Community- and systems-level factors that contribute to foster care entry: Perspectives from child-serving professionals

ABSTRACT

Discussions around reasons for foster care entry primarily focus on family-level service needs. However, families exist within social environments that can either increase or reduce risk for foster care entry. This qualitative study draws on interviews (n = 27), focus groups (n = 7), and open-ended survey responses (n = 548) from child-serving professionals in Indiana to identify community- and systems-level factors contributing to entry. Through qualitative coding we identified eight themes at the community- and systems-levels that direct attention toward modifiable dimensions of the social environment that can serve as targets for policy and practice reform.

KEYWORDS:

• foster care entry
• risk and protective factors
• professional perspectives
• community
• systems

Acknowledgments

This study was funded by the Children’s Bureau, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Administration for Children and Families, USDHHS, under grant #90CA1864. The contents of this manuscript are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Children’s Bureau.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the U.S. Children’s Bureau [90CA1864].

Notes on contributors

E. Susana Mariscal

E. Susana Mariscal, Ph.D., MSW is an associate professor at Indiana University School of Social Work. She is a community-engaged scholar with an active research agenda centered on the prevention of child maltreatment and promotion of resilience among children and families, particularly among Latines. Her work continues to explore the intersections between child maltreatment, domestic violence, and substance use. She is the principal investigator and director of the Strengthening Indiana Families project, a primary child maltreatment prevention funded by the U.S. Children’s Bureau.

Bryan G. Victor

Bryan Victor, Ph.D., MSW is an assistant professor of social work at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. His research focuses on the prevention of child maltreatment, and child welfare practice related to domestic violence and parental substance misuse.

Jenna Elliot

Jenny M. Elliot, is an MSW student and graduate research assistant at Indiana University School of Social Work. Her research interests include micro and macro-level approaches to child maltreatment prevention and intervention, resilience, and family-centered policy.

Jamie Smith

Jamie K. Smith, is a Ph.D. candidate at Indiana University, School of Public Health, Bloomington. She is a community-engaged scholar with a research agenda focused on infant safe sleep practices, child fatality review, and prevention of sudden unexpected infant deaths through cross-system collaborations.

Gifty Ashirifi

Gifty Ashirifi, is a Ph.D. candidate and graduate research assistant at Indiana University School of Social Work. Her research interests are centered on resilience protective factors among grandparents raising grandchildren.

Miriam Commodore - Mensah

Miriam Commodore- Mensah is a Ph.D. student and graduate research assistant at Indiana University School of Social Work. Her research focuses on resilience and protective factors and a trauma-informed juvenile justice system.