Social Work

Social science literature shows associations between fathers' involvement with their children and beneficial developmental outcomes of those children. A related but smaller body of research in the child welfare services arena has found measures of father involvement to be positively associated with beneficial child welfare outcomes, including child's reunification with parent after placement in foster care. However, the pathway by which father involvement affects reunification likelihood has not been determined. This study builds on the existing body of literature by testing a theoretical basis for the relationship between father involvement (measured as service use) and mothers' reunification in a model controlling for family structure. I find that fathers' involvement in services improves mothers' likelihood of reunification, independently of family structure. Results suggest that agency efforts to involve fathers in services make sense both when the aim is to prepare the father for possible custody, and when the aim is to reunify the mother.

Housing instability can complicate parents' efforts to provide for their children. Child welfare service agencies have had difficulty adequately serving parents' housing needs due to limited and constrained funding streams. This article integrates the voices of four important stakeholders to illuminate how an innovative model of service system coordination called Linkages addresses housing needs for child welfare-involved parents eligible for public assistance. Facilitated by Linkages, these parents can receive supportive housing services through programs affiliated with the California public assistance program CalWORKs. Personal narratives reflecting the diverse perspectives of stakeholders in the Linkages collaboration-the statewide program director, a child welfare services coordinator, a CalWORKs caseworker, and a parent program participant-shed light on how the collaboration assists parents in attaining case plan goals, and highlights some of the factors facilitating an...

The Adoption and Safe Families Act (P.L. 105-89; ASFA) passed into federal law in 1997. ASFA emphasized child protection over family preservation, and introduced reforms intended to increase the likelihood and the speed with which children in the child welfare system attain a permanent home. This article details two provisions of the law, concurrent planning and reunification exception, and explores challenges in their implementation. These provisions have the potential to shift the nature of how child welfare services are delivered, and which families will receive them. An examination of implementation in the state of California suggests there is a need for further research regarding the application and effectiveness of these reforms to ensure they produce their intended effects. Keywords: concurrent planning, permanency, reunification exception ********** ASFA was developed in a context of concern about the well-being of children served in the child welfare system. Legislators wer...

In this article, the authors consider the socio-historical conceptions
of childhood in relation to Black children and their unique relationship
with child welfare institutions. Against this background we
apply models of childhood to issues of race and social agency and
argue that these elements have been inadequately addressed in developmental
models of childhood. Following these concerns, we present
a social model of childhood and consider how these distinct and
different ways of understanding children might be applied to child
welfare practice. This child centered approach presents a unique
opportunity to incorporate the differential positioning of Black children
in the wider society by engaging with their everyday lives as a
framework for child welfare practice. This framework allows for a
greater participation of children and specifically, Black children in
decision making processes. In the final section we suggest possible
outcomes of integrating this approach into child welfare practice.

In this article, the authors consider the socio-historical conceptions of childhood in relation to Black children and their unique relationship with child welfare institutions. Against this background we apply models of childhood to issues of race and social agency and argue that these elements have been inadequately addressed in developmental models of childhood. Following these concerns, we present a social model of childhood and consider how these distinct and different ways of understanding children might be applied to child welfare practice. This child centered approach presents a unique opportunity to incorporate the differential positioning of Black children in the wider society by engaging with their everyday lives as a frameworkfor child welfare practice. This framework allows for a greater participation of children and specifically, Black children in decision making processes. In the final section we suggest possible outcomes of integrating this approach into child welfare practice.

This study examined patterns of smoked substances (cigarettes and marijuana) among heterosexuals, gays, lesbians, and bisexuals based on data from the 2000 National Alcohol Survey (NAS), a population-based telephone survey of adults in the United States. We also examined the effect of bar patronage and sensation-seeking/impulsivity (SSImp) on tobacco and marijuana use. Sexual orientation was defined as: lesbian or gay self-identified, bisexual self-identified, heterosexual selfidentified with same-sex partners in the last five years, and exclusively heterosexual (heterosexual self-identified, reporting no same sex partners). Findings indicate that bisexual women and heterosexual women reporting same-sex partners had higher rates of cigarette smoking than exclusively heterosexual women. Bisexual women, lesbians and heterosexual women with same-sex partners also used marijuana at significantly higher rates than exclusively heterosexual women. Marijuana use was significantly greater and tobacco use was elevated among gay men compared to heterosexual men. SSImp was associated with greater use of both of these substances across nearly all groups. Bar patronage and SSImp did not buffer the relationship between sexual identity and smoking either cigarettes or marijuana. These findings suggest that marijuana and tobacco use differ by sexual identity, particularly among women, and underscore the importance of developing prevention and treatment services that are appropriate for sexual minorities.