Tina L. Rzepnicki

Putting families first: An experiment in family preservation

This volume is a comprehensive evaluation of the largest randomized experiment to date on placement prevention programs: the Family First program in Illinois. It offers insights into the tensions between policies advocating family preservation and those favoring out-of-home placement. The authors conclude by suggesting that placement prevention programs are but one component in a comprehensive effort to reform the child welfare system, and that those efforts should include both improvements in the foster care system and more refined decision-making in individual cases.

Implications of the Study

In the introduction to this book we noted that the literature from the United States, Canada, and several Western European countries reflects a shared concern about children who reside in unplanned, substitute care arrangements and a growing recognition of the importance of making permanent plans for these children. Focusing attention on finding permanent homes for young people, many of whom experience multiple foster home placements during their tenure in the child welfare system, has been of the utmost importance. But, there is little disagreement that permanency planning must begin at intake. All decisions that are made from the point of entry into the child welfare system must address the question Will the option selected further or impede progress toward permanency goals? Despite its importance, the intake process has, in the main, been overlooked as professionals have struggled with developing and implementing procedures to ensure permanency for children already in out-of-home placement.

Permanency Planning for Children in Foster Care: A Review of Projects

Four major projects with the goal of moving children out of foster care and into permanent homes, as well as available follow-up data are reviewed. Three studies (Emlen, Lahti, Downs, McKay, & Downs, 1977; Jones, Neuman, & Shyne, 1976; Stein, Gambrill, & Wiltse, 1978) demonstrated that project services were effective in achieving permanent plans for children. Another study (Sherman, Neuman, & Shyne, 1973) showed no significant differences in outcomes. The contribution of these projects to child welfare policy and practices are discussed. Questions remain regarding the long-term effects of permanency planning and the degree to which the technology developed by the projects is being carried out. Controlled evaluations of training efforts and systematic monitoring of worker activity are necessary to (a) identify weaknesses in the permanency-planning technology, (b) improve implementation, and (c) design innovative approaches to address the changing population of children in care.

A Model for Decision Making

The model that we used to guide us in developing a framework for decision making is shown in figure 4–1.1 The environmental context in which decisions are made consists of three domains: the social, professional, and program environments. The social environment includes a system of values which is articulated in social policy and statutory law. Values are given expression by legislators when they fund social programs through which child welfare services are provided. Professional values are inextricably linked with social values, if not wholly synonymous with them. Social science knowledge and the technology derived from that knowledge guide professional practice by providing a means for achieving program goals. While separable for purposes of discussion, the variables within the social, professional, and programmatic domains interact with each other.

The Outcomes of Decision Making

The hypotheses that guided our work and questions that concerned us were reported in chapter 5. The extent to which our data support or refute these hypotheses are discussed below.

Description of the Illinois/West Virginia Project

The Illinois/West Virginia Project was a three-year research and demonstration effort funded by the United States Children’s Bureau. Its main purpose was to develop and test procedures for decision making at child welfare intake.1 Intake was defined to include all transactions that occur between workers and clients from the point of initial contact through development of a service plan.2

Studies of Decision Making in Child Welfare and Sources of Information for Decision Making

Of all of the tasks performed by child welfare workers, decision making is perhaps the most critical. Decisions made regarding the exact nature of family problems, whether problems identified can be resolved while children remain in their own homes, or whether to recommend out-of-home care should have profound consequences for the families served.

The Process of Decision Making

For each decision made by workers in experimental and control units, the workers completed a form reporting information descriptive of the decision-making process. Whether decisions were made by the worker or another, whether clients participated in decision making, the amount of time spent reaching decisions, and the time spent on a series of decision-making activities such as gathering data are examples of what was reported. This information is presented in this chapter.

Judgment and Decision Making

Earlier we said that the use of professional judgment will influence the decision-making process when the application of decision-making rules does not point to a correct alternative. When the evidence is not clear-cut, the exercise of judgment can be critical in selecting a final option.