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Child Welfare Organizing Project

Selected Findings from Evaluation of Child Safety Conferences. Child Welfare Organizing Project. Marina Lalayants, PhD, MPA, MA Caitlin Disclafani , MSSR Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College The City University of New York c disclaf@hunter.cuny.edu.

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Child Welfare Organizing Project

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  1. Selected Findings from Evaluation of Child Safety Conferences Child Welfare Organizing Project Marina Lalayants, PhD, MPA, MA Caitlin Disclafani, MSSR Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College The City University of New York cdisclaf@hunter.cuny.edu “Speak Up!, Take Action!, Create Change” Parent Leadership and Advocacy Conference April 20, 2013

  2. Study GOALS

  3. Methodology:Mixed-Method Study Qualitative Data • In-depth face-to-face interviews • Parents (N=21) • Community Representatives (N=9) • Child Protection Services Staff (N=30) Quantitative Data • Child Safety Conference outcome data • CWOP Involvement (East Harlem, N=232) • No CWOP Involvement (Central Harlem, N=293) • Parent Satisfaction Surveys (N=68)

  4. BACKGROUND • Social service providers have long agreed that client empowerment and inclusion in the service planning and delivery will result in improved outcomes for them HOWEVER: • Little empirical knowledge on its effectiveness in working with marginalized populations • Especially difficult to engage parents who are being investigated for neglect and/or abuse

  5. Parent Satisfaction with CWOP Representatives • Satisfaction levels were high! • 72.7% of parents reported being Very Satisfied with their CWOP Representative • 35.2% of parents said they were satisfied because the CWOP Rep “explained things” • 31.5% of parents said the representative was helpful “She supported in telling me she was there for me. I was not alone.” Surveys collected between 1/6/10 and 2/13/12 (N=68)

  6. IMPACT OF COMMUNITY REPRESENTATIVESResources • Someone who’s been through the services…can give them more outside resources, especially in that community, better than what ACS has. They know the little ins and out, they know the community agencies that we may not know or better work with because often times they’re from the community, they live in that community and they know that community. • (CPS)

  7. IMPACT OF COMMUNITY REPRESENTATIVESEmotional and Physical Support

  8. IMPACT OF COMMUNITY REPRESENTATIVESMediating

  9. IMPACT OF COMMUNITY REPRESENTATIVESEducating and Navigating

  10. IMPACT OF COMMUNITY REPRESENTATIVESInfluencing Parental behavior

  11. IMPACT OF COMMUNITY REPRESENTATIVESchanging child welfare system • I think they help families understand what ACS really means to them. Families come in, and there's a lot of emotions, they’re very upset, often times they’re angry. And for large systems that can be misconstrued as families not wanting to work with us, but… maybe families have feelings about their children being taken away from them. So CWOP Reps help balance that out; they’re able to help families understand what that is, move beyond it and help them show up and be present to have a conversation with ACS about what safety is like for their child. (CPS)

  12. Parent Engagement • An effective parent-to-parent program achieves its goal of parent engagement which can ultimately lead to improved outcomes for the children, youth and families that the child welfare system as a whole serves

  13. Engagement Barriers:stigma I think that they [parents] view ACS as whole as a negative, and they just don’t want anything to do with ACS, which I can understand because it is overwhelming to have an ACS case. (CPS) Child welfare involvement was traditionally associated with concepts like bad parenting, child abuse or neglect, drug use, mental illness, or other conditions, which in turn created stigma and influenced parents’ decision to engage in services.

  14. Engagement Barriers:Parental Emotional State I was angry. I was very angry!... I didn’t care who I curse out, who I spoke to. I just didn’t give a hoot. ‘Cause my kids… system had my kids! (P) It was very difficult to really just to ascertain what I wanted at that point, so I didn't necessarily approve or disprove CWOP’s services right at that moment… I wasn't really going to decide if I was really, like, worthy of being a parent at that moment. That was just the emotional state. (P)

  15. Engagement Barriers

  16. Factors promoting engagement

  17. Factors promoting engagement:dual perspective Sometime parents are reluctant to engage in services because they're thinking that if they engage, they're saying that they are guilty. But then CWOP talks to them and says, “if ACS believes that you need to do this, and it was a decision that we all agreed upon, and you agreed upon it, you need to move forward.” Reps get to talk to them on that level: “I've been through the system, and you may feel unfair at this point but the interest of CPS is about the child and the child's safety”, and they have a discuss with the parents. (CPS) I feel, being that I went through this, I have an idea of what the parent is going through and now I can sit on the other side, so I can help them from both angles. (CR)

  18. Factors promoting engagement:PERSONAL NON-PRESSUrINGAPPROACH She came up to me, extended her hand and introduced herself, she called me by my name; that's very important; other than “Ms. Johnson, it's time for us to go in the room” It was more so like, “Ms. Johnson, what can I do for you?” These things mean a lot... (P) She presented herself in a diplomatic way; very friendly. And she gave me an option, “if you don't wanna talk to me, you don't have to, I can leave right now… but this is what they are going to ask you…” So I had an option… I was like “yeah, please stay…” (P)

  19. Factors promoting engagement: Differentiating the role of CWOP Representatives and ACS Workers I am a Community Rep from CWOP. I’m here for you. I’m here to give you support. I’m not from ACS. I don’t get paid by ACS. I’m from the community, and my reason for being here is, if you allow me to be in your conference, to make sure you understand what is going on, and that you get the support and services that you need for you and your family. (CR) I’m there to let them know that I’m from the community, that I’m no way affiliated with ACS, ‘cause they already feel uncomfortable, they’re already going into a battlefield. I am there to let them know that I’m there for them and I’ve been through that. I know the challenges of sitting at a child safety conference. (CR) Every respondent noted that in explaining the role of a Community Representative, they first made clear they were not affiliated with ACS.

  20. Factors promoting engagement:Support and communication

  21. Factors promoting engagement:NON-JUDGMENTAL AND NON-STIGMATIZING APPROACH • You don't necessarily know that you're gonna make it out of that situation at that point. You want to believe that you're gonna get your child or your kids back. You want to believe that you can rectify the situation, and it's hard to believe that because there's no one in that room besides CWOP that had that approach to say, you know, “this could be rectified… you don't have to look at yourself as a bad parent and even if you are, first of all you realize it's not a black and white situation. There's no such thing as a perfect parent. (P)

  22. Factors promoting engagement: Importance of Shared Experience (1/3)

  23. Factors promoting engagement: Importance of Shared Experience (2/3)

  24. Factors promoting engagement: Importance of Shared Experience (3/3)

  25. Conclusions

  26. Thank you! Marina Lalayants, PhD, MPA, MA mlalayan@hunter.cuny.edu Presented by Caitlin DiSclafani, MSSR cdisclaf@hunter.cuny.edu

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