Signs of Safety is a strengths-based approach to work with children and families where there are concerns about abuse or neglect. Signs of Safety is widely used in the UK and internationally, and there is a growing range of empirical research exploring its use within statutory children's social work. However, there is little research exploring…

Studies about equine therapies or equine experiential learning recommend that significantly more research, specifically longitudinal research, across age groups, genders, contexts and client cohorts needs to occur in diverse contexts. There exists diverse equine-related programs which engage with a range of cohorts, specifically; young children…

This study assessed the effectiveness of building partnerships with community resources and systems for court-referred clients and their families through a participant outcome evaluation. Specific variables studied included change in substance abuse patterns, family well-being, child safety, and recidivism. Results from pre-post testing revealed…

"Substantiation" denotes child welfare system (CWS) services' official decision about the validity of maltreatment allegations. This decision is an important one, with implications for how much a child and family are involved with the CWS, what services they receive, and how child maltreatment is counted in state statistics. Despite the importance…

This research brief, the ninth in a series of National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW) briefs focused on children who have come in contact with the child welfare system, examines the well-being of children in substantiated and unsubstantiated maltreatment cases. It provides information about their access to child welfare, mental…

This article summarizes the importance of and challenges to addressing couple teamwork issues in the child welfare population. Although there is substantial evidence to support the importance of healthy adult relationships for child well-being and the prevention of child maltreatment, there are a number of barriers to addressing these couple…