Experiences of Somali and Oromo Youth in the Child Protection System

Background: Little is known about the experiences or proportion of refugees involved with child protective services (CPS) in the United States, because they are not an identifiable group in CPS data systems. This study utilized an innovative data matching project to identify refugees in CPS data systems and explored the experiences of Somali and Oromo youth in Minnesota\u27s child protection system. Methods: A sample of 629 Somali and 62 Oromo youth who were involved with CPS between 2000 and 2013 were identified by linking datasets from the Minnesota Departments of Education and Human Services. Descriptive statistics, chi-square analysis, and t-tests were used to explore the proportion and characteristics of children involved with CPS, placement experiences, and child protection professionals\u27 documentation of families\u27 strengths and needs. Results: Somali and Oromo youth were involved with CPS at low rates (3.7%). Residential treatment facilities were the most common out-of-home (OHP) placement settings for Somali youth (41%), and almost a third of placements for Oromo youth were in a correctional facility (31.6%). Strengths identified for both groups included low alcohol and other drug use and few health issues. Needs included social support, mental health/coping support, and parenting skills. Conclusions: OHP settings for Somali and Oromo youth were highly restrictive. More research is needed to determine what is driving the high utilization of restrictive placements for Somali and Oromo youth, how accurately the Structured Decision Making tool assesses strengths and needs for families with refugee backgrounds, and how CPS professionals\u27 assessments of strengths and needs compare to the refugee families\u27 perceptions of their own strengths and needs

Does a Drop-in and Case Management Model Improve Outcomes for Young Adults Experiencing Homelessness: A Case Study of YouthLink

This study used two approaches to examine YouthLink as an example of a drop-in and case management model for working with youth experiencing homelessness. These approaches investigated the same group of 1,229 unaccompanied youth, ages 16 to 24 and overwhelmingly Black, who voluntarily visited or received services from YouthLink in 2011. Both approaches looked at the same metrics of success over the same time period, 2011 to 2016. One approach—Study Aim 1—examined the drop-in and case management model overall, asking whether YouthLink's service model resulted in better outcomes. It compared a YouthLink cohort with a group of highly similar youth who did not visit YouthLink but may have received similar services elsewhere. A second approach—Study Aim 2—investigated within the YouthLink cohort the ways in which YouthLink's drop-in and case-management approach worked toward achieving the desired outcomes

Does a Drop-in and Case Management Model Improve Outcomes for Young Adults Experiencing Homelessness: A Case Study of YouthLink

This study used two approaches to examine YouthLink as an example of a drop-in and case management model for working with youth experiencing homelessness. These approaches investigated the same group of 1,229 unaccompanied youth, ages 16 to 24 and overwhelmingly Black, who voluntarily visited or received services from YouthLink in 2011. Both approaches looked at the same metrics of success over the same time period, 2011 to 2016. One approach—Study Aim 1—examined the drop-in and case management model overall, asking whether YouthLink’s service model resulted in better outcomes. It compared a YouthLink cohort with a group of highly similar youth who did not visit YouthLink but may have received similar services elsewhere. A second approach—Study Aim 2—investigated within the YouthLink cohort the ways in which YouthLink’s drop-in and case-management approach worked toward achieving the desired outcomes. The results and their implications were discussed.The Kresge Foundatio

Adoption Discontinuity in Intensive Out-of-Home Care Settings

This study sought to understand previous adoption experiences of youth placed in residential, group, and treatment foster care settings. A secondary analysis of an existing point-in-time prevalence study of 869 youth in 38 private residential, group home, and treatment foster care facilities were conducted. Gender, race, number of placements, and having a developmental disability were variables that significantly explained adoption disruption while placement histories and race/ethnicity significantly explained adoption dissolutions. Findings suggest the need for ongoing worker, provider and caregiver training and the importance of understanding a youth’s adoption history

Preparing Child Welfare Practitioners: Implications for Title IV-E Education and Training Partnerships

