Practice Notes

Persistent link for this collection

https://hdl.handle.net/11299/170398

Practice Notes was developed in collaboration between CASCW affiliates and public child welfare practitioners. They were intended as a reference for practitioners, linking research with best practices. Issues were published between 1997 and 2010.

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Now showing 1 - 20 of 30

Assuring the Well-Being School-Aged Children in Foster Care (PN #08)
(2000)
A growing body of research is demonstrating that a large portion of children in foster care suffers significant emotional and behavioral disturbances. Further, a high percentage of maltreated children experience difficulties associated with school-based problems. Given the clear indication that school-aged children may enter foster care with significant risks to their normative functioning in both psycho-social and educational experiences, how competently is the child welfare system responding to these risks?
Barriers to Traumatic Stress Screening in Child Welfare Settings (PN #28)
(Center for Advanced Studies on Child Welfare (CASCW), School of Social Work, College of Education and Human Development, University of Minnesota, 2017) Tseng, A; Barry, K; Bray, C; LaLiBerte, T
Many children entering the child welfare system have been exposed to traumatizing events or situations that can have profound adverse effects, including unstable behaviors, cognitive difficulties, problematic relationships, and mental health issues. Unfortunately, multiple factors hinder efforts to screen for traumatic stress in child welfare. It is paramount to identify these children so that they can receive appropriate interventions and services in a timely manner.
Children in Immigrant and Refugee Families: Recognizing Developmental Risk at an Early Age
(2010-02)
Children in Immigrant and Refugee Families: Recognizing Developmental Risk at an Early Age
Children in “Newly Poor” Families: Coping with the Economic Crisis (PN #23)
(2010)
We are now experiencing one of the worst economic downturns since the Great Depression. How children cope within a family environment that has lost the confidence that comes with a steady income is not fully understood. Interviews with School Social Workers, “Homeless Liaisons,” and staff of community agencies provided this edition of Practice Notes with an outline of issues. The experiences they shared reminded all of us engaged in assuring the well-being of children how acute the suffering may be of a child whose expectation of a safe, comfortable, predictable world has been shattered when parents lose their homes, their jobs, and their roles as providers.
The Contribution of Ethnographic Interviewing to Culturally Competent Practice (PN #10)
(2001)
Culturally competent practice is generally recognized as indispensable for child welfare practitioners, yet skills and techniques are somewhat elusive. Cultures have differing views and standards for acceptable parenting practices. The stakes are high in assessing risk of harm to vulnerable children. How can the practitioner interpret, assess, and then address the problems of families whose lives and experiences are so different from their own? Ethnography provides a framework for delivering culturally competent services. This issue of Practice Notes provides an introduction to ethnographic interviewing.
Double Jeopardy: Youth Involved in Dual Systems of Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice & Mental Health Screening (PN #17)
(2005-08)
This edition of Practice Notes is directed to the population of youngsters who are dually involved in the Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice systems. The mental health screening legislation enacted by the Minnesota legislature during the 2003 session directed the two systems to pursue mental health screening. The purpose was clear: early identification of mental health problems, through a screening process, could be a crucial response to the growing concern for the mental health of children in high-risk situations. What follows is an early report on patterns of responses and persistent challenges in Minnesota.
The Exploratory Interview of a Maltreatment Report: The First Encounter in a Child Protection System (PN #14)
(2003-07)
This edition of Practice Notes is concerned with the interface between gathering evidence of maltreatment, and at the same time, assessing family strengths. This dual responsibility is familiar territory for child protection workers and their associates. This “multi-tasking” requires an artful synthesis of intuition, experience, and a solid knowledge base of social work principles. This edition of Practice Notes is directed chiefly to front-line child protection workers.
Family Group Decision Making: Incorporating Family Strengths, Concerns, and Resources in developing a Safety Plan (PN #12)
(2002-09)
Family Group Decision Making (FGDM) articulates a basic principle: the inherent strengths of families and their resources can be engaged to respond to the safety and well being of children. A striking aspect of FGDM is the enthusiasm of professionals as well as the reported high satisfaction of families engaged in this intervention. FGDM is far from a quick fix for vulnerable children in high risk families. But the efforts to mobilize an entire family to provide lasting and available resources across the lifespan of the child is forward looking and engenders a palpable sense of hope.
The Fatherhood Factor in Permanency Planning (PN #15)
(2004-03)
This edition of Practice Notes is intended to reinforce the policy of providing permanency for children by strengthening the relationship between father and child (Minn. Stat. 260.181. Subd. 3). The identification and involvement of unmarried fathers who are not residing with their children has long been a challenge for social workers. However, considering the role of the father is an urgent matter for permanency decisions that must be made within a brief time span.
Helping Maltreated Children Understand and Recognize Emotions (PN #24)
(Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare (CASCW), School of Social Work, College of Education and Human Development, University of Minnesota, 2015)
