The relationship of child neglect and physical maltreatment to placement outcomes and behavioral adjustment in children in foster care: a Canadian perspective.

Dramatic increases in child welfare rates in Canada over recent years have been largely driven by an increased reporting of neglect cases (Trocmé, Fallon, MacLaurin, & Neves, 2005). To a large extent, exploring the importance of neglect separate from physical maltreatment has been ignored in the child maltreatment literature. This study examined the differential effects of foster care in the child welfare system with children who presented as either experiencing physical maltreatment or neglect prior to their admission to care. Findings from this study are important to child welfare decision making about the differential needs of these two groups of children. The files of a sample of 110 children (79 neglected children and 31 physically maltreated children) were examined for differences in their adjustment while in foster care and on discharge. Some distinct differences in presentation were noted between the children experiencing the two types of maltreatment. Children experiencing neglect were younger, were more likely to have caregivers diagnosed with a substance abuse disorder, and had higher rates of exposure to spousal violence than maltreated children. Physically maltreated children displayed greater difficulty during their foster care adjustment. Once discharged from care, neglected children were more likely to be returned to the care of the agency. This study draws attention to the differential needs of children who experience neglect prior to their admission to a child welfare agency. Longer-term outcome studies are necessary to more completely understand how these two types of maltreatment influence the outcomes of children who are provided care within the child welfare system.

Who is caring for our most vulnerable children? The motivation to foster in child welfare.

OBJECTIVE: Responding to the need for more foster families to provide care for increasing numbers of children coming into care, this study was designed to understand the motivations and needs of foster parents in order to improve recruitment and retention. To meet this goal, the study identified characteristics of current foster families, performed a factor analysis on the Foster Parent Satisfaction Survey (FPSS) (Denby, R. W., Rindfleisch, N., & Bean, G. 1999). Predictors of foster parent's satisfaction and intent to continue to foster were identified, and the results were used to differentiate between foster parents who did and did not consider quitting fostering. METHOD: A sample of 652 foster parents completed a survey of 139 items including the Foster Parent Satisfaction Survey [Denby, R. W., Rindfleisch, N., & Bean, G. (1999). Predictors of foster parent's satisfaction and intent to continue to foster. Child Abuse & Neglect, 23, 287-303]. RESULTS: Foster parents were motivated by wanting to be loving parents to children and saving children from harm. The factor analysis of the FPSS resulted in five factors that were consistent with typical scoring methods of the instrument. A discriminant function analysis using these factors and whether parents had considered quitting fostering revealed that one factor, Challenging Aspects of Fostering, correctly classified 75.5% of parents. CONCLUSIONS: Foster parents' satisfaction is related to their perceptions about teamwork, communication, and confidence in relation to both the child welfare agency and its professionals. Further, the most frequently endorsed reasons for fostering reflected foster parents' altruistic and internal motivations to foster. Negative relationships with professional staff from the child welfare agency were linked to considering quitting fostering.

The empirical basis of risk assessment in child welfare: the accuracy of risk assessment and clinical judgment.

The importance of risk assessment is juxtaposed with the lack of empirical support regarding the validity of risk inventories. This study compared risk ratings of one risk assessment tool to decisions made by case managers. The researchers sampled 450 children and compared predictive utility of risk assessment to child protection decisions. Risk assessment was consistent with clinical judgment in 74% to 81% of cases, more than previously reported in studies of risk assessment validity. Further analyses identified discriminate functions at the instrument's category and individual-item levels. The results have implications for the validity of the instrument and its utility in child welfare.

BCFPI Validation for a High-risk High-needs Sample of Children and Youth Admitted to Tertiary Care.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined the validity and reliability of the Brief Child and Family Phone Interview (BCFPI) in a sample of high-risk, high-need children and youth admitted to a tertiary residential psychiatric facility. This is the first validation study of the BCFPI with children and youth functioning at the extreme clinical range. METHOD: Participants consisted of children and youth in a southwestern Ontario tertiary residential mental health facility. Two hundred twenty seven children and youth aged 6.28 to 16.74 (M = 12.06 years, SD = 2.46) were evaluated. Internal consistencies of each scale were tested using Cronbach's alpha, and subsequently confirmed with unidimensional principal components analyses. Concurrent validity was evaluated through Pearson product-moment correlations between each subscale and the empirically validated subscales in the Conners' Rating Scales. RESULTS: With exception of the conduct subscale (alpha =.68), all Cronbach's alpha estimates were in the acceptable range. Each scale demonstrated acceptable factor loadings on a single-factor principal components extraction derived from the pool of items within each scale. Concurrent validity was evidenced by moderate to strong correlations identified with selected measures of the Conners' Parent Rating Scale. CONCLUSIONS: Considered together, the results of this study indicate that the BCFPI is a reliable and valid indicator of child functioning within this client population, and is recommended in the assessment of tertiary populations.

OBJECTIF: Cette étude a examiné la validité et la fiabilité de la Brief Child and Family Phone Interview (BCFPI, enquête téléphonique abrégée pour l'enfant et la famille) dans un échantillon d'enfants et d'adolescents à haut risque et à besoins élevés, hospitalisés dans un établissement psychiatrique résidentiel tertiaire. Il s'agit de la première étude de validation de la BCFPI pour des enfants et des adolescents fonctionnant à l'extrémité de l'échelle clinique. MÉTHODE: Les participants étaient des enfants et des adolescents dans un établissement de santé mentale résidentiel tertiaire du Sud-Ouest de l'Ontario. Deux cent vingt-sept enfants et adolescents âgés de 6,28 à 16,74 ans (M = 12,06 ans, ET = 2,46) ont été évalués. La cohérence interne de chaque échelle a été vérifiée à l'aide de l'alpha de Cronbach, et subséquemment confirmée par des analyses en composantes principales unidimensionnelles. La validité concourante a été évaluée par les corrélations produit-moment de Pearson entre chaque sous-échelle et les sous-échelles validées empiriquement des échelles d'évaluation Conners. RÉSULTATS: À l'exception de la sous-échelle des conduites (alpha = 0,68), toutes les estimations alpha de Cronbach étaient dans un intervalle acceptable. Chaque échelle démontrait des saturations de facteur acceptables sur une extraction d'un seul facteur par l'analyse en composantes principales, dérivée du groupe d'items de chaque échelle. La validité concourante a été mise en évidence par des corrélations de modérées à fortes, identifiées par des mesures choisies de l'échelle d'évaluation Conners pour les parents. CONCLUSIONS: Pris en compte ensemble, les résultats de cette étude indiquent que la BCFPI est un indicateur fiable et valide du fonctionnement de l'enfant au sein de cette population de clients, et qu'elle est recommandée pour l'évaluation des populations tertiaires.

Assessing historical abuse allegations and damages.

Practitioners may be called upon to assess adults who have alleged child abuse as a minor and are seeking reparations. Such assessments may be used by the courts to determine harm and assess damages related to their claim or testimony. Our clinical/research team has conducted many such evaluations and reported the findings pertaining to the psychological harm stemming from historical abuse in published studies. We use the opportunity provided by this new section on Practical Strategies to describe the role of the assessor, and to provide details concerning our methods for preparing these assessments and reporting the findings for the purpose of civil or criminal actions. Specific recommendations for wording of written reports are provided.