High rates of child welfare practitioner turnover remain a national problem with significant consequences. Title IV-E education and training programs prepare child welfare practitioners for this line of work with the intent that they will create long term careers. This study analyzed qualitative data from a 2016 statewide electronic survey launched to obtain frontline child welfare practitioner feedback about workforce turnover and assist the agency in retention efforts.Practitioner insight resulted in 189 responses specifically related to improving the state’s Title IV-E supported education and training program–the “Academy.” A qualitative thematic analysis identified three main themes: making it more realistic and hands on (n = 104), needing additional training and specific content (n = 45), and feeling overwhelmed with the experience (n = 40). Practitioner feedback illustrated the existing tensions with using a blended model to educate and train the workforce. Implications for Title IV-E education and training partnerships are discussed

Who Stays, Who Goes, Who Knows? A State-Wide Survey of Child Welfare Workers

Child welfare workforce turnover remains a significant problem with dire consequences. Designed to assist in its retention efforts, an agency supported state-wide survey was employed to capture worker feedback and insight into turnover. This article examines the quantitative feedback from a Southern state\u27s frontline child welfare workforce (N = 511), examining worker intent to leave as those who intend to stay employed at the agency (Stayers), those who are undecided (Undecided), and those who intend to leave (Leavers). A series of One-Way ANOVAs revealed a stratified pattern of worker dissatisfaction, with stayers reporting highest satisfaction levels, followed by undecided workers, and then leavers in all areas (e.g., salary, workload, recognition, professional development, accomplishment, peer support, and supervision). A Multinomial Logistic Regression model revealed significant (and shared) predictors among leavers and undecided workers in comparison to stayers with respect to dissatisfaction with workload and professional development, and working in an urban area. Additionally, child welfare workers who intend to leave the agency in the next 12 months expressed significant dissatisfaction with supervision and accomplishment, and tended to be younger and professionals of color

A prospective, longitudinal study of risk factors for early onset of delinquency among maltreated youth

Maltreated youth tend to enter into the juvenile justice system at younger ages than their non-maltreated counterparts. Early involvement in the juvenile justice system compounds maltreated youth\u27s risk of adverse developmental outcomes, including serious and continued offending. This study prospectively examined risk factors of first time delinquency for maltreated youth between ages 9 and 14. Using integrated statewide administrative data from Minnesota, this study followed 5002 students with maltreatment histories in 3rd grade for their first adjudication of delinquency over a 6-year period. Cox proportional hazard regression was employed to model time to youth\u27s first time delinquency, and to identify risk factors. Approximately 7% of maltreated youth (n = 332)were adjudicated as delinquent during this period. The results indicated significant risk factors for early onset of delinquency in maltreated youth: being male (HR = 1.87, 95% CI 1.45, 2.40), belonging to particular racial minority groups, especially Black (HR = 1.80, 95% CI 1.36, 2.39), Native American (HR = 2.34, 95% CI 1.61, 3.39, and Hispanic (HR = 1.73, 95% CI 1.10, 2.71), diagnoses of emotional/behavioral disabilities (HR = 1.96, 95% CI 1.30, 2.93), receiving an out-of-school suspension (HR = 1.53, 95% CI 1.04, 2.25), and experiencing more than three previous maltreatment incidents (HR = 2.02, 95% CI 1.54, 2.64). Solutions for maltreated youth who cross over to the juvenile justice system clearly require interventions that are developmentally sensitive and simultaneously address risk factors across multiple ecological levels

Involvement of Somali and Oromo Youth in Minnesota’s Child Protection System

This study examined the proportion of Somali and Oromo youth involved and their experiences in Minnesota’s Child Protection System (CPS). Because this is not an identifiable group in CPS data systems, an innovative data matching project was used to explore and reveal unique knowledge about this rarely studied population’s experiences with CPS

Retention of Child Welfare Caseworkers: The Wisdom of Supervisors

Child welfare supervisors have a unique vantage point, leading local service delivery efforts while representing a larger organizational bureaucracy. They also play a key role in workforce stability, as high caseworker turnover remains a real problem that affects clients, communities, and agency budgets. Using a qualitative thematic content analysis to analyze data collected from a sample of public child welfare supervisors in a southern state (n=117), findings from this study provide suggestions for systematically addressing workforce turnover through the unique perspective of the child welfare supervisor. Supervisors made recommendations to improve agency infrastructure, organizational climate, and organizational culture as areas for immediate consideration to address this significant problem