University-Child Welfare Collaborations and Foster Care Outcomes: The Role of Title IV-E Stipend Programs

Background and Purpose: Over the past 30 years, state universities and child welfare agencies have partnered through the Title IV-E program to provide specialized training to current and future caseworkers. Much literature has explored the impact of IV-E participation on caseworker outcomes such as retention, job satisfaction, and practice skills. Yet, less research has examined the relationship between state investment in the IV-E program and child outcomes. This study explores child welfare and university collaborations through state investment in IV-E programs and subsequent child outcomes, using national child welfare data.

Methods: Data from this study came the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS, Child File FY2016-FY2019) and the State Child Abuse and Neglect (SCAN) Policy Database. Children who entered foster care in FY2016 were followed through FY2019 to compare outcomes (n = 251,111). In addition, the research team conducted a scan of states with IV-E workforce development programs and added a variable to compare states with IV-E (1) to those without (0). A two-level regression model was conducted to examine the relationship between state investment in IV-E (e.g., states that used federal IV-E funds for workforce development) and two child-related foster care outcomes: length of stay, and reunification. The team controlled for individual-level factors such as child age, sex, race/ethnicity, and removal cause, and state factors such as removal rates. All analyses were conducted in Stata, Version 16SE.

Results: The average length of stay for children in the sample was 542 days (SD = 390). Slightly less than half of the children in the sample reunified during the study period (n = 115,190; 45.87%). After adjusting for other factors, children in states with IV-E workforce programs spent an average of 74 fewer days in care (b = -74.23, p=.01). In the two-level logistic model, children in states with IV-E workforce programs had 24% higher odds (AOR = 1.24, 95% CI = 1.02-1.51, p=.01) of reunifying than children in states without IV-E programs.

Conclusion and Implications: Findings from this study highlight the relationship between state investment in child workforce development (through implementation of IV-E stipend programs) and improved child outcomes. Specifically, children in states with IV-E workforce development spend fewer days in care and have higher odds of reunification than children in states without. Thus, investment in Title IV-E stipend programs provides unique opportunities for public child welfare agencies and universities to partner and enhance outcomes for children in foster care. Future research could continue to explore outcomes in IV-E and non-IV-E states.