Mental health clinicians’ reflections on working with child welfare cases: challenges and suggestions

References

• Aarons, G. A., & Palinkas, L. A. (2007). Implementation of evidence-based practice in child welfare: Service provider perspectives. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 34(4), 411–419. doi:10.1007/s10488-007-0121-3
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Afzelius, M., Plantin, L., & Östman, M. (2017). Children of parents with serious mental illness: The perspective of social workers. Practice: Social Work in Action, 29(4), 293–310. doi:10.1080/09503153.2016.1260705
   Google Scholar
• Appleyard, K., Berlin, L. J., Rosanbalm, K. D., & Dodge, K. A. (2011). Preventing early child maltreatment: Implications from a longitudinal study of maternal abuse history, substance use problems, and offspring victimization. Prevention Science, 12(2), 139–149. doi:10.1007/s11121-010-0193-2
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Bai, Y., Wells, R., & Hillemeier, M. M. (2009). Coordination between child welfare agencies and mental health service providers, children’s service use, and outcomes. Child Abuse & Neglect, 33(6), 372–381. doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2008.10.004
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Barbour, R. S., Stanley, N., Penhale, B., & Holden, S. (2002). Assessing risk: Professional perspectives on work involving mental health and child care services. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 16(4), 323–334. doi:10.1080/1356182021000008256
   PubMedGoogle Scholar
• Barboza, G. E. (2019). The geography of child maltreatment: A spatiotemporal analysis using Bayesian hierarchical analysis with integrated nested Laplace approximation. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 34(1), 50–80. doi:10.1177/0886260516639583
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Bidarra, Z. S., Lessard, G., & Dumont, A. (2016). Co-occurrence of intimate partner violence and child sexual abuse: Prevalence, risk factors and related issues. Child Abuse & Neglect, 55, 10–21. doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2016.03.007
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Buckley, H., Carr, N., & Whelan, S. (2011). ‘Like walking on eggshells’: Service user views and expectations of the child protection system. Child & Family Social Work, 16(1), 101–110. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2206.2010.00718.x
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Bunger, A. C., Collins-Camargo, C., McBeath, B., Chuang, E., Pérez-Jolles, M., & Wells, R. (2014). Collaboration, competition, and co-opetition: Interorganizational dynamics between private child welfare agencies and child serving sectors. Children & Youth Services Review, 38, 113–122. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2014.01.017
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Burns-Jager, K., Bozek, K., & Horsford, S. (2012). Calculating all of our losses: Writing real-world therapy experiences in child welfare. Journal of Feminist Family Therapy, 24(1), 79–100. doi:10.1080/08952833.2012.631862
   Google Scholar
• Cao, Y., Hoffman, J. A., Bunger, A. C., Maguire-Jack, K., & Robertson, H. A. (2019). Identifying and addressing parental trauma and behavioral health need: The role of the child welfare system. Journal of Public Child Welfare, 13(3), 265–284. doi:10.1080/15548732.2019.1595259
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Carter, V., & Myers, M. R. (2007). Exploring the risks of substantiated physical neglect related to poverty and parental characteristics: A national sample. Children & Youth Services Review, 29(1), 110–121. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2006.08.002
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Chemtob, C. M., Griffing, S., Tullberg, E., Roberts, E., & Ellis, P. (2011). Screening for trauma exposure, and posttraumatic stress disorder and depression symptoms among mothers receiving child welfare preventive services. Child Welfare, 90(6), 109–128. https://www.jstor.org/stable/48625372
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Chuang, E., & Lucio, R. (2011). Interagency collaboration between child welfare agencies, schools, and mental health providers and children’s mental health service receipt. Advances in School Mental Health Promotion, 4(2), 4–15. doi:10.1080/1754730X.2011.9715625
   Google Scholar
• Clarke, V., & Braun, V. (2013). Teaching thematic analysis. The Psychologist, 26(2), 120–123.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Coates, D., & Howe, D. (2015). Working with families who experience parental mental health and/or drug and alcohol problems in the context of child protection concerns: Recommendations for service improvement. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy, 36(3), 325–341. doi:10.1002/anzf.1113
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Coleman, H., & Collins, D. (1997). The voices of parents: A qualitative study of a family preservation program. Child & Youth Care Forum, 26(4), 261–278. doi:10.1007/BF02589419
   Google Scholar
• Colvin, M. L., & Thompson, H. M. (2020). Exploring the experiences of child welfare-focused therapeutic service providers. Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research, 47(1), 86–101. doi:10.1007/s11414-019-09654-8
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Conradi, L., Agosti, J., Tullberg, E., Richardson, L., Langan, H., Ko, S., & Wilson, C. (2011). Promising practices and strategies for using trauma-informed child welfare practice to improve foster care placement stability: A breakthrough series collaborative. Child Welfare, 90(6), 207–226. https://www.jstor.org/stable/48625377
