISION TO REMOVE CHILDREN FROM THEIR PARENTS BY CHILD WELFARE SUPERVISORS

by Charles F. Lorbeer

Dissertation Chair: Dr. Aqueil Ahmad

Committee Members: Dr. Aqueil Ahmad, Dr. Robert Butters, and Dr. Ashakant Nimbark,

The goal of this study was to analyze the decision by child welfare supervisors to remove children from their parents. This was accomplished by studying the effect that three specific factors have on that decision. The three factors were 1) physical abuse, 2) domestic violence and substance abuse, and 3) availability of services to help the family.

Decision theory provided the conceptual framework for …