Screening for trauma and behavioral health needs in child welfare: Practice implications for promoting placement stability
Screening for trauma and behavioral health needs in child welfare: Practice implications for promoting placement stability
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DOI：
10.1016/j.chiabu.2021.105323
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发表时间：
2021-09-16
影响因子：
4.8
通讯作者：
Krompf, Alison
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Akin, Becci A.;Collins-Camargo, Crystal;Krompf, Alison
背景：尽管儿童福利领域已开始努力使用标准化筛查来满足创伤和行为健康需求，但研究很少检查这些筛查是否会影响永久性结果。目的：利用来自三个州联邦示范项目的数据，我们检查了接受创伤和行为健康筛查以及筛查结果是否与安置稳定性（即较少的安置）相关。我们的调查重点是在三个不同的州环境中是否会观察到类似的统计关联模式。参与者和环境：样本包括三个新实施创伤和行为健康筛查的州的户外护理儿童。这些州包括中南部州、新英格兰州和中西部州。结果：在所有三个州，调查结果显示接受筛查的儿童的安置数量较多（即安置不稳定）。同样，所有三个州都发现，筛查结果表明需求较大的儿童，例如创伤症状较多或行为健康功能较低，更有可能经历较多的安置（即安置不稳定）。结论：尽管筛查工具和各州具体方法存在差异，但研究结果表明，早期筛查可以提供重要信息，可用于确定儿童的需求，进行适当的服务转介，建立匹配的安置，并支持资源父母和亲生父母获得更好的永久结果。不管早期筛查的潜在好处如何，它在该领域可能没有得到充分利用。未来的研究需要复制这些发现，并继续为创伤和行为健康筛查建立证据基础。
Background: Although the child welfare field has initiated efforts to use standardized screening for trauma and behavioral health needs, research has rarely examined whether these screