Enhancing investigative decisions in child welfare: an exploratory use of intensive family preservation services.

Investigative decisions in a child welfare agency were enhanced by the use of brief, intensive, family preservation services. Almost from the moment of referral, personnel worked with child protection investigators to assess the needs and resources of families in crisis and to effectuate viable management plans. Six months after the investigations, 69 randomly assigned families who received the experimental services were compared to the 65 families in the control group. Differences were noted in the number of cases opened, length of time the case was open, length of time the child was at home, and the families' satisfaction with the agency. Federal mandates such as P.L. 96-272 (the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980) and P.L. 103-66 (the Ominbus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993) reinforce the value of providing intensive services to preserve families in cases of child abuse and neglect. This national attention has brought about many projects across the country. Although this attention imposes an urgency for child welfare agencies to develop the best possible programs to preserve families, few, if any, have provided intensive services at the time of initial referral to a child welfare agency. This article reports on one such project. Background Intensive Family Preservation Services Many evaluations of intensive family preservation services have reported successes in keeping families together and in avoiding out-of-home placement [Auclaire & Schwartz 1986; Carroccio 1982; Feldman 1991; Forsythe 1992; Fraser et al. 1991; Henggeler et al. 1992; Jones et al.1976; Kamerman & Kahn 1990; Kinney et al.1991; Nelson 1985; Nelson & Landsman 1992; Szykula & Fleischman 1985]. More recently, findings have been mixed (see, for example, Schuerman et al. [1994]). Overall, intensive family preservation programs appear to have prevented or delayed out-of-home placements for at least 50% of children at risk, according to Wells and Biegel [1991]. Family Preservation Services Provided at Intake Most of the reviewed studies evaluated programs that provided intensive family preservation services for periods ranging from 30 to 90 days after the completion of an initial investigation. No studies were found where the services had been implemented prior to case determination.* The experimental program reported here provided intensive in-home services almost from the time of referral, taking advantage of the window of opportunity created by the crisis. Moreover, it was anticipated that the agency's decision-making ability would be enhanced by involving caseworkers in the lives of the families in a supportive way in addition to the involvement that comes with investigation. In general, the services were limited to two weeks because the intervention had to be completed within 30 days of the referral. The intervention was extended, however, for a few families who needed additional intensive involvement. It was hoped that two weeks would be sufficient time in which to enhance the agency's decision-making process at case determination as well as to enhance the agency's general capacity to help referred families. Further, it was hoped that the intervention would have a positive effect on the families' interactions with the agency. The primary goal of the project was to determine the extent to which an enhanced model for assessment was effective in (a) developing positive relations between the agency and the families and (b) improving the decision-making process at the time of case determination-as manifested by fewer cases opened, cases opened for shorter periods of time, and fewer out-of-home placements than in these investigations not provided with the enhanced program. Method A posttest-only research design, using experimental and control groups, was employed to test the effectiveness of the enhanced program. During the period between referral and case determination, families in the experimental group received two weeks of intensive family preservation services (IFPS) in addition to the investigative services routinely provided. …