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Cumming, S., Fitzpatrick, E., McAuliffe, D., McKain, S., Martin, C., & Tonge, A. (2007). Raising the Titanic: Rescuing social work documentation from the sea of ethical risk. Australian Social Work, 60(2), 239–257. doi:10.1080/03124070701323857
   Google Scholar
• Dale, P. (2004). ‘Like a fish in a bowl’: Parents’ perceptions of child protection services. Child Abuse Review, 13(2), 137–157. doi:10.1002/car.837
   Google Scholar
• Darlington, Y., & Feeney, J. A. (2008). Collaboration between mental health and child protection services: Professionals’ perceptions of best practice. Children & Youth Services Review, 30(2), 187–198. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2007.09.005
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Darlington, Y., Feeney, J. A., & Rixon, K. (2005a). Interagency collaboration between child protection and mental health services: Practices, attitudes and barriers. Child Abuse & Neglect, 29(10), 1085–1098. doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2005.04.005
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Darlington, Y., Feeney, J. A., & Rixon, K. (2005b). Practice challenges at the intersection of child protection and mental health. Child & Family Social Work, 10(3), 239–247. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2206.2005.00373.x
   Google Scholar
• Devaney, J. (2008). Inter-professional working in child protection with families with long-term and complex needs. Child Abuse Review, 17(4), 242–261. doi:10.1002/car.1024
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Dixon, L., Hamilton-Giachritsis, C., Browne, K., & Ostapuik, E. (2007). The co-occurrence of child and intimate partner maltreatment in the family: Characteristics of the violent perpetrators. Journal of Family Violence, 22(8), 675–689. doi:10.1007/s10896-007-9115-x
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Dumbrill, G. C. (2006). Parental experience of child protection intervention: A qualitative study. Child Abuse & Neglect, 30(1), 27–37. doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2005.08.012
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Fedoravicius, N., McMillen, J. C., Rowe, J. E., Kagotho, N., & Ware, N. C. (2008). Funneling child welfare consumers into and through the mental health system: Assessment, referral, and quality issues. The Social Service Review, 82(2), 273–290. doi:10.1086/589780
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Finlay, L. (2002). “Outing” the researcher: The provenance, process, and practice of reflexivity. Qualitative Health Research, 12(4), 531–545. doi:10.1177/104973202129120052
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Fong, K. (2019). Neighborhood inequality in the prevalence of reported and substantiated child maltreatment. Child Abuse & Neglect, 90, 13–21. doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2019.01.014
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Garcia, A. R., Circo, E., DeNard, C., & Hernandez, N. (2015). Barriers and facilitators to delivering effective mental health practice strategies for youth and families served by the child welfare system. Children & Youth Services Review, 52, 110–122. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2015.03.008
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Gershun, M., & Terrebonne, C. (2018). Child welfare system interventions on behalf of children and families: Highlighting the role of court appointed special advocates. Current Problems in Pediatric and Adolescent Health Care, 48(9), 215–231. doi:10.1016/j.cppeds.2018.08.003
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Gracia, E., & Musitu, G. (2003). Social isolation from communities and child maltreatment: A cross-cultural comparison. Child Abuse & Neglect, 27(2), 153–168. doi:10.1016/S0145-2134(02)00538-0
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Greene, C. A., Haisley, L., Wallace, C., & Ford, J. D. (2020). Intergenerational effects of childhood maltreatment: A systematic review of the parenting practices of adult survivors of childhood abuse, neglect, and violence. Clinical Psychology Review, 80, 101891. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2020.101891
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Hamby, S., Finkelhor, D., Turner, H., & Ormrod, R. (2010). The overlap of witnessing partner violence with child maltreatment and other victimizations in a nationally representative survey of youth. Child Abuse & Neglect, 34(10), 734–741. doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2010.03.001
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Hanson, K. E., Duryea, E. R., Painter, M., Vanderploeg, J. J., & Saul, D. H. (2019). Family‐based recovery: An innovative collaboration between community mental health agencies and child protective services to treat families impacted by parental substance use. Child Abuse Review, 28(1), 69–81. doi:10.1002/car.2545
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• He, A. S., Lim, C. S., Lecklitner, G., Olson, A., & Traube, D. E. (2015). Interagency collaboration and identifying mental health needs in child welfare: Findings from Los Angeles County. Children & Youth Services Review, 53, 39–43. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2015.03.013
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Herbert, J. L., & Bromfield, L. (2019). Better together? A review of evidence for multi-disciplinary teams responding to physical and sexual child abuse. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 20(2), 214–228. doi:10.1177/1524838017697268
