Jennifer Price Wolf

Introducing Technology in Child Welfare Referrals: A Case Study

Access to social services is important for the safety of children and ultimately for reunification of families involved in the child welfare system. The process of linking families to services, however, varies by caseworker and can be cumbersome and time consuming. The Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) Needs Portal is an Internet-based intervention to improve the timing and quality of social service referrals in Los Angeles County We used a case study approach including in-depth interviews, direct observations, and user feedback obtained from the Needs Portal to (a) determine perceived benefits and barriers to adopting the Needs Portal, and (b) report how the flow of information between users and developers was used to adapt to user needs. Our analyses revealed four major barriers: (a) caseworker apprehension regarding new technology, (b) variation in communication styles by user type, (c) lack of technological infrastructure, and (d) competing workplace demands. Information sharing between developers and users has the potential to better meet the needs of users and ultimately maximize utilization of new technology. Although Internet-based interventions are designed to inexpensively and effectively coordinate services, emerging interventions may require in-person assistance and modifications in order to succeed.

Are community level prescription opioid overdoses associated with child harm? A spatial analysis of California zip codes, 2001-2011

BACKGROUNDnNon-medical prescription opioid use is increasing globally within high-income countries, particularly the United States. However, little is known about whether it is associated with negative outcomes for children. In this study, we use prescription opioid overdose as a proxy measure for non-medical prescription opioid use and ask the following: Do California communities with greater rates of non-medical prescription opioid use also have higher rates of child maltreatment and unintentional child injury?nnnMETHODSnWe used longitudinal population data to examine ecological associations between hospital discharges involving overdose of prescription opioids and those for child maltreatment or child injury in California zip codes between 2001 and 2011 (n=18,517 zip-code year units) using Bayesian space-time misalignment models.nnnRESULTSnThe percentage of hospital discharges involving prescription opioid overdose was positively associated with the number of hospital discharges for child maltreatment (relative rate=1.089, 95% credible interval (1.004, 1.165)) and child injury (relative rate=1.055, 95% credible interval (1.012, 1.096)) over the ten-year period, controlling for other substance use and environmental factors.nnnCONCLUSIONSnIncreases in community level prescription opioid overdoses between 2001 and 2011 are associated with a 2.06% increase in child maltreatment discharges and a 1.27% increase in discharges for child injury. Communities with higher rates of non-medical prescription opioid use may experience greater levels of child harms.

Drug Use, the Drug Environment, and Child Physical Abuse and Neglect:

Although drug use is considered a risk factor for child maltreatment, very little work has examined how the drug environment may affect physical abuse and neglect by parents. Utilizing information from a telephone survey with 2,597 respondents from 43 cities with valid police data on narcotics incidents, we analyzed the relationship between drug use, drug availability, and child maltreatment using multilevel models. City-level rates of drug abuse and dependence were related to more frequent physical abuse. Parents who use drugs in areas with greater availability of drugs reported more physical abuse and physical neglect. Emotional support was protective of all types of maltreatment. While most child welfare interventions focus on reducing parental drug use in order to reduce child abuse, these findings suggest environmental prevention or neighborhood strengthening approaches designed to reduce the supply of illicit drugs may also reduce child abuse through multiple mechanisms.

Understanding the Roles of Context, Frequency, and Quantity of Alcohol Consumption in Child Physical Abuse: Risks for Mothers and Fathers

Alcohol use is related to child physical abuse, although little is known about gender-specific risks factors. This study examines the relationships between alcohol outlets, context-specific drinking, dose–response drinking and child physical abuse for mothers and fathers. Telephone interviews were conducted with 1973 female and 1050 male respondents in 50 California cities. Weighted negative binomial models were used to calculate the frequency of physical abuse in the past year. Drinking more often at restaurants was related to higher frequency of physical abuse for fathers, while mothers who drank more frequently at bars and parties used physical abuse more often. There were no significant dose–response drinking relationships for fathers. Drinking higher amounts at bars, parties, and restaurants was associated with less frequent physical abuse for mothers. Our findings suggest that a focus on drinking contexts may reveal heightened risk for many mothers who do not consume large amounts of alcohol.

Just make sure you can get up and parent the next day: Understanding the contexts, risks, and rewards of alcohol consumption for parents.

Little is known about how parents make drinking decisions and weigh the risks and rewards of alcohol consumption in specific contexts. This qualitative study examined two questions: (a) What factors influence parental drinking decisions in different drinking contexts? and (b) What do parents perceive as the risks and rewards of alcohol consumption in different drinking contexts? Purposive sampling was used to select 60 parents of children aged 10 or younger living in 4 midsized California cities. Data were collected via in-depth, semistructured interviews. Many parents viewed drinking at family get-togethers or parties as protective of children, since the presence of multiple adults and children provide buffers when parents become intoxicated. In contrast, parents noted that drinking at home, and particularly drinking alone, transmitted potentially negative messages. Social pressures and contexts influence alcohol consumption among parents and could provide potential avenues for intervention against alcohol-related harm.

