Evaluation in Child and Family Services
Evaluation in Child and Family Services

Author: Tiziano Vecchiato

Publisher: Transaction Publishers

Published:

Total Pages: 228

ISBN-13: 9781412823067

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As child and family interventions assume greater international application, it will be helpful to examine the various ways in which service innovations are being evaluated. As demonstrated in the seminar from which these chapters resulted, only by sharing our specific professional interests, our too frequent problems in measurement, our despair in implementing complicated studies, and our successes can we advance the evaluation of human services and their outcomes. This volume considers a variety of programs and issues in the field of child and family services. While different perspectives are evident among the authors in terms of their focus and/or emphasis, there is common concern about the value of examining each program or service so as to maximize its impact as well as its potential for dissemination. Intervention research should spur and motivate cross-national efforts not only among researchers but also among social workers and other practitioners from diverse professions engaged in the delivery of human services. Such collaboration would contribute to the ultimate goals of achieving greater clarity about the specifics of "best practices" in child and family services, protocols for assessing outcomes, and ways of improving service delivery. How then can researchers and policymakers in diverse settings within diverse countries improve practice and service delivery on behalf of children and families? What particular program findings can be generalized to improve services? How can we share and implement new solutions? The contributions to this volume address such questions from varying international perspectives. Contributors provide answers and generate discussion points for consideration by practitioners as well as researchers. The book is a must for social work parishioners in areas involving the delivery of goods as well as services. Tiziano Vecchiato is scientific director of the Fondazione Emanuela Zancan, Padua, Italy. Anthony N. Maluccio is professor of social work at Boston College, Graduate School of Social Work, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Cinzia Canali is research associate at the Fondazione Emanuela Zancan, Padua, Italy.

Child and Family Assessment in Social Work Practice
Child and Family Assessment in Social Work Practice

Author: Sally Holland

Publisher: SAGE

Published: 2010-11-15

Total Pages: 241

ISBN-13: 1446247880

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This thoroughly revised and updated second edition of Child and Family Assessment in Social Work Practice is an essential guide for social work students and practitioners involved in the assessment of children and their families. Focusing on ′core′ assessments and guiding the reader through the complexities of conducting assessments of need and risk, the book now includes within each chapter a range of specifically-tailored exercises and focus points which encourage readers both to reflect on what they have learnt and to understand how they can apply that learning to practice. Placing a strong emphasis on good, evidence-based, assessment practice, Sally Holland has also, for this new edition, included original research evidence from a wide range of up-to-date research studies which are relevant to today′s practice and which aim to promote a critical and reflective approach to the assessment process. The book is divided into three parts: - Part 1 explores different appoaches to assessment work, outlining policy changes and their implications for working with children and their families. - Part 2 studies those involved in child and family assessments: children and their parents; and the relationship between the assessors and the assessed. - Part 3 - a more practical guide - outlines the actual process of an assessment, illustrated by case studies, focusing on planning assessment methods, analysis, reporting and critical evaluation. Accessibly relating theory and research to actual practice through the use of case studies, exercises, and suggestions for good practice and further reading, this book has a student-friendly structure It will be an invaluable resource for practitioners and academics across the field of social welfare, particularly for those embarking on, or already involved in, child and family assessment.

The Children's Bureau Legacy
The Children's Bureau Legacy

Author: Administration on Children, Youth and Families

Publisher: Government Printing Office

Published: 2013-04-01

Total Pages: 276

ISBN-13: 0160917220

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Comprehensive history of the Children’s Bureau from 1912-2012 in eBook form that shares the legacy of this landmark agency that established the first Federal Government programs, research and social reform initiatives aimed to improve the safety, permanency and well-being of children, youth and families. In addition to bios of agency heads and review of legislation and publications, this important book provides a critical look at the evolution of the Nation and its treatment of children as it covers often inspiring and sometimes heart-wrenching topics such as: child labor; the Orphan Trains, adoption and foster care; infant and maternal mortality and childhood diseases; parenting, infant and child care education; the role of women's clubs and reformers; child welfare standards; Aid to Dependent Children; Depression relief; children of migrants and minorities (African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans), including Indian Boarding Schools and Indian Adoption Program; disabled children care; children in wartime including support of military families and World War II refugee children; Juvenile delinquency; early childhood education Head Start; family planning; child abuse and neglect; natural disaster recovery; and much more. Child welfare and related professionals, legislators, educators, researchers and advocates, university school of social work faculty and staff, libraries, and others interested in social work related to children, youth and families, particularly topics such as preventing child abuse and neglect, foster care, and adoption will be interested in this comprehensive history of the Children's Bureau that has been funded by the U.S. Federal Government since 1912.

Keeping Families Together
Keeping Families Together

Author: Charlotte Booth

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-07-12

Total Pages: 330

ISBN-13: 1351510274

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When a family's problems become so severe that traditional community resources are unable to help them effectively, caseworkers are usually advised to place children outside the home. Family preservation services such as Homebuilders are designed to give caseworkers and families another option: services that are more intensive, accessible, flexible, and goal-oriented than conventional supports. Instead of relieving family pressure by removing a child, the approach described here adds resources to alleviate pressure and to facilitate the development of a nurturing environment for children within the context of the family. Whereas crisis intervention attempts to resolve immediate problems their approach enables the family to function better after the crisis than before. In addition to their obvious social benefits, family preservation services are cost effective. Straightforward and practice-oriented, Keeping Families Together profiles the kinds of families that are assisted by prevention services such as this, tracing the salient features of its innovative approach to crisis intervention, its organizational features, and its knowledge and research base. Rich in actual examples drawn from family practice, this book will be of great interest to beginning students as well as practitioners in family and children's services. The book is also intended for those who are considering beginning their own Family Preservation Services to evaluate whether or not the approach will be a good fit for them, to become aware of some of the complexities of program design and training so that they can make informed decisions. When the book first appeared, Contemporary Psychology said that it "speaks for itself as a wonderful description of how to be of help to families in crisis."