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Hughes, M., & Cossar, J. (2016). The relationship between maternal childhood emotional abuse/neglect and parenting outcomes: A systematic review. Child Abuse Review, 25(1), 31–45. doi:10.1002/car.2393
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Hurlburt, M. S., Leslie, L. K., Landsverk, J., Barth, R. P., Burns, B. J., Gibbons, R. D. … Zhang, J. (2004). Contextual predictors of mental health service use among children open to child welfare. Archives of General Psychiatry, 61(12), 1217–1224. doi:https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.61.12.1217
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Kenny, K. S., Barrington, C., & Green, S. L. (2015). “I felt for a long time like everything beautiful in me had been taken out”: Women’s suffering, remembering, and survival following the loss of child custody. International Journal of Drug Policy, 26(11), 1158–1166. doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2015.05.024
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Kerns, S. E. U., Pullmann, M. D., Putnam, B., Buher, A., Holland, S., Berliner, L. … Trupin, E. W. (2014). Child welfare and mental health: Facilitators of barriers to connecting children and youths in out-of-home care with effective mental health treatment. Children & Youth Services Review, 46, 315–324. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2014.09.013
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Ko, S. J., Ford, J. D., Kassam-Adams, N., Berkowitz, S. J., Wilson, C., Wong, M. … Layne, C. M. (2008). Creating trauma-informed systems: Child welfare, education, first responders, health care, juvenile justice. Professional Psychology, Research and Practice, 39(4), 396–404. doi:10.1037/0735-7028.39.4.396
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Kramer, T. L., Sigel, B. A., Conners-Burrow, N. A., Savary, P. E., & Tempel, A. (2013). A statewide introduction of trauma-informed care in a child welfare system. Children & Youth Services Review, 35(1), 19–24. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2012.10.014
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Kyte, A., Trocmé, N., & Chamberland, C. (2013). Evaluating where we’re at with differential response. Child Abuse & Neglect, 37(2–3), 125–132. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2012.10.003
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Lalayants, M. (2013). Multidisciplinary collaboration in child protective clinical consultations: Perceptions of best practices. Journal of Public Child Welfare, 7(3), 253–274. doi:10.1080/15548732.2013.798245
   Google Scholar
• Lang, J. M., Campbell, K., Shanley, P., Crusto, C. A., & Connell, C. M. (2016). Building capacity for trauma-informed care in the child welfare system: Initial results of a statewide implementation. Child Maltreatment, 21(2), 113–124. doi:10.1177/1077559516635273
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Lee, J., Weaver, C., & Hrostowski, S. (2011). Psychological empowerment and child welfare worker outcomes: A path analysis. Child & Youth Care Forum, 40(6), 479–497. doi:10.1007/s10566-011-9145-7
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Levenson, J. (2017). Trauma-informed social work practice. Social Work, 62(2), 105–113. doi:10.1093/sw/swx001
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Lietz, C. A. (2009). Examining families’ perceptions of intensive in-home services: A mixed methods study. Children & Youth Services Review, 31(12), 1337–1345. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2009.06.007
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Lucero, N. M., & Bussey, M. (2012). A collaborative and trauma-informed practice model for urban Indian child welfare. Child Welfare, 91(3), 89–112. https://www.jstor.org/stable/48623342
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Marcenko, M. O., Lyons, S. J., & Courtney, M. (2011). Mothers’ experiences, resources and needs: The context for reunification. Children & Youth Services Review, 33(3), 431–438. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2010.06.020
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Mason, R., Du Mont, J., Paterson, M., & Hyman, I. (2018). Experiences of child protection workers in collaborating with adult mental health providers: An exploratory study from Ontario, Canada. Children & Youth Services Review, 86, 271–276. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2018.02.005
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Montgomery, E., Just-Østergaard, E., & Jervelund, S. S. (2019). Transmitting trauma: A systematic review of the risk of child abuse perpetrated by parents exposed to traumatic events. International Journal of Public Health, 64(2), 241–251. doi:10.1007/s00038-018-1185-4
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Mullins, J. L., Cheung, J. R., & Lietz, C. A. (2012). Family preservation services: Incorporating the voice of families into service implementation. Child & Family Social Work, 17(3), 265–274. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2206.2011.00777.x
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Newland, R. P., Crnic, K. A., Cox, M. J., & Mills-Koonce, W. R. (2013). The family model stress and maternal psychological symptoms: Mediated pathways from economic hardship to parenting. Journal of Family Psychology, 27(1), 96–105. doi:10.1037/a0031112
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• O’Donnell, M., Maclean, M. J., Sims, S., Morgan, V. A., Leonard, H., & Stanley, F. J. (2015). Maternal mental health and risk of child protection involvement: Mental health diagnoses associated with increased risk. Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, 69(12), 1175–1183. doi:10.1136/jech-2014-205240
