Abstract: Attitudes Towards Kinship Placement Among Child Protective Services Workers (Society for Social Work and Research 27th Annual Conference - Social Work Science and Complex Problems: Battling Inequities + Building Solutions)

Schedule:

Sunday, January 15, 2023

Ahwatukee A, 2nd Level (Sheraton Phoenix Downtown)

* noted as presenting author

Pamela Lilleston, PhD, Assistant Director, New Jersey Department of Children and Families, Trenton

Jessica Borden, LSW, Administrative Analyst, New Jersey Department of Children and Families, Trenton, NJ

Abbie DiMeo, LSW, Administrator, New Jersey Department of Children and Families, Trenton, NJ

John Webb, MA, Supervising Implementation Specialist, New Jersey Department of Children and Families, Trenton, NJ

Jennifer Kirkman, MA, Assistant Director of Case Practice, New Jersey Department of Children and Families, Trenton, NJ

Idalmis Lamourt, LSW, Assistant Director, New Jersey Department of Children and Families, Trenton, NJ

Darlene Fusco, Deputy Director Resource Families/Licensing/Adoption Operations, New Jersey Department of Children and Families, Trenton, NJ

Background and Purpose: Research demonstrates that when it is necessary to separate children from their parents to ensure the child’s safety, placing a child with kin (extended family or friends) leads to better mental and behavioral health outcomes compared to placing a child with an unknown foster parent. While many factors impact placement of children with kin, child protective services’ staff attitudes towards kinship families and placements may be a source of implicit bias that drives decision-making around when a child can remain safely with family.

Methods: In February 2020, we surveyed 3,768 staff from the New Jersey Department of Children and Families’ Division of Child Protection and Permanency (CP&P) in 46 local offices to understand their attitudes towards kinship placement and to assess the relationship between these attitudes and kinship placement rates. The survey measured attitudes in five domains: perceived benefits of kinship placement for the child; attitudes towards kinship caregivers; perceptions of kinship-related policy and process; supportive office environment for kinship-related work, and risk aversion. We created scales for each domain, scored from 0-3 (0=negative attitudes; 3= positive attitudes). Average scores were calculated by domain at the state and local office levels. Correlations between average office domain scores and local offices’ kinship placement rates were analyzed for statistical significance.

Results: Participants were primarily CP&P workers (59%) and supervisors (12%). Participants, on average, worked for CP&P 11.5 years and were 41.1 years old. Most were female (78%). Staff held very positive attitudes about the benefits of kinship care for children in out-of-home placement (Avg. Score: 2.35). Their attitudes towards kinship caregivers (Avg. Score: 1.77) and the supportiveness of their environment for kinship-related work (Avg. Score: 1.73) were also positive. Staff held more negative attitudes towards kinship-related policy and process (Avg. Score: 1.55) and were, on average, somewhat hesitant to take risks related to kinship placements (Avg. Score: 1.54). Local offices in which staff held more positive attitudes towards kinship-related policy and process (p=.000) and reported supportive work environments related to kinship placement (p=.015) had significantly higher kinship placement rates.

Conclusions and Implications: This study provided actionable domains that agency leaders and staff used to collaboratively diagnose their offices’ areas of challenge and strength in relation to their attitudes towards kinship placement. Guided by these findings, CP&P staff created targeted strategies and interventions aimed at increasing kinship placement rates in their counties. Since early 2020, New Jersey has seen a rise in the percentage of children in foster care living with kin.