Laura Frame

The real work is what they do together: Peer support and birth parent change

This article examines a peer support intervention with birth parents in the child welfare system. Literature on the emotional change process for child welfare-involved parents, peer-support intervention-outcome studies in child welfare, and findings on peer support in related fields is reviewed. The Mendocino County Family Services Center (MCFSC) model is described, and findings from an exploratory study are presented and discussed. This model engages parents in a sequence of services based on developmental stages. The study used focus groups, interviews, and observation to understand the key components of the MCFSC peer support intervention, and the experience of birth-parent participants with respect to their personal change process. Further research into this model and other interventions that promote birth-parent change in child welfare is warranted.

Working Together for Children and Families

Summary While the organizational systems designed to provide cash assistance and child welfare services have been separate since the 1970s, changes wrought by welfare reform in the late 1990s suggest new opportunities for organizational collaboration. This paper examines the link between family poverty and child maltreatment, and the policy levers that can be employed to inhibit or promote child and family well being within the context of welfare reform. It then reviews one states experience with inter-organizational collaboration between welfare and child welfare and the special challenges agencies face in attempting to Streamline services.