NCJ Number
240663
Journal
Child Abuse & Neglect Volume: 36 Issue: 4 Dated: April 2012 Pages: 342-353
Date Published
April 2012
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This study investigated whether child welfare cases based on the Solution-Based Casework practice model had better outcomes in the areas of child safety, permanency, and child well-being than those cases that failed to use the standards.
Abstract
This study used a continuous quality improvement (CQI) process to evaluate public child welfare cases in the State of Kentucky to determine their compliance with the Solution-Based Casework (SBC) practice model. The study found that of the 4,559 cases reviewed through the CQI process, those with high levels of adherence to the SBC model demonstrated better outcomes for families and children in the areas of child safety, permanency, and well-being, and that these outcomes exceeded Federal standards for child welfare cases. The primary purpose of the study was to determine the ability of the SBC practice model to improve outcomes for child safety, permanency, and well-being based on levels set by the Federal Government. The Solution-Based Casework practice model is a child welfare practice model that is based on three theoretical foundations: family development theory, solution-focused skills, and relapse prevention. Correlation and regression analyses were used to examine four issues: how the factors that represent the SBC correlate with outcome related items; whether the SBC factors were strong predictors of outcomes; how the SBC factors correlated with other aspects of the CQI review instrument; and whether the SBC factors were strong predictors of the CQI factors. The study's findings indicate that the SBC factors significantly predicted Federal outcomes in the child welfare cases examined for this study, and that these factors accounted for variances in the outcomes at a higher rate than other casework process factors. Study limitations and directions for future research are discussed. Tables, figure, and references