Browsing by Author "LaLiberte, Traci"

Now showing 1 - 8 of 8
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    Approaches to Child Protection Case Management for Cases Involving People with Disabilities
    (Child Abuse and Neglect, 2006-04) Lightfoot, Elizabeth; LaLiberte, Traci
    Objectives: This exploratory study examines the delivery of child protection services by county child protection agencies involving cases with a family member with a disability. Method: Telephone surveys were conducted with the directors or their designees of 89% of the child protection agencies in a Midwestern state. Respondents were asked about the policies and/or procedures for approaching cases involving a person with a disability and the barriers and strengths agencies have in serving people with disabilities. Results: Only 6.7% of respondents reported their agency had a written policy related to serving persons with a disability. There were 18 different approaches to serving clients with a disability within child protection, with the most common being informally teaming for information, dual case assignment, and teaming with an outside consultant. Five counties had specialty workers who were experts in both child protection and disability. Barriers reported varied between rural and non-rural counties, with the most important barriers being lack of resources, lack of knowledge regarding disabilities, systems conflicts, and rural issues, such as lack of providers and lack of transportation. Strengths included accessing and coordinating services, individualizing services, good collaboration and creativity. Conclusion: While few county agencies had any written policies, both formal and informal collaboration is happening at the individual level. The lack of standardization in providing services indicates a need for more attention to issues regarding disability within child protection, including more training for workers, the development of models of collaborative case management and the removal of systemic barriers.
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    CASCW Core Series Episode 10 / Theoretical Underpinnings in Child Welfare Podcast Series Episode 0: Introduction to Neoliberalism and Child Welfare
    (2021-03-30) LaLiberte, Traci; Toft, Jessica
    Dr. Traci LaLiberte speaks with Dr. Jessica Toft to introduce a three part series on Neoliberalism. Dr. Toft provides an in-depth introduction to Neoliberalism, Social Work and Child Welfare Work. The series will feature research and interviews describing how it relates to Social Work. Additional Resources: https://www.aliainnovations.org/
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    The Inclusion of Disability as a Condition for Termination of Parental Rights
    (Child Abuse & Neglect, 2010) Lightfoot, Elizabeth; Hill, Katharine; LaLiberte, Traci
    The number of families headed by a parent with a disability has increased substantially during the past century, particularly those headed by parents with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (Tymchuck, Llewellyn, & Feldman, 1999). However, many state statutes still include parents’ disabilities as grounds for termination of parental rights (TPR). This study searched the state codes of the fifty states and the District of Columbia relating to TPR. The majority of states include parents’ disabilities in their codes as grounds for TPR if a disability impacts a parent’s ability to care for his or her child or as a condition to take into consideration when determining whether a person is unfit to parent. As of August 2005, 37 states included disability-related grounds for TPR while 14 states did not include disability language as grounds for termination. From this study, it appears many states include disability inappropriately in their TPR statutes, including using inappropriate, outdated terminology to refer to a person’s disability; and using imprecise definitions of disability. The use of disability language in TPR statutes can put an undue focus on the condition of having a disability rather than their parenting behavior.
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    It Takes a Village Episode 1: Interview with Traci LaLiberte
    (2020-04-24) Barry, Korina; LaLiberte, Traci
    In this episode Korina chats with Traci LaLiberte, Executive Director of CASCW. Traci shares how the pandemic has impacted the work of CASCW over the first month of social distancing and Stay at Home Executive orders in Minnesota. Traci provides insight into some of the ways the child welfare workforce has been impacted so far and how CASCW can support the workforce in the coming months.
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    Parental Supports for Parents with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
    (Intellectual and Developmental disabilities, 2011) Lightfoot, Elizabeth; LaLiberte, Traci
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    Parenting Done Differently Episode 26: A Parenting Legacy
    (2023-08-02) Aunos, Marjorie; LaLiberte, Traci
    In this episode Marjorie Aunos and Dr. Traci LaLiberte reflect on the Parenting Done Differently Podcast. In this series Marjorie interviewed over 20 scholars and researchers in the field along with parents with disabilities and the children of parents with disabilities. Marjorie and Traci speak about the importance of providing tools for professionals who work in child welfare and looking for answers where we least expect them.
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    Prevalence of Children with Disabilities in the Child Welfare System: An Examination of Administrative Records
    (Children and Youth Services Review, 2011-11) Lightfoot, Elizabeth; Hill, Katharine M.; LaLiberte, Traci
    This article explores the prevalence and characteristics of children with disabilities within the child welfare system using administrative data from the State of Minnesota. This study finds that more than a fifth (22%) of children with substantiated maltreatment are labeled in administrative records as having a disability, and more than one quarter of children (27.9%) over age five. The most common type of disability among children with substantiated maltreatment was emotional disturbance, while other common disabilities included intellectual and developmental disabilities and learning disabilities. Using logistic regression, this study finds that children with substantiated maltreatment with disabilities were about two times more likely to be in out of home placement than children with substantiated maltreatment without disabilities.
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    Working Across Systems to Understand Early Childhood Education Participation for Young Children in Foster Care
    (2023) Dorman, Amy; Ingram, Debra; Corcora, Frederique; LaLiberte, Traci; Piescher, Kristine; Bailey, Ann
    Early childhood education (ECE) participation has significant benefits for young children and families with child welfare system involvement and may help reduce disparities over the lifespan. Yet, ECE participation of young children in foster care remains low, despite federal efforts to prioritize their enrollment. This poster presents Minnesota-specific learnings from 1) quantitative analysis of integrated, statewide administrative data, and 2) interviews with state agency staff who provided broad-level perspectives around barriers and facilitators to ECE participation for young children in foster care, with particular attention to group differences in experiences by race/ethnicity, age, and geography (urban, suburban, rural). We find interagency collaboration to be essential to effectively identify and address challenges in policy, practice, and knowledge and to increase ECE participation and these programs’ myriad benefits for children and families with child welfare system involvement. This study was a partnership between the Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare and the Center for Early Education and Development, in consultation with the Minnesota Departments of Human Services and Education.