Family treatment courts and the COVID-19 pandemic: Barriers and facilitators to program implementation, client engagement, and recovery

INTRODUCTION

Family Treatment Courts (FTCs) serve child welfare-involved parents with substance use issues who are working toward recovery and reunification with their children. Research has linked FTCs to successful outcomes such as treatment access and completion and family reunification, but there has been less attention to factors that hinder and facilitate program implementation and client engagement. Moreover, little is known about how the shift to virtual services during the COVID-19 pandemic impacted FTC programs and the families they serve.

METHODS

This study examined interview data gathered from staff in six FTCs located in different regions of the country to investigate the impact of the pandemic on programs and the clients they serve. Interviews conducted with clients from one FTC in the Midwest reinforce the data.

RESULTS

FTC programs and professionals adjusted to the pandemic by attempting to replicate face-to-face services in an online environment. Virtual services were vital for sustaining FTCs and mitigating barriers to client engagement during the pandemic. At the same time, FTCs were compelled to navigate new barriers to online program implementation as well as acute challenges that clients faced such as greater isolation and reduced treatment access.

CONCLUSIONS

We discuss implications from these findings with an eye toward maximizing FTC implementation and impact through the intentional use of both in-person programming and online technology after the pandemic.

Contact with mothers for children in out-of-home-care: Group-based trajectory modelling from the Pathways of Care Longitudinal Study (POCLS)

BACKGROUND

Good quality contact with birth parents is considered important to successful out-of-home care (OOHC) placements.

OBJECTIVE

There is, however, an absence of empirical evidence about contact needs of children in the OOHC system and how these needs change over time.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

The current analysis analyzed four waves of data from the Pathways of Care Longitudinal Study in Australia relating to 1507 children on yearly frequency of contact with mothers, relationship quality with mothers, and the extent that contact met the needs of the child.

METHODS

Group-based trajectory modelling was used to examine in what ways frequency of contact, child-mother relationships and child's needs for maintaining family contact were associated over time.

RESULTS

The analysis showed a positive association between these three outcomes that also held true as the children aged, with five distinct patterns: (1) low frequency and poor relationship (low poor) (14.5 % of the sample); (2) moderate frequency and poor relationship (moderate poor) (30.3 %); (3) increasing frequency and improving relationship (improving) (19.8 %); (4) declining frequency and declining relationship (declining) (19.5 %); and (5) high frequency, good relationship (high good) (15.9 %). Care type, child demographics, child socioemotional wellbeing and unsupervised contact arrangements were significantly associated with trajectory group membership.

CONCLUSIONS

These results can be used to inform policy and practice around contact and to better match the heterogenous contact needs for children in OOHC.

"It's already stressful being a foster parent": A qualitative inquiry into foster parenting stress during COVID-19

BACKGROUND

Emerging literature suggests parents were under increased stress as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; however, fewer studies to date have examined the wellbeing of foster parents in this season. Miller et al.'s (2020) quantitative study recommended in-depth, qualitative study of the stressors faced by foster parents during COVID-19.

OBJECTIVE

Accordingly, this qualitative study sought to fill a gap in the literature regarding foster parents' lived experiences of foster parenting stress during the COVID-19 pandemic.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

Virtual, semi-structured interviews were conducted with n = 20 foster parents from across one Southern U.S. state between April and July 2021.

METHODS

Verbatim transcripts were analyzed utilizing Braun and Clarke's (2006) thematic analysis.

RESULTS

Five themes emerged in the analysis: (1) Varied Descriptions of Fostering in a Pandemic; (2) Nowhere to Go; (3) COVID-Consciousness; (4) The Virtual Reality; and (5) Stress Relief. Eight total additional subthemes were recorded. All themes and subthemes were described with representative direct quotations from the data.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings from this study demonstrated foster parents experienced both shared and unique parenting challenges during COVID-19. Three areas for further consideration and development in practice included improving online service delivery, strengthening guidance for online parent-child visitation, and enhancing support for foster parents of children with special needs. Developing social support and self-care practices should continue to be ongoing priorities for foster parents and foster parent-serving agencies.

Learning from child welfare staff experiences during the pandemic: Practices to maintain and discontinue

BACKGROUND

The COVID-19 pandemic led to multiple changes in the ways child welfare agencies operate. Child protection agencies had to make rapid changes that impacted where and how staff operate. Minimal research has examined child welfare workers' views of these practices.

OBJECTIVE

This qualitative study seeks to understand CPS workers' perspectives regarding practices utilized during the pandemic. Staff provided input into practices they found beneficial and hope to see maintained and those they hope to see discontinued.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

The full study involved 267 staff members from 50 agencies across Ohio; this study examines qualitative data from 100 staff members who responded to two open ended survey questions.

METHODS

This qualitative study used thematic analysis to analyze two open ended questions from a survey sent to all the child welfare agencies in Ohio.

