Hasbro Early Assessment Project

1. Hasbro Early Assessment Project University of Michigan

2. Supported by: Hasbro Children’s Foundation—intervention component University of Michigan Office of the Vice-President for Research—evaluation component Conducted by: Family Assessment Clinic—started in 1985 Child Protection Team—started in 1971 Auspices University of Michigan

3. Target Population for Early Multidisciplinary Assessments • Families with at least one child 7 or younger (Hasbro Children’s Foundation) • First time substantiated CPS cases • Serious cases—because assessments are intrusive on families and labor intensive for staff • Court intervention required • CPS cooperation required University of Michigan

4. Hypotheses related to safety & permanency • Multidisciplinary assessments of first time substantiated CPS cases will lead to better case outcomes. • Children whose families receive this service will be in less restrictive placements. • Permanent plans will be made sooner in cases that receive this service. • Families that receive this service will have fewer re-referrals & fewer terminations of parental rights. University of Michigan

5. Research Design • Pilot was conducted in 2 counties with manageable social problems & resources • Target population—50 children • Comparison cases--50 children from families matched on type of maltreatment, family composition, race. University of Michigan

6. Research Design • Outcomes from: • MIS system—safety & permanency • Worker of record appraisal • Caretakers of children—child wellbeing University of Michigan

7. Primary outcome measures • MIS data • Placement at follow-up • Time to permanent plan • Re-reports • TPR • Worker of record information • Whether recommendations carried out • Worker satisfaction with services University of Michigan

8. Outcome measures from caretakers • Child functioning • Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist -CBCL • Friedrich Child Sexual Behavior Inventory-CSBI • Briere’s Trauma Symptom Checklist for Young Children-TSC-YC University of Michigan

9. Intervention • Review all background information. • Interview all parties: children, caretakers. • Children receive at least 2 interviews. • Medical exams on all children 7 & under & older children as indicated. • Psychological testing/consultation when indicated. • Parent-child interactions when indicated. • Psychiatric consultation when indicated. • Medical consultation & medical specialties. University of Michigan

10. Intervention, continued. • Substance abuse, domestic violence, criminal history assessed. • Educational consultation when indicated. • Collateral contacts when indicated. • Consultation meeting to address questions and make additional recommendations. • Feedback given to the family. • Follow-up consultation available to referring agency. • Court testimony when needed. University of Michigan

11. Placement Status at Follow-up University of Michigan

12. Permanency of placement University of Michigan

13. Other system findings • Case open at follow-up. • Early assessment=33% Comparison=33% • Court involvement at follow-up. • Early assessment=33% Comparison=33% • Termination of parental rights. • Early assessment=30.1% Comparison=52.1% • Chi square(1,N=91.)=4.5; p=.035 • Re-reports to CPS • Early assessment=44% Comparison=68.8% University of Michigan

14. Worker Appraisal of Early Assessments • Very satisfied=32% • Satisfied=24% • Neutral=8% • Unsatisfied=20% • Very unsatisfied=0% • Unsatisfied cases were almost all ones with children under four with allegations of sexual abuse. • 218 phone calls to get worker responses on 25 cases (range 2-28) University of Michigan

15. Recommendations • 101 recommendations on 25 families • Carried out=45 (45%) • Not carried out=29 (29%) • Don’t know/uncertain=27 (27%) • Reasons for not carrying out: • Disagreed with recommendation. • Family circumstances changed. • Reason for not knowing • High worker turnover. • Records incomplete. University of Michigan

16. Conclusions • Early assessment holds promise for serious reports to CPS. • Need to replicate findings. • Importance of the early assessment seen as genuinely useful by the public child welfare workers. • Need to adapt the early assessment to the child welfare system. University of Michigan

17. Federally Funded Comprehensive Family Assessment Projects A Model for Comprehensive Family Assessments in the Alabama Department of Human Resources https://www.childwelfare.gov/management/funding/funding_sources/sitevisits/alabama.cfm#page=summary A Model for Comprehensive Family Assessments in the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services https://www.childwelfare.gov/management/funding/funding_sources/sitevisits/illinois.cfm#page=summary A Model for Comprehensive Family Assessments, Ramsey County, MN https://www.childwelfare.gov/management/funding/funding_sources/sitevisits/minnesota.cfm#page=summary University of Michigan

18. Federally Funded Projects, contd. • Contra Costa County (CA) Child and Family Services Bureau Comprehensive Family Assessments for Positive Family Outcomes • Almance County (NC) Department of Social Services Developing, Implementing, and Evaluating Comprehensive Family Assessments University of Michigan

19. Federally Funded Projects, contd. • Funded 2007-2012. • These federally funded projects represent different models for CFAs. • The public child welfare case worker plays a key role in all. • All involve partnering with a university-based research unit, mostly in schools of social work. • Process and outcome evaluations. • So far, little in terms of outcomes. University of Michigan

20. Resources • Comprehensive Family Assessment Guidelines for Child Welfare • http://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/cb/family_assessment.pdf • Children’s Bureau website on CFA https://www.childwelfare.gov/management/funding/funding_sources/familyassessment.cfm • Faller, K.C., Ortega, M.B., & Pomeranz, E. (2008). Can Early Assessment Make a Difference in Child Protection? Results from a Pilot Study. Journal of Public Child Welfare, 2(1), 71-90. University of Michigan

21. Questions & Answers University of Michigan