Perspectives of Parental Engagement in Child Welfare: Voices of Parents and Frontline Workers

Background and Purpose: Active parental involvement and motivation are crucial for completing tasks on a case plan and enacting behavioral changes, aiding parents in managing their roles and meeting their child’s needs. This leads to better outcomes, including family reunification and improved child well-being. However, effective parental engagement goes beyond parents merely complying; it also requires child welfare professionals to directly include parents in discussions and the decision-making process. This study aims to understand parental views on engagement by the system to guide effective relationships in the child welfare system.

Methods: Four focus groups were conducted with 11 parents involved in the child welfare system as well five focus groups with 19 frontline workers (case managers and child protective investigators) in August - October 2023. Frontline workers were recruited from Community Based Care Lead Agencies (CBC) and the Department of Children and Families (DCF) from the state of Florida, while parents were contacted through parent groups and community organizations. Focus groups were chosen as they permit participants to respond to each other, which can stimulate individuals to present more information to be gathered and elaborate on topics or issues discussed. Focus groups were transcribed and coded manually.

Results: Five themes emerged from the data, discussed by both workers and parents. The first theme, "Understanding Who the Parents Are and Identifying Their Needs," highlighted workers’ tendency to overlook the person behind the parent. The second theme, "Treating Parents with Humanity," emphasized approaching parents with an open mind, actively listening to their needs, and establishing a personal connection. The third theme “Specific Guidance and Support for New Child Welfare Professionals” indicated the need for tailored training in engaging with parents. The fourth theme “Systemic Issues that Impacting Engagement” emphasized issues such as the overwhelming number of tasks and services parents must navigate, and harm inflicted by the system eroding trust. Lastly, “Including Parents with Lived Experience” as partners and as experts was seen as beneficial, providing a different perspective, empathy, and hope. Both parties emphasized sharing success stories to alleviate the feeling of being overwhelmed by the process.

Conclusion and Implications: By having perspectives of both parents and the frontline personnel, that interact with families and often represent the system for them, this study’s findings contribute to current research regarding the experiences of families involved in child welfare and their interactions with the system as it pertains to engagement. The results showed that both workers and parents acknowledge the importance of parental engagement and while they may not have the same degrees, parents’ voices are vital. Emerged themes highlighted the existing gaps in field workers' knowledge and skills for working with parents and their negative attitudes towards them. On the other hand, parents expressed their difficulties in navigating the system and dealing with the harm inflicted by the system. However, both workers and parents found that involving parents with living experiences in training curriculum development and implementation processes for new field workers and parents could be helpful.