The complexity of child protection recurrence: The case for a systems approach

Jenkins, Brian Q.; Tilbury, Clare; Mazerolle, Paul; Hayes, Hennessey

doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2016.11.020

Cited by 36 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…In some studies, it is assumed that a report, investigation, or a recurrence in child protection is indicative of abuse or neglect. However, the relationship between contact with the child protection system and maltreatment is not straightforward (Jenkins et al 2017 ). Several studies showed that a large proportion of child maltreatment is not reported to child protection authorities (Cyr et al 2013 ; Finkelhor et al 2005 , 2009 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identifying Effective Components of Child Maltreatment Interventions: A Meta-analysis

Put

Assink

Gubbels

et al. 2017

Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev

191

110

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There is a lack of knowledge about specific components that make interventions effective in preventing or reducing child maltreatment. The aim of the present meta-analysis was to increase this knowledge by summarizing findings on effects of interventions for child maltreatment and by examining potential moderators of this effect, such as intervention components and study characteristics. Identifying effective components is essential for developing or improving child maltreatment interventions. A literature search yielded 121 independent studies (N = 39,044) examining the effects of interventions for preventing or reducing child maltreatment. From these studies, 352 effect sizes were extracted. The overall effect size was significant and small in magnitude for both preventive interventions (d = 0.26, p < .001) and curative interventions (d = 0.36, p < .001). Cognitive behavioral therapy, home visitation, parent training, family-based/multisystemic, substance abuse, and combined interventions were effective in preventing and/or reducing child maltreatment. For preventive interventions, larger effect sizes were found for short-term interventions (0–6 months), interventions focusing on increasing self-confidence of parents, and interventions delivered by professionals only. Further, effect sizes of preventive interventions increased as follow-up duration increased, which may indicate a sleeper effect of preventive interventions. For curative interventions, larger effect sizes were found for interventions focusing on improving parenting skills and interventions providing social and/or emotional support. Interventions can be effective in preventing or reducing child maltreatment. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identifying Effective Components of Child Maltreatment Interventions: A Meta-analysis

Put

Assink

Gubbels

et al. 2017

Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev

191

110

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The other problem that they identified within the dataset was that contact between families and supportive services did not reduce the likelihood of a child re‐entering the child protection system. This phenomenon has also been found in other quantitative studies of child protection data (Jenkins et al, ) and, as Schwartz et al . () suggest, it is an area that requires research to determine why this should be so.…”

Section: Developing and Implementing Dssmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can Predictive Algorithms Assist Decision‐Making in Social Work with Children and Families?

Gillingham

2019

Child Abuse Review

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Decision support systems (DSS) which incorporate algorithms trained using administrative data have been promoted as the next promising development in initiatives to improve and assist decision‐making in social work with children and families. In this article, research and grey literature about DSS designed, and in some cases implemented, in the USA, the Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand are analysed to assess the extent to which they are currently able to meet this promise. The challenges of developing DSS for social work are identified and ideas are suggested to overcome them. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Key Practitioner Messages Decision support systems (DSS) are being developed for social work with children and families and they may transform how decisions are made with important consequences for both service users and the profession. Current DSS are mostly not very accurate in their predictions and further work is required in their development and on the data used to train the algorithms. The next stage in the development of DSS will require long‐term commitment by social workers to work in collaboration with data scientists and researchers. It will also be expensive. Social workers need to lead the debate about whether DSS are worth the investment.

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“…Despite this advancement in how adversity is quantified and conceptualized in research, practice has not fully caught up. The quality and comprehensiveness of methods for assessing children's experiences of maltreatment and other adversities vary substantially, both within and across CPS agencies; often it is suboptimal (Jenkins, Tilbury, Mazerolle, & Hayes, 2017). Although investigation of allegations involves determining whether there exists sufficient evidence that abuse or neglect occurred and establishing a level of risk to child safety, use of standardized assessment instruments for quantifying severity and making these determinations is inconsistent.…”

Section: Abstract Family Violence Risk/protective Factors Aggression/violencementioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying Severity of Maltreatment, Adversity, and Trauma From Child Protective Services Case Record Files

Grasso

DiVietro

Beebe

et al. 2019

J Interpers Violence

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Children referred to child protective services (CPS) for allegations of abuse or neglect often have diverse experiences of maltreatment, adversity, and trauma. Severity of these experiences is associated with greater mental health impairment and increased risk of revictimization and other adversities. Although aspects of these experiences are often captured during CPS investigations and stored in case records as narrative documents, much of this information is underutilized in estimating risk and service planning. The current study extracted case record information from a randomly selected sample of 100 families, with 150 children referred to CPS during a 12-month period. The Yale-Vermont Adversity in Childhood Scale (Y-VACS) was applied to extracted information for quantifying severity of various forms of childhood maltreatment, adversity, and trauma. Study aims were to examine (a) the scope and severity of maltreatment, adversity, and trauma types and their associations; (b) linkages between severity and CPS allegation types and outcomes; and (c) the utility of severity in predicting new allegations of abuse or neglect within 12 months of referral. Results indicated feasibility in quantifying severity of maltreatment and other adversities from case record information and revealed associations between adversity severity and CPS allegation types and outcomes. Severity of psychological intimate partner violence and neglect were predictive of new allegations of abuse or neglect within 12 months of referral. Findings support moving beyond an incident-based CPS strategy to one that better incorporates case record information to assess risk.

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The complexity of child protection recurrence: The case for a systems approach

Cited by 36 publications

References 37 publications

Identifying Effective Components of Child Maltreatment Interventions: A Meta-analysis

Identifying Effective Components of Child Maltreatment Interventions: A Meta-analysis

Can Predictive Algorithms Assist Decision‐Making in Social Work with Children and Families?

Quantifying Severity of Maltreatment, Adversity, and Trauma From Child Protective Services Case Record Files

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