Child welfare accountability: Annual report of Maryland performance indicators
Other Titles
Research in Support of Child Welfare Policy & ProgramsMaryland Child Welfare Performance Indicators. 1st Annual Child Welfare Accountability Report
Annual Child Welfare Accountability Report
Abstract
Executive Summary: The Child Welfare Accountability Act of 2006 increased legislative oversight of the Maryland Quality Assurance processes in child welfare. The Act also provides a framework for the Department of Human Resources (DHR) to partner with the University of Maryland School of Social Work (UMB/SSW) to develop the Maryland Quality Assurance (QA) Collaborative. The purpose of the Collaborative is to evaluate quality ssurance processes and make recommendations for improvement. This annual report summarizes: (1) indicators of Maryland’s performance in promoting positive outcomes for children and families involved with the child welfare system and (2) recommendations on how to improve outcomes measurement in child welfare. A separate companion report entitled "Child Welfare Accountability: Evaluating Quality Assurance Processes in Maryland", describes and evaluates current QA processes. Acknowledgements: Report was prepared by faculty and staff at the University of Maryland, School of Social Work's Ruth H. Young Center for Families & Children and Family Welfare Research and Training Group in partnership with staff at the Department of Human Resources, Social Service AdministrationTable of Contents
Executive Summary; Maryland's Child Welfare Performance Indicators; Summary of Findings; Summary of Recommendations; Introduction; Methods for Calculating Maryland's Child Welfare Performance Indicators; Baseline Population-Level Data; In-Depth Sample-Level Quality Assurance Data; Cautions and Caveats; Child Welfare Accountability Performance Indicators; 5-1303 Child Abuse and Neglect; 5-1304 Protecting Children in Out-of-Home Care from Abuse and Neglect; 5-1305 Permanency and Stability of Children in Out-of Home Care; 5-1306 Addresing the Well-Being of Children in Out-of-Home Care; Discussion of Existing Performance Indicators; Recommendations for Improvements in Future Performance Indicator Reports; References; Appendix A: Summary of Maryland Performance Indicators; Appendix B: Supervisory Review Completion RateSeries/Report No.
Child Welfare Research;Sponsors
Maryland Higher Education Commission(MHEC)- yr 1; Maryland Department of Human Resources - yr 2.Keyword
out-of-home carechild neglect
Child welfare--Evaluation
Abused children--Services for--Evaluation
University of Maryland, Baltimore. School of Social Work--Projects and Reports
Foster Home Care--standards
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http://hdl.handle.net/10713/84Collections
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Maryland Child Welfare Perfomance Indicators 2nd Annual Child Welfare Accountability ReportThe Child Welfare Accountability Act of 2006 (Maryland Family Law, Section 1301 through 1311 inclusive) specified a set of performance indicators covering four categories of child welfare practice: Child abuse and neglect, Protecting children in out-of-home care from abuse and neglect, Permanency and stability of children in out-of-home care, and Effectiveness of efforts to address the health, mental health, education, and well-being of children in out-of-home care. This report describes and documents the performance indicators mandated in the Act for the period July 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008. A separate companion report entitled Evaluating Quality Assurance Processes in Maryland describes and evaluates Quality Assurance processes in calendar year 2008.
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The impact of organizational culture and climate in child welfare agencies on outcomes for children involved in the child welfare system: A multi-level analysis of a nationally representative sampleChild welfare organizations in the U.S. are tasked with the overarching goal of protecting children from abuse and neglect. The achievement of this goal has been found to be difficult and some child welfare organizations seem to be more effective at reaching this goal than others. A dearth of empirical literature exists in understanding how child welfare organizational functioning impacts its ability to achieve positive outcomes for the children who come into contact with their local child welfare system. An extensive review of the literature revealed that culture and climate of organizations may play an important role, but the existing research is unclear about the extent and direction of that role. Additionally, methodological issues with the existing studies threaten the validity of the results. The present dissertation builds on existing research and conducts secondary analysis using a nationally representative sample. The study applied theories of organizational social context and ecological model to answer the research question: When controlling for risk factors related to child characteristics and organizational contextual characteristics, to what extent do the culture and climate of the child welfare agency impact child-level outcomes? Using the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Wellbeing (NSCAW II), bivariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to answer the research question. Results indicate that individual, agency, and local context characteristics impact recurrence of abuse during the study period. At the individual level, living in a poor household and having prior substantiated maltreatment increased the odds of recurrence. At the agency-level, of the six culture and climate variables, only the climate score of functionality had an impact on risk of recurrence. The agency-level local context variable of county child poverty had the largest effect on recurrence and added explained variance to the model. However, both significant agency-level variables did not impact recurrence in the expected direction. Future research should continue to focus on research methods, better conceptualization and measurement of organizational constructs, and utilize an ecological perspective approach.
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Quality Assurance Processes in Maryland Child Welfare. 3rd Annual Child Welfare Accountability ReportExecutive Summary: The goal of the projects encompassed in the Child Welfare Accountability Act is to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of child welfare services in Maryland. The Maryland Quality Assurance (QA) unit does this through the evaluation of quality assurance processes and system implementation processes in Maryland child welfare. Although Maryland has mechanisms in place to successfully achieve objectives of a comprehensive Quality Assurance system, it has yet to realize its full potential for identifying strengths and needs and providing a framework for meaningful program and systems improvement. Acknowledgements: This report was compiled by faculty and staff at the University of Maryland, School of Social Work's Ruth H. Young Center for Families & Children (RYC) in partnership with staff at the Department of Human Resources, Social Service Administration (DHR/SSA). Diane DePanfilis, Sarah Kaye, and Terry V. Shaw managed the interagency agreement for the Quality Assurance process. Gillian Gregory led the Local Supervisory Review process and Foster Parent Survey. Anna Hayward oversaw the Family Centered Practice evaluation component. Nina Esaki assisted with the preparation of this report. Carnitra White, Richard Larson, David Ayer and Linda Carter at DHR/SSA guided the activities related to the Quality Assurance process. The Quality Assurance unit at DHR/SSA includes Linda Carter, Shirley Brown, Josephine Lambert, Dee Ritterpusch, and Jewel Wilson. A separate companion report, "Maryland Child Welfare Performance Indicators: 3rd Annual Child Welfare Accountability Report," describes Maryland's performance on the outcome and performance measures outlined by the Child Welfare Accountability Act.
