Child protection assessment practices in Estonia
After the Soviet Union era and decades of forced interruption, the social work profession development started again in Estonia in 1991. Social work in re-independent Estonia has not had a long tradition, therefore there is a strong need to develop an effective child protection system that responds to adequate satisfaction of children’s needs. The author of this article sought to understand how Estonian child protection workers assess cases where child protection concerns have been identified. The article is based on the case vignette findings from twenty child protection workers from different regions in Estonia. The study indicated that child protection workers’ level of skills and/or commitment to engaging families constructively in the assessment process differs. The assessment practices indicate that assessments are done for the client rather than with the client .
The role of workers' attitudes and parent and child wishes in child protection workers' assessments and recommendation regarding removal and reunification
Abstract The study examines how child protection workers risk assessments and recommendations on removal and reunification of children at risk are influenced by the child and mother wishes regarding removal and associated with the workers' own attitudes towards key issues in child protection — removal, reunification, duration of alternative care, and perceived quality of out of home placements. Two hundred child protection workers in Israel completed the ‘Child Welfare Attitudes Questionnaire’ and provided their risk assessments and recommendation regarding case vignettes presented by the authors. Cluster analyses identified two groups: a ‘pro-removal’ group and a more ‘anti-removal’ group. The former made higher risk assessments and recommended removal significantly more than the latter. Removal and reunification recommendations were not associated with the child's nor the mother's wishes. Workers in both groups tended not to recommend reunification after a year in out of home care, even if they initially were against removal.
Economic and social vulnerability of Latino children and families by subgroup: implications for child welfare.
Approximately 40% of all Latinos are under the age of 20, and close to one-third of all Latino children live in poverty. The Latino population varies considerably, however, a factor that is frequently obscured by data collection methods that either view Latinos collectively or fail to differentiate Latinos at all from within racial groups. This articles describes the social, economic, and family structure variables that place specific Latino subgroups at risk, synthesizes available data on Latino children in the child welfare system, and discusses a direction for research and practice in developing ethnic-specific child welfare policy for vulnerable Latino groups. The authors conclude that services to strengthen families have to promote economic as well as social integration within society and have to consider the unique characteristics of each Latino community.