Stories of Success within Child Welfare: An in-Depth Look at the Strengths That Support Reunification

Background:

Considering the high incidence rate of child maltreatment along with the number of families referred for services within the child welfare system, understanding how some families are able to achieve success and remain strong within this setting is important for social work practitioners, administrators and policy makers. The construct of family resilience was used to frame this in-depth qualitative study that sought to understand the process by which a sample of 14 families achieved family reunification and stayed strong for 6 months or longer. The research question asked "What helps families who have a child removed by child protective services make the necessary changes to reunify their family and maintain healthy family functioning?"

Methods:

Qualitative methods were used to answer this research question exploring the experience of success within child welfare in greater depth. Specifically, the narrative tradition was used through a semi-structured interview schedule that allowed families to share their stories. Snowball sampling was used to identify a sample of families who had previously had a child removed, achieved reunification at least 6 months prior to this study and who self-reported they were functioning well as measured on the Family Assessment Device (FAD). Interviews ranged from 30 to 90 minutes and were audiotaped, transcribed and analyzed using narrative analysis. Reflexivity, audit trail and triangulation by observer were used to increase the trustworthiness of this qualitative study.

Findings:

Findings show that these families identified both internal and external strengths that helped them to navigate the child welfare system and make the necessary changes to achieve reunification. The external strengths that helped these families included a) a positive relationship with their caseworker, b) child welfare services that were challenging and in-depth and c) social support from extended family, faith organizations and support groups. In addition to these community resources, families also identified important internal resources such as a) commitment to their family/child, b) internal motivation to make changes and c) a sense of hope that helped lead this sample to engage in services and grow stronger. Finally, many families participating in this study chose to reach out and help others after achieving their own success. Several participants served as AA sponsors, volunteered with community groups or worked as advocates for other families currently involved with the child welfare system. Many felt that the process of helping others allowed them to maintain the positive changes they made.

Implications:

While these findings are not generalizable, they are transferable in that they provide insight into the complex nature of the change process. Findings have theoretical implications for the strengths perspective as they highlight the ways internal and external resources can come together to support change. The study has implications for practice as it supports the use of both social services and informal helpers in supporting the change process in child welfare. Finally, the findings have implications for future research as these qualitative themes can be developed for measurement and ultimately administered with a larger sample to further test these findings through quantitative methodology.