Over the past two decades, research has shown that maltreatment can disrupt a child’s ability to recognize and understand the emotions of others. These difficulties can lead to problems as children attempt to navigate their interpersonal relationships. Child welfare workers can better help children that have experienced abuse and neglect read emotional cues and build successful relationships if they are aware of how maltreatment can impact emotion-processing.
Kinship Foster Care (PN #03)
(1998-04)
Extensive placement with relatives has created a rapidly expanding segment of the child welfare system. When permanency plans are required, the state has indicated that relative care is a preferred option (MN Chapter 259.29). The advantages for children are many, including stability, permanency, and a lifelong tie to family networks. For this issue, we will look at the topic of relative foster care, also known as kinship care.
Mediation for Child Welfare (PN #11)
(2002-01)
The child protection system is a minefield of disputes. These are inevitable when the state intervenes in the intimate life of a family. We are thus drawn to mediation, a method which is centered in conflict resolution. According to Dr. Mark Umbreit, engaging the parent in an alliance with the child protection worker, rather than as an adversarial party, is the key to good social work practice, and mediation skills provide guidance. This edition of Practice Notes borrows elements from formal mediation models and intends to demonstrate how mediation skills might be incorporated in everyday practice.
Post-Adoption Services (PN #04)
(1998-06)
Post-adoption services now loom as a paramount issue in permanency planning. While studies recommend that post-adoption services be integrated into the adoption process, this practice in not uniformly implemented. Minnesota’s Department of Human Services now requires that all non-profit private agencies that hold contracts for delivering adoption services provide post-adoption activities for 18 months after finalization of an adoption. Federal funds (Title IV-B) have earmarked 20% for post-adoption services. How these resources will be made available for the crucial phase of assuring a permanent placement for a child is currently under discussion.
Practice Issues in Concurrent Planning (PN #05)
(1999)
Concurrent planning requires county social services to make reasonable efforts to reunify a child with the family, while simultaneously exploring alternative permanent options. Concurrent planning is a concept that provides a strong affirmation of the necessity to pay attention to the developmental needs of young children. Practitioners are required, with renewed emphasis and within strict timelines, to focus on the safety of the child as a paramount factor in assessing family capacity. This edition of Practice Notes is concerned with issues that deal with protecting the young child in the care of an emotionally disturbed parent.
Practice Prompt: Recognizing Developmental Risk at an Early Age
(2010-02)
Special Practice Prompt: Recognizing Developmental Risk at an Early Age
Protecting Children in Families Involved in Domestic Violence (PN #06)
(1999)
Child welfare agencies are seeing a growing number of cases of children witnessing adult domestic violence, or maltreated children whose mothers are also the victim of domestic assault. Yet the problems of child maltreatment and violence against women have traditionally been viewed and treated as two distinct issues. Working together on behalf of the safety of all victims of family violence requires communication, cross-training, and ongoing coordination and integration of services. This issue provides practical guidelines for child welfare professionals based on a national curriculum (Ganley & Schechter, 1996) and it provides resources for professionals interested in learning more about national efforts to successfully respond to all victims of family violence.
Protecting Children in Substance-Abusing Families (PN #07)
(1999)
Parental substance abuse is widely acknowledged as the primary risk factor associated with child abuse and neglect. Children from families with substance abuse conditions are more likely to remain in out-of-home placements for longer periods of time and have less chance of being reunified with their parents or being adopted. While the substance abuse treatment and child welfare systems frequently work with the same families, each system operates with different goals, legal mandates, and desired outcomes. This issue of Practice Notes will explore these issues and provide guidelines for assessing a child’s safety and well-being when parental substance abuse is occurring in the home.
Referral for Disabilities: A New Responsibility for Child Protection (PN #16)
(2005-02)
Two significant laws were recently passed that require referral and screening of very young children to detect the need for disability and mental health services. This edition of Practice Notes will concentrate on early identification of children with developmental delays and disabilities. While these are distinct categories of children at-risk (disabilities, mental health, special needs), there is also considerable overlap. How we respond to duplication of services, strategies and case plans is yet to be understood.
Reinforcing the Importance of Attachment for Child Welfare Practice (PN #19)
(2007-07)
The relevance of attachment theory for the case planning and prevention tasks in Child Welfare underlines the importance of this edition of Practice Notes. This edition of “Practice Notes” intends to provide a pathway to grasping various dimensions of attachment: first, a bare-bones definition and then how this leads the practitioner to consider the impact of maltreatment and traumatic experiences; the role of foster parents; clues for referrals to a consultant; attachment considerations across cultures; and practice guidelines.
Resilience in Maltreated Children (PN #25)
(Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare (CASCW), School of Social Work, College of Education and Human Development, University of Minnesota, 2015) Tseng, A; Barry, K; LaLiBerte, T
Child maltreatment exemplifies one of the most harmful and stressful challenges to confront children today. Although the experience of abuse or neglect has a severe impact on most children, not all maltreated children are negatively affected to the same degree. Examining how and why certain maltreated children show resilience despite adverse conditions may lead to key insights into the complex processes that result in vastly different developmental outcomes.