RESULTS

Thematic analysis of practices staff hoped to continue after the pandemic resulted in five themes: Nontraditional Site and Schedule, Remote Meetings, Safety Protocols, Communication and Support, and Helping Children and Families. Thematic analysis or practices staff hoped would end after the pandemic resulted in six themes: Masking, Virtual Meetings, Mandated Work Location, Unreasonable Policies, Overloading and Overwhelming Staff, and Separation from Coworkers.

CONCLUSIONS

Study results fill a gap in the research by asking CPS staff about their experiences and recommendations after practicing during COVID-19 restrictions. The most common recommendation from staff was to continue offering a nontraditional site and schedule. This study highlights the importance of soliciting and learning from staff perspectives.

Child protective services and out-of-home Care for Children during COVID-19: A scoping review and thematic analysis

BACKGROUND

The COVID-19 pandemic challenged child protection and posed new risks for child maltreatment (CM). Moreover, governmental efforts worldwide prioritized mitigating the spread of the virus over ensuring the welfare and protection of families and children. This neglect caused hardship for many vulnerable children, including those in out-of-home care (OOHC), and challenged the functionality of child protective services (CPS). However, only limited research has investigated the impact of COVID-19 on OOHC and CPS and explored how CPS overcame the challenges of helping children in OOHC.

OBJECTIVE

This review aims to address this gap in the research to unveil the 'positive legacy' left by CPS in their work with children in OOHC during COVID-19.

METHOD

This review utilized three stages of analysis, including a scoping review followed by two rounds of thematic analysis. The scoping review was carried out in six languages: English, Hebrew, Arabic, French, Portuguese, and Spanish. The first round of thematic analysis found eight relevant articles for this review. The second round of thematic analysis found three themes related to this paper's aim in the context of COVID-19.

RESULTS

Three main themes were identified: 1) decision-making and OOHC, 2) difficulties in procedures related to OOHC placement, and 3) handling challenges of OOHC.

CONCLUSIONS

The discussion emphasizes the crucial role of preserving children's rights, hearing their voices and needs, and considering their safety and well-being when planning policies and practices to protect them. It also emphasizes society's responsibility to acknowledge contextual factors in child protection.

Child welfare workers satisfaction and wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic: Perspectives of agency staff in Ohio

BACKGROUND

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the lives of children and families, created additional stressors, and increased risks for maltreatment. The pandemic has changed the way child welfare agencies operate, requiring changes to policies and practice. Minimal research has considered the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on child welfare workers wellbeing and job satisfaction.

OBJECTIVE

This mixed-methods research study seeks to understand CPS staff satisfaction, variables impacting satisfaction, and challenges that increased since the pandemic began for child welfare workers in Ohio.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

A sample of staff members (n = 267) from 50 CPS agencies across Ohio participated in the study.

METHODS

This mixed-methods study used logistic regression, chi square analyses, and thematic analysis to analyze the data from a survey sent to child welfare agencies in Ohio.

RESULTS

Caring for minor children, primary role at work, and years in child welfare were significantly associated with job satisfaction. Those working in foster care/placement, adoption/permanency, family support/visitation, kinship were 7.57 times more likely than those doing intake/investigation work to be satisfied with their job (p = .007). Thematic analysis of staff issues that increased during the pandemic resulted in six themes: Stress and Anxiety, Feeling Overwhelmed, Burnout, All, Motivation, and Isolation and Disconnection.

CONCLUSIONS

The COVID-19 pandemic has created additional stressors for child welfare staff. Practice implications are discussed to help increase job satisfaction, staff wellbeing, and mitigate turnover.

The Impact of COVID-19 and Immigration Enforcement on Service Delivery for Immigrant Origin Families Involved in the Child Welfare System

This descriptive study sought to explore how child welfare agencies and community partner organizations experienced and adapted service provision for immigrant children and families during the COVID-19 pandemic. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were completed with 31 child welfare agency practitioners and community partners in 11 states who work with immigrant clients or on immigration related policies within the child welfare sector. Data were coded and analyzed using a thematic analysis approach. Results: Findings documented ongoing immigration-related fears in accessing services due to the anti-immigrant climate as well as increased scarcity of resources and basic needs stressors among immigrants served by the child welfare community during the pandemic. Results also identified child welfare systemic and structural barriers to accessing needed case supports for immigrants, in addition to innovative practice and policy adaptations to meet immigrant needs during the pandemic. COVID-19 created overwhelming challenges for already overburdened immigrant families at risk of or involved with the child welfare system. Child welfare agencies should foster collaborations with immigrant-serving community organizations who can share information and resources about COVID-19, immigration enforcement, and vaccine distribution. Agencies should adopt policies for tele-visiting that support transnational participation in virtual family visits and court hearings to create more equitable opportunities for reunification and permanency.

