Dana M. Hollinshead

Longitudinal analysis of repeated child abuse reporting and victimization: multistate analysis of associated factors

Most child subjects of maltreatment reports to child protective services (CPS) are involved just once, whereas other children experience repeated investigations and victimizations. This study examines individual, maltreatment, and service-related factors associated with maltreatment rereporting and substantiated rereporting in a multistate context. Case-level National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System data (505,621 children) were analyzed. Within 24 months, 22% of children were rereported, and 7% were rereported with substantiation. Younger and White and mixed race children, those with disabilities, and those whose caregivers abused alcohol were more likely to be rereported and rereported and substantiated. Service provision, including foster care placement, was associated with increased likelihood of subsequent events. When CPS agency performance is assessed using measures of reentry, separate measures may be necessary for children who receive services, so that improvements in safety can be appropriately recognized. Reentry into CPS is a complex interaction of risks to children and systemic factors tied to the intervention they receive.

Adverse childhood experiences and association with health, mental health, and risky behavior in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia

BACKGROUND The aim of this study is to determine if ACEs impact the health and risk behavior burden among Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) adults. METHODS In 2013, a cross-sectional study was conducted across KSA to identify the retrospective prevalence of ACEs and their association with high risk behaviors and chronic diseases. Surveys from 10,156 adults in all 13 Saudi regions were obtained using an Arabic version of the WHO ACE-IQ (KSA ACE-IQ). RESULTS Compared to respondents reporting no ACEs, even just one ACE contributed significantly to the odds of experiencing diabetes mellitus (OR=1.3), depression (OR=1.32), or anxiety (OR=1.79) outcomes. Two ACEs were necessary for statistically significant, higher odds to emerge for hypertension (OR=1.46), mental illness (OR=1.93), smoking (OR=1.17), alcohol use (OR=1.75), and drug use (OR=1.45). Respondents who reported four or more ACEs had greater odds of coronary heart disease (OR=1.94), and obesity (OR=2.25). Compared to those reporting no ACEs, respondents reporting four or more ACEs had over four times the odds of Alcohol or Drug Use, Mental Illness, Depression, and/or Anxiety outcomes and more than twice the odds of diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and/or smoking outcomes. CONCLUSION Findings from this analysis underscore the potential benefit of providing focused preventative approaches to mitigating ACEs in KSA in relation to both the specific and cumulative burden of health and risky behavior outcomes.

Factors Associated with Staff Perceptions of the Effectiveness of Family Group Conferences

Objective: Family Group Conferencing (FGC) challenges the entrenched practice of child welfare service providers making decisions for children and families. Instead, FGC positions families as capable planners and decision-makers given proper support and resources. Implementation research in general highlights the importance of agency climate, worker characteristics, and attitudes in predicting buy-in and efficacy of programming. Prior research shows social work staff differ in their opinions of FGC, but little research connects these attitudes to staff and agency characteristics and, ultimately, referrals and outcomes. Method: We explore the influence of staff, agency, and service availability factors on staff perceptions of effectiveness of FGC using Bayesian model averaging with 252 staff surveys. Results: The results imply that worker attitudes about FGC effectiveness are a product of attitudes towards families, type of work responsibility, and the perception of resources or services in the external environment. Among workers who carry a caseload, perceptions of effectiveness depend on perceptions of the availability and competence of local services to help families in need. Among those who do not carry a caseload, endorsement of families’ abilities to make plans to address their issues predicts endorsement of the effectiveness of FGC. Conclusions: If worker attitudes towards FGC do indeed relate to referral, fidelity, or outcomes, implementation should address the formal and informal services available to families. Future research should account for caseload status, service mix, and staff beliefs about family capacity when staff have discretion over implementation of family meeting interventions.

Effectiveness of family group conferencing in preventing repeat referrals to child protective services and out-of-home placements

Rigorous research on the efficacy of family group conferencing is rare. This randomized control trial study used an intent-to-treat approach to examine whether a referral to a family group conference (FGC) was associated with re-referrals, substantiated re-referrals, or out-of-home placements among child welfare-involved families receiving in-home services. We found no significant associations between treatment and control group assignment and the three outcomes for the sample as a whole. However, families with more children had higher odds of a re-referral and a substantiated re-referral, families with more than one parent had higher odds of re-referral, and families where a substance abuse services referral was noted had higher odds of out-of-home placement. In interaction models with race, we found that families with African American mothers who were referred for an FGC were more likely to be re-referred compared to other families, but no differences were identified with respect to their rates of substantiated re-referrals or out-of-home placements. Implications are discussed.