Displaying 1 - 10 of 18
Abstract
Government efforts toward the prevention, detection, and investigation of child abuse and neglect are carried out through the United States’ child welfare system—a complex web of programs that provide family assistance and promote child safety. Most funding for these activities is split among federal, state, and local governments and comprises specific child welfare–related funding (such as Titles IV-E and IV-B of the Social Security Act) and non–child welfare funding that is spent on programs that support poor and disadvantaged families (Medicaid and TANF). I provide an overview…
Abstract
Little information is available regarding the financial and non-financial costs of implementing and sustaining universal trauma and mental health screening in state child welfare systems. A cost analysis was conducted as part of a 5-year, federally funded statewide demonstration project to install universal trauma screening in one state’s child welfare system. The project implemented a battery of validated instruments that varied by age of the child (0–18) to measure trauma exposure, post-traumatic symptoms and child well-being. All adjudicated children and youth involved in the…
Abstract
Elevate Children Funders Group (ECFG), a consortium of foundations dedicated to building strong families and a life free from violence for all children, strongly believes and supports the idea that children are best able to thrive and reach their full potential when they remain with their families and communities rather than living in residential care. Years of research has shown that orphanages often expose children to serious abuse, harm and neglect, can impact a child’s physical and psychological development and is often much more expensive than family or…
Abstract
The IV-E Waivers and Family First Prevention Services Act prioritize prevention services, including services that reduce out-of-home placements. Placement in out-of-home care is associated with a variety of adverse outcomes as well as high costs to society. Studies that focus on utilization of health services suggest that these costs are not evenly distributed among recipients, and that high utilizers make up a small percentage of individuals who utilize a disproportionate share of resources. The purpose of the paper is to examine child characteristics and child welfare services…
Abstract
Background
Longitudinal data on health costs associated with physical and mental conditions are not available for children reported to child protection services.
Objective
To estimate the costs of hospitalization for physical and mental health conditions by child protection status, including out-of-home-care (OOHC) placement, from birth until 13-years, and to assess the excess costs associated with child protection contact over this period.
Participants and setting
Australian population cohort of 79,285 children in a multi-agency linkage study.
Methods
Costs…
Abstract: Adoption is arguably the most powerful intervention available for children in foster care who are unable to be restored to their birth families. Adoption promises stability and a family for life, in contrast to foster care or guardianship, which are expected to end when the child reaches adulthood. In comparison to foster care, adoption is associated with better educational, financial, and social outcomes. However, because children adopted out of foster care have had adverse experiences, they may have additional support needs in later years. These unknown costs…
Abstract
The paper articulates accomplishments of child and youth care centres in providing care and support to children identified to be at risk of significant harm. The study was grounded in the qualitative approach and a case study was employed as the research design. The study used semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions as means of gathering data. The dominant narratives from the study were that Child and Youth Care Centres (CYCCs) are vehicles offering holistic services to children found in need of care and protection, providing care to vulnerable children with…
Abstract
This study from the Special Issue on Kinship Care of the Child Welfare Journal examined the impact of a kinship supports intervention implemented in 16 children services agencies. Children placed with kin experienced greater stability, reached permanency more quickly, and were less likely to experience subsequent maltreatment or re-enter care than children placed in non-relative foster care. Furthermore, children receiving intervention services experienced shorter, more stable placements than children placed with kin…
Abstract
Modern-day conceptions of American childhood and family situate children, and the labor required to rear them, outside of the wage labor market. This ethnographic study of a foster care adoption program shows how board payments elicit commodification anxiety at this local site, and in American culture more broadly. In using board payments as a litmus test to weed out parents with profiteering motives, workers inadvertently play into a model that devalues care work—which is disproportionately done by women and minorities. This study places everyday casework into the context of…
Abstract
HIV and AIDS are reported to be one of the leading causes of death in Nigeria, behind other child-related death illnesses – influenza and pneumonia (CDC, 2013). The presence of HIV and AIDS in a family, including related orhpanhood because of the disease has a significant impact on the health and wellbeing of children. It also dramatically impacts the long-term implications and costs to society. However, there remains a notable disparity between the contributions made by different actors – including all levels of the Nigerian government, international donors, private organizations…