Examining the Authentic Family Engagement and Strengthening Approach for Families Impacted By Child Welfare Investigation

Background: The Authentic Family Engagement and Strengthening (AFES) approach is an antiracist, strengths-focused approach specifically developed through community and stakeholder engagement to address the needs of Black families who are being disproportionately affected by child maltreatment investigations compared to White and fair-skinned families. Program elements emerged from community cafes and ongoing dialogue between service providers, community members, and families harmed by racially discriminatory practices. This flexible approach developed to address the needs of families impacted by a child maltreatment investigation in South Florida included: (1) a specialized unit of child protective investigators and enhanced training (family engagement training, racial justice training, protective factors training); (2) the incorporation of parent partners (persons with lived investigation experience) into regular practice; and (3) racial equity and family engagement coaching. The purpose of this conceptual and research presentation is to describe the development, pilot testing, and initial effectiveness of the Authentic Family Engagement and Strengthening (AFES) approach. Specifically, (1) did the pilot group report fewer removal episodes than the comparison group? (2) was there a significant difference in the percentage of child removals between the pilot and comparison group?

Methods: This cross-sectional study included administrative data of child welfare investigations from Broward County, Florida. Because some of the information for this project needed to be calculated specific to the zip codes for the pilot, Excel spreadsheets were used to track data points relevant to the project. Descriptive statistics and independent sample t testing were used to address the research questions.

Results: Descriptive data indicate that the specialized pilot unit made fewer removals than the comparison group of non-trained/coached investigators within the same area of Broward County. In addition, an independent samples t test was computed to examine whether there was a significant difference in the mean percentage of removals from January 2019 through September 2020, comparing the pilot to the comparison group. A significant difference was found (t(df) = -4.708, p < .01). The mean percentage of removals for the pilot group (M = 1.68, sd = 1.07) was significantly lower than the mean percentage of removals for the comparison group (M = 8.45, sd = 1.42).

Conclusions/Implications: Despite the limitations of using administrative data, there is indication that the pilot group has been removing significantly fewer children than workers who have not received racial justice/family engagement training or coaching. The AFES approach is an attempt to demonstrate that child protection agencies and human service delivery systems could be equipped with the adaptive skills necessary to incorporate antiracist and anti-oppressive practices to empower and strengthen Black families who are experiencing child maltreatment investigations. Shifting power from hierarchical, and often punitive, child welfare and social service systems requires an investment in and from families and community members, and the elements of collective change should be informed by the needs and suggestions identified by individuals from across the family, community, and social service continuum. A discussion of current practice and evaluation efforts, as well as future plans will be discussed.