Social Work Matters: Californians’ Perceptions of Social Welfare

This article reports on findings from a representative survey of Californians (N = 946) and their perception of social work and its professionals. Analysis of the survey data indicates that the public holds a generally positive view of social work and its helping nature, although social work is considered one of the least prestigious professions. Respondents primarily associated social work with child protection and behavioral health roles, and less often with tasks such as community organizing, promoting social justice, and crafting social policy. Implications are considered for renegotiating the identity of social work and foregrounding social justice.

Prescription Drug Misuse and Child Maltreatment Among High-Risk Families

Prescription drug misuse is increasingly common in the United States. To date, little is known about how prescription drug misuse relates to negative parenting behaviors like child maltreatment, even though use of illicit drugs increases rates of both child neglect and physical abuse. This study used secondary data from the Fragile Families and Child Well-Being Study (FFCWS), a clustered national sample of families at high risk for both prescription drug misuse and child maltreatment ( n = 2,917). Data from mothers who participated in the 9-year follow-up of this study were used to create logistic regression models examining prescription drug misuse and physically aggressive and neglectful parenting, while controlling for demographic and psychosocial variables. Black, non-Hispanic mothers and mothers in worse health had higher odds of physically aggressive parenting. Mothers in worse health and those who used other illicit drugs had greater odds of neglectful parenting. There were no relationships between prescription drug misuse and either parenting outcome. The findings do not provide evidence that prescription drug misuse is a risk factor for child maltreatment. Further research examining this issue and potential progression from prescription drug misuse to other illicit drug use could help clarify whether this behavior is related to negative outcomes for children.

Child maltreatment reporting in the general population: Examining the roles of community, collective efficacy, and adverse childhood experiences

According to bystander theory, factors such as the community environment, collective efficacy, and history of adverse childhood experiences could be related to likelihood of reporting or intervening against maltreatment. An online survey was conducted with 946 general population Californians obtained through mixed-mode random probability and quota-based recruitment methods. Using an experimental vignette design, participants were randomly assigned to two scenarios: a) potential child abuse occurring in their neighborhood; b) potential child abuse in an unfamiliar neighborhood. Weighted multivariate logistic regression models assessed relationships between the vignette condition, collective efficacy, appraisal of the behavior, and likelihood of reporting or intervening. The results suggested that perceiving the vignette as occurring in your own neighborhood was associated with lower odds of viewing the behavior as appropriate and considering it abusive. Higher collective efficacy scores were associated with lower odds of viewing the incident as inappropriate but higher odds of personally intervening. Adverse childhood experiences were positively related to reporting the incident to child protective services and intervening. Bystanders may be more likely to give parents in their own neighborhood the benefit of the doubt by viewing their abusive behaviors as less severe, potentially leading to underreporting. Neighborhood collective efficacy might increase willingness to personally intervene, but not contact systems such as child protective services or police, suggesting that enhanced trust in communities does not extend to these institutions. Our findings have implications for neighborhood and education interventions to enhance understanding of and willingness to intervene on behalf of children.

The places parents go: understanding the breadth, scope, and experiences of activity spaces for parents

Neighborhood environments are related to parenting behaviors, which in turn have a life-long effect on children’s health and well-being. Activity spaces, which measure individual routine patterns of movement, may be helpful in assessing how physical and social environments shape parenting. In this study we use qualitative data and GIS mapping from four California cities to examine parental activity spaces. Parents described a number of factors that shape their activity spaces including caregiving status, the age of their children, and income. Parental activity spaces also varied between times (weekends vs. weekdays) and places (adult-only vs. child-specific places). Knowing how to best capture and study parental activity spaces could identify mechanisms by which environmental factors influence parenting behaviors and child health.

Individual- and County-Level Religious Participation, Corporal Punishment, and Physical Abuse of Children: An Exploratory study

Parental religiosity has been associated with corporal punishment. However, most of this research has focused exclusively on Christians and has not examined physical abuse. In addition, little is known about how the larger religious environment might be associated with discipline behaviors. In this exploratory study, we examine how individual- and county-level religious attendance are related to corporal punishment and physical abuse. We sampled and surveyed 3,023 parents of children aged 12 and younger from 50 mid-sized California cities. We used weighted Poisson models to calculate the frequency of corporal punishment and physical abuse in the past year. Parents who attend religious groups used corporal punishment more frequently than parents who did not attend religious groups. However, those who lived in counties with greater rates of religious participation used corporal punishment less frequently than those living in counties with lower rates of religious participation. There were no effects for religious participation on physical abuse at the individual or county level. This exploratory study suggests that parents who attend religious groups may be more likely to use some types of physical discipline with children. Religious groups could be imparting parenting norms supporting corporal punishment at the individual level. More research examining specific doctrines and faiths is needed to validate the study findings.