Relationship-based practice and digital technology in child and family social work: Learning from practice during the COVID-19 pandemic

Vital services provided by social workers to children in care or on the edge of care were largely delivered "online" during the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper explores the potential impact of these changes on vulnerable children and their families. Relationship-based practice is integral to social work and the shift to digital communication during the COVID-19 pandemic has led to accelerated practice changes and implications for relationship building both with and between service users. Going forward, social workers and other professionals are likely to move to an increasingly hybrid model of communication, combining both digital and face-to-face methods. This article identifies the impact of digital communication on relationships in professional practice, drawing on three studies of digital communication in the UK carried out at the University of East Anglia. The first considered how child protection social workers responded to the challenges of COVID-19, the second looked at how children in care were keeping in touch with their birth families and the third focused on the approaches being taken to moving children from foster care to adoptive families. Five themes related to relationships were identified across all three studies: the significance of the age and developmental stage of the child; the frequency of contact and communication; digital literacy/exclusion; the impact of the lack of sensory experience; and the importance of the relationship history. The article concludes with implications for utilising digital methods in building and maintaining relationships in practice and highlights the need to consider both the inner and outer worlds of those involved.

Using social media Reddit data to examine foster families' concerns and needs during COVID-19

BACKGROUND

COVID-19 is likely to have negatively impacted foster families but few data sources are available to confirm this.

OBJECTIVE

The current study used Reddit social media data to examine how foster families are faring in the pandemic. Discussion topics were identified and examined for changes before and after COVID-19.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

Comments were collected from three Reddit online discussion boards dedicated to foster families (N = 11,830).

METHODS

We used machine learning techniques, including Latent Dirichlet Allocation, for topic modeling and textual analysis for qualitative coding of the Reddit comments.

RESULTS

Results showed that three main topics had both significant quantitative and meaningful qualitative changes before and after COVID-19. There were significant increases in conversation about becoming a foster parent (F = 5.75, p = 0.02) and activities for foster children (F = 10.61, p = 0.001), whereas there was a significant decrease in discussing permanency (F = 9.46, p = 0.003) before and after the onset of COVID-19. Qualitative coding showed that regarding the topic of becoming a parent, excitement over approval of foster care license before COVID-19 shifted to foster families' increased anxieties about delays in their licensing cases after COVID-19. For permanency, content changed from the best interest of the child and reunifications before COVID-19 to concerns over family separations and permanency challenges after COVID-19. Regarding activities for foster children, content related to everyday activities before COVID-19 changed to specific activities foster children and families could do during lockdowns. Results suggest areas child welfare workers may focus on to better support foster families during and after the pandemic.

The views of children in residential care on the COVID-19 lockdown: Implications for and their well-being and psychosocial intervention

BACKGROUND

Recent international research has warned of the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on vulnerable children. However, little is known regarding the in-care population.

OBJECTIVE

To find out how children in residential care perceived the influence of the COVID-19 lockdown in their everyday life, relationships and subjective well-being.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

856 children from 10 to 17 years old (M_age = 15.5, males = 71.2%, females = 28.8%) living in residential centres in Catalonia.

METHODS

Cross-sectional study. Children responded to an on-line questionnaire administered between June and July 2020. Bivariate analysis and multiple linear regression were used comparing the answers by sex.

RESULTS

Better relationships with caregivers (β = 9.156, [4.089-14.22], r² = 0.244, p < .01) and having a person of trust (ß = 4.588, [2.041-7.134], r² = 0.244, p < .01) were found to be relevant for children's subjective well-being. For girls, improving their grades (β = 14.86, [8.560-21.15], r² = 0.234, p < .01) were relevant while boys' subjective well-being was significantly affected by an increase in use of social networks (β = 8.917, [2.733-15.10], r² = 0.234, p < .01).

CONCLUSIONS

A gender perspective is needed to help girls in situations of vulnerability. We should continue to listen to children's opinions, giving them the opportunity to participate in improving the children's home and its immediate environment and ensuring they have access to stable adult role models.

Responding to COVID-19’s impact on supervised family time: The supportive virtual family time model

COVID-19 has put child wellbeing at risk, perhaps especially, for children and youth involved in the foster care system. For these children and youth, any stability they may have experienced since entering care has been disrupted and their contact with parents limited. A sudden shift to virtual only contact meant both parents and caregivers were in need of support to navigate these changes. This study reports on the rapid development and implementation of an eLearning and structured practice guide for visitation supervisors to help them facilitate virtual visits that promote parent-caregiver collaboration in support of the child. Over a four month period, April to August 2020, 140 people registered for the Supportive Virtual Family Time training. Of these participants, 101 (72%) completed a post-training survey which included an evaluation of the eLearning and assessment of the feasibility of implementing the model. Overall, participants were satisfied with the training content and delivery, agreed the training helped them develop new skills for interacting with parents and caregivers, and planned to start using the model right away. Given the ongoing and dynamic nature of the pandemic, there is likely continued need for virtual family time and training and support for supervisors who facilitate these interactions. It is critical these supports are timely, easily accessible, and include practice guidelines and resources that help practitioners facilitate and maintain youths’ critical attachments to their families. Given the potential benefits of supporting parent-caregiver collaboration, the model and accompanying materials address an overarching need in the field and remain relevant even after a return to in-person visitation.