New Directions in Child Abuse and Neglect Research
New Directions in Child Abuse and Neglect Research

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2014-03-25

Total Pages: 376

ISBN-13: 0309285151

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Each year, child protective services receive reports of child abuse and neglect involving six million children, and many more go unreported. The long-term human and fiscal consequences of child abuse and neglect are not relegated to the victims themselves-they also impact their families, future relationships, and society. In 1993, the National Research Council (NRC) issued the report, Under-standing Child Abuse and Neglect, which provided an overview of the research on child abuse and neglect. New Directions in Child Abuse and Neglect Research updates the 1993 report and provides new recommendations to respond to this public health challenge. According to this report, while there has been great progress in child abuse and neglect research, a coordinated, national research infrastructure with high-level federal support needs to be established and implemented immediately. New Directions in Child Abuse and Neglect Research recommends an actionable framework to guide and support future child abuse and neglect research. This report calls for a comprehensive, multidisciplinary approach to child abuse and neglect research that examines factors related to both children and adults across physical, mental, and behavioral health domains-including those in child welfare, economic support, criminal justice, education, and health care systems-and assesses the needs of a variety of subpopulations. It should also clarify the causal pathways related to child abuse and neglect and, more importantly, assess efforts to interrupt these pathways. New Directions in Child Abuse and Neglect Research identifies four areas to look to in developing a coordinated research enterprise: a national strategic plan, a national surveillance system, a new generation of researchers, and changes in the federal and state programmatic and policy response.

Parenting Matters
Parenting Matters

Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2016-11-21

Total Pages: 525

ISBN-13: 0309388570

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Decades of research have demonstrated that the parent-child dyad and the environment of the familyâ€"which includes all primary caregiversâ€"are at the foundation of children's well- being and healthy development. From birth, children are learning and rely on parents and the other caregivers in their lives to protect and care for them. The impact of parents may never be greater than during the earliest years of life, when a child's brain is rapidly developing and when nearly all of her or his experiences are created and shaped by parents and the family environment. Parents help children build and refine their knowledge and skills, charting a trajectory for their health and well-being during childhood and beyond. The experience of parenting also impacts parents themselves. For instance, parenting can enrich and give focus to parents' lives; generate stress or calm; and create any number of emotions, including feelings of happiness, sadness, fulfillment, and anger. Parenting of young children today takes place in the context of significant ongoing developments. These include: a rapidly growing body of science on early childhood, increases in funding for programs and services for families, changing demographics of the U.S. population, and greater diversity of family structure. Additionally, parenting is increasingly being shaped by technology and increased access to information about parenting. Parenting Matters identifies parenting knowledge, attitudes, and practices associated with positive developmental outcomes in children ages 0-8; universal/preventive and targeted strategies used in a variety of settings that have been effective with parents of young children and that support the identified knowledge, attitudes, and practices; and barriers to and facilitators for parents' use of practices that lead to healthy child outcomes as well as their participation in effective programs and services. This report makes recommendations directed at an array of stakeholders, for promoting the wide-scale adoption of effective programs and services for parents and on areas that warrant further research to inform policy and practice. It is meant to serve as a roadmap for the future of parenting policy, research, and practice in the United States.

Children and Residential Experiences
Children and Residential Experiences

Author: Martha J. Holden

Publisher: C W L A Press

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781587601262

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The CARE practice model provides a framework for residential care based on a theory of how children develop, motivating both children and staff to adhere to routines, structures, and processes, minimizing the potential for interpersonal conflict. The core principles of the model have a strong relationship to positive child outcomes, and can be incorporated into a wide variety of programs and treatment models.

Improving Outcomes for Children and Families
Improving Outcomes for Children and Families

Author: Anthony N. Maluccio

Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Publishers

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 242

ISBN-13: 1849058199

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This edited collection offers an international perspective on the challenges of designing and undertaking outcome-based evaluation of child and family services. It introduces the key ideas and issues currently being debated in the evaluation of these services and provides examples of evaluation from policy and practice.

Family Assessment Form
Family Assessment Form

Author: Children's Bureau of Southern California

Publisher: C W L A Press

Published: 1997

Total Pages: 88

ISBN-13:

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The primary challenge of delivering and evaluating family-based services lies in successfully assessing changes in families. This guide provides instruction for use of the Family Assessment Form (FAF), an instrument to help practitioners assess families at the beginning of service, develop individualized family service plans, monitor family progress, and assess outcomes for individual families. The FAF is designed as a standardized form that is adaptable for a variety of clinical, procedural, and program needs. Using a 9-point rating scale for individual items, the FAF enables practitioners to complete a psychosocial assessment of six areas of family functioning that is recorded in a quantitative manner and allows for monitoring family progress. The six areas of family functioning assessed by the FAF are: (1) living conditions; (2) financial conditions; (3) support available to caregivers; (4) interactions between caregivers and children; (5) developmental stimulation available to children; and (6) interactions between adult caregivers. The instruction guide provides a rationale for family assessment, details the development of the FAF, describes the FAF, provides information on training individuals to administer the instrument, describes the use of the FAF for program evaluation, discusses its test reliability and validity, and contains instructions for completing the FAF. A complete copy of the instrument is contained in the guide, including the "face sheet," the family functioning factors section, caregiver history and characteristics section, behavior concerns/observation checklist, and the service plan and closing summary. Contains 13 references. (KB)