Crystal Collins-Camargo

Privatization and Performance-Based Contracting in Child Welfare: Recent Trends and Implications for Social Service Administrators

Although social service privatization and performance contracting have increased over recent decades, there is a dearth of information concerning how public and private social service administrators manage performance contracts and develop collaborative relationships that promote desired client outcomes. The Quality Improvement Center on the Privatization of Child Welfare Services (QICPCW) was funded by the federal Childrens Bureau to promote knowledge development regarding public/private contracting in child welfare. This article reports on results from interviews with a national sample of public agency administrators by the QICPCW regarding the scope and mechanisms of contracting in the child welfare sector. Results identify key administrative and agency practices that public and private agency administrators used to develop public/private collaborations and sustain effective cross-sector partnerships. Implications for social service administrative practice and research are identified.

A Study of the Relationships Among Effective Supervision, Organizational Culture Promoting Evidence-Based Practice, and Worker Self-Efficacy in Public Child Welfare

The professional literature has not documented the relationship between effective supervision, an organizational culture promoting evidence-based practice, and self-efficacy in child welfare practice. Secondary analysis of survey data from one public child welfare agency was conducted to examine the relationship between these constructs. Results suggest that for inexperienced workers, there is a difference in their self-efficacy based on the effectiveness of the supervision they receive. Respondents receiving effective supervision were more likely to perceive their organizational culture as promoting evidence-based practice. Further, there was a significant difference in levels of self-efficacy based on this perception of organizational culture. This exploratory study supports further research into these promising organizational strategies for performance and outcome improvement.

The Potential for a More Clinical Approach to Child Welfare Supervision to Promote Practice and Case Outcomes: A Qualitative Study in Four States

This article describes qualitative findings from a mixed method study of the impact of implementing clinical supervision in four public child welfare agencies. Particular emphasis is on the development of learning organizational cultures, promotion of self-reflective and evidence-informed practice, and outcomes-focused approaches to working with families. Themes identified from 15 focus groups with supervisors are provided, in terms of their use of clinical techniques, observed changes in supervisor and worker practice, and client outcomes attributed to the project. This study provides a rationale for clinical supervision in the child welfare setting, and the linkage between it and desired outcome achievement.

Implementing Performance-Based Contracts and Quality Assurance Systems in Child Welfare Services: Results From a National Cross-Site Evaluation

Services for children and youth in foster care are often contracted by public agencies to private social service entities. One way to encourage quality services and promote improved outcomes for children is to implement performance-based contracts (PBCs) within this public–private partnership, and then use data through quality assurance systems to drive practice change. Three demonstration sites (Florida, Missouri, and Illinois) employed a collaborative approach to planning and implementing PBCs in foster care case management or residential youth services. A cross-site evaluation of these three sites produced qualitative and quantitative results that demonstrated how an inclusive and outcome-oriented process can facilitate improved performance and outcomes for children and agencies.

Strengthening Public-Private Partnerships in State Child Welfare Systems: Results of a Multi-State Strategic Planning Process

Dramatic growth in health and human service contracting over the past two decades has increased the need for managerial competency in the development and sustainment of effective cross-sector partnerships. Although the quality of relations between partnering agencies can affect client outcomes, few macro-level interventions for strengthening cross-sector partnerships have been described or tested in the literature. This article describes a facilitated, strategic planning process implemented in five different states and presents pre-post test results of its effect on different factors known to affect partnership success. Implications for child welfare administrative practice and research are discussed.

What do we know about strategies for involving citizens in public child welfare : a review of recent literature and implications for policy, practice, and future research.

Citizens are increasingly being called upon to participate in public child welfare programs. This participation—through such federally mandated programs as Foster Care Review Boards, Court Appointed Special Advocates, and Citizen Review Panels—can potentially promote authentic community involvement or leave angry agencies and panel members in its wake. These disparate outcomes are dependent upon numerous factors both within the child welfare agency and the broader civic domain. This article reviews the current literature on citizen participation in public child welfare with special emphasis on the programs mentioned above. Additionally, strategies are offered for using citizens to support positive change within public child welfare agencies.

Clinical Supervision for MSWs in Child Welfare: A Professional Development Model

ABSTRACT A collaborative project between a state child welfare agency and a master of social work program was developed for the purpose of providing clinical supervision for master of social work employees in public child welfare. The integrative supervision model (ISM) was implemented in the pilot project, and initial efforts were begun to test the effectiveness of the model. The ISM was used to assist child welfare workers in developing increased knowledge and skills relevant to public child welfare practice and to assist in promoting a professionally supportive work environment. Initial data from the first year of the project are presented and discussed.

Success on Their Own Terms: Youths' Perspectives on Successful Foster Care

Foster care is an integral component of the child welfare system. However, little is known about factors germane to conceptualizing successful foster care. This study utilized Concept Mapping (CM) to delineate a conceptual domain for what success in foster care means from the perspective of those most impacted: foster youth. CM couples multi-dimensional scaling with hierarchical cluster analyses to form factors relevant to an area of study. Pictorial representations of the data were generated using the Concept Systems software. Results indicate that youth conceptualize success based on several distinct domains. The final analyses yielded a multi-cluster solution, or Concept Map.

Promoting Outcome Achievement in Child Welfare: Predictors of Evidence-Informed Practice

The use of data and evidence to inform practice in child welfare is the subject of increased discussion in the literature as well as in agencies striving to achieve child safety, permanency, and well-being. Survey data was collected from workers and supervisors in private agencies providing out-of-home care case management and residential treatment services to children and youth across three states. Hierarchical linear modeling tested the role of goal-oriented teamwork and supervisory practice involving the use of data to assess practice effectiveness in predicting evidence-informed practice. The partially mediated relationship showed that a more goal-oriented approach combined with supervisory practice led to increased use of evidence-informed practice. Implications for promoting evidence-informed practice in child welfare are discussed.

The future of public–private partnership in child welfare : a multidimensional exploration of the perspectives of the public and private sectors, the judiciary, frontline staff, and the community.

The child welfare system operates as a joint endeavor of the public and private sectors, while in each state the roles of the sectors and the functioning of their relationship varies across a continuum. The system and the sectors operating within it face both facilitators and challenges as they face a future of serving children and families. In this article, leaders from national organizations with differing constituencies who operate as stakeholders in the child welfare system write essays on their perspectives on the future of public–private partnership in child welfare: the state agency; private providers; the courts; the frontline practitioner; the consumer; and the public and their policy-makers.