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Rankine, M. (2019). The ‘thinking aloud’ process: A way forward in social work supervision. Reflective Practice, 20(1), 97–110. doi:10.1080/14623943.2018.1564651
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Rankine, M., Beddoe, L., O’Brien, M., & Fouché, C. (2018). What’s your agenda?: Reflective supervision in community-based child welfare services. European Journal of Social Work, 21(3), 428–440. doi:10.1080/13691457.2017.1326376
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Riihimäki, K. (2015). Parents’ mental health and psychiatric expertise in child welfare family rehabilitation. Nordic Journal of Psychiatry, 69(2), 138–141. doi:10.3109/08039488.2014.949304
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Rinehart, D. J., Becker, M. A., Buckley, P. R., Dailey, K., Reichardt, C. S., Graeber, C. … Brown, E. (2005). The relationship between mothers’ child abuse potential and current mental health symptoms: Implications for screening and referral. The Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research, 32(2), 155–166. doi:10.1007/BF02287264
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Rittner, B., & Dozier, C. D. (2000). Effects of court-ordered substance abuse treatment in child protective services cases. Social Work, 45(2), 131–140. doi:10.1093/sw/45.2.131
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Rouf, K., Larkin, M., & Lowe, G. (2012). Making decisions about parental mental health: An exploratory study of community mental health team staff. Child Abuse Review, 21(3), 173–189. doi:10.1002/car.1172
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Schofield, G., Moldestad, B., Höjer, I., Ward, E., Skilbred, D., Young, J., & Havik, T. (2011). Managing loss and threatened identity: Experiences of parents of children growing up in foster care, the perspectives of their social workers and implications for practice. British Journal of Social Work, 41(1), 74–92. doi:10.1093/bjsw/bcq073
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Shea, S. E. (2015). Finding parallels: The experiences of clinical social workers providing attachment-based treatment to children in foster care. Clinical Social Work Journal, 43(1), 62–76. doi:10.1007/s10615-014-0488-z
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Sheehan, R. (2005). Partnership in mental health and child welfare: Social work responses to children living with parental mental illness. Social Work in Health Care, 39(3–4), 309–324. doi:10.1300/J010v39n03_06
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Sijtsema, J. J., Stolz, E. A., & Bogaerts, S. (2020). Unique risk factors of the co-occurrence between child maltreatment and intimate partner violence perpetration. European Psychologist, 25(2), 122–133. doi:10.1027/1016-9040/a000396
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Solomon, D., & Åsberg, K. (2012). Effectiveness of child protective services interventions as indicated by rates of recidivism. Children & Youth Services Review, 34(12), 2311–2318. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2012.08.014
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Staudt, M., & Massengale, K. (2015). Parents involved with child welfare: Their perceptions of mental health services. Social Work in Mental Health, 13(4), 336–348. doi:10.1080/15332985.2014.936544
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• St-Laurent, D., Dubois-Comtois, K., Milot, T., & Cantinotti, M. (2019). Intergenerational continuity/discontinuity of child maltreatment among low-income mother–child dyads: The roles of childhood maltreatment characteristics, maternal psychological functioning, and family ecology. Development & Psychopathology, 31(1), 189–202. doi:10.1017/S095457941800161X
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Sykes, J. (2011). Negotiating stigma: Understanding mothers’ responses to accusations of child neglect. Children & Youth Services Review, 33(3), 448–456. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2010.06.015
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• U.S. Department of Health & Human Services [USDHHS], (2022). Administration for children and families, administration on children, Youth and Families, Children’s Bureau. Child Maltreatment 2020. Retrieved from https://www.acf.hhs.gov/cb/data-research/child-maltreatment.
   Google Scholar
• White, D. E., Oelke, N. D., & Friesen, S. (2012). Management of a large qualitative data set: Establishing trustworthiness of the data. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 11(3), 244–258. doi:10.1177/160940691201100305
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Wilson, S., Hean, S., Abebe, T., & Heaslip, V. (2020). Children’s experiences with child protection services: A synthesis of qualitative evidence. Children & Youth Services Review, 113, 104974. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.104974
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Yoo, H., & Abiera, K. (2020). “My kids, they safe.”: Lived experiences of parents receiving child neglect allegations. Child & Youth Services, 41(2), 137–159. doi:10.1080/0145935X.2019.1662719
   Google Scholar
• Yoo, H., Racorean, S., & Barrows, V. (2020). Psychotherapy for child welfare cases: Clinicians’ and parents’ perspectives. Child & Family Social Work, 25(4), 775–784. doi:10.1111/cfs.12754
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Yoo, H., Racorean, S., & Barrows, V. (2022). “They’re not bad parents. They’ve just made bad choices.”: Mental health clinicians’ perspectives of parents involved with child protective services. Qualitative Social Work, 21(1), 53–70. doi:10.1177/1473325020973289
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar