2018

Little empirical research has examined the effects of case characteristics on high‐quality teamwork within family meetings in child welfare. We attempted to fill this gap using 497 child welfare cases in a Midwestern state in the United States. We found that overall teamwork was negatively associated with domestic violence, frequent placement moves, and a permanency plan of adoption, whereas teamwork was positively associated with the length of involvement in the child welfare system. We also examined the relationships between the case characteristics and two components of teamwork. The results showed that domestic violence and the length of the involvement were equally significant factors for both team formation and functioning.

Despite the prevalence of family team meetings in child welfare, little empirical research has examined the effects of case characteristics on its teamwork. The authors attempted to fill this gap using 497 child welfare cases in the United States.

The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of county-level variables on services offered to children who have guardian ad litem/court-appointed special advocate (GAL/CASA) representation. An email survey was sent to GALs and CASAs inviting them to participate in the study.

In the last 20 years, the immigrant population has increased by “70 percent to about 43 million,” making up about “13 percent of the population” with “one in every four Americans” being “either an immigrant or the child of one” with estimates that “one million immigrants have come legally to the United States each year” since 2000 (Preston, 2016, p. 1). The Pew Research Center (2008) illustrated that by 2050 one in five Americans (19%) will be foreign born; non-Hispanic Whites who comprised 67% of the population in 2005 will now be 47%; Hispanics will rise from 14% of the population in 2005 to 29%; Blacks will represent around 13%; and Asians, who were 5% of the population in 2005, will be at 9%. By 2050, 54% of the American population will be minorities. With this changing cultural landscape has come some contentious political divides.

It is generally understood that people with mental illnesses are overrepresented in the US criminal justice system (Prins, 2014; Skeem, Winter, Kennealy, Louden, & Tatar, 2014). However, the prevalence rates among the academic literature and national samples vary. The most recent meta-analysis of the academic literature found a range between 10% and 31% of sampled prisoners suffered from mental illness (Prins, 2014). On the other hand, the most recent Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) reports, among state prisoners, 61% of offenders had mental health issues, and 76% had substance use issues (James & Glaze, 2006). Standardization of sampling methods and methods for determining mental health issue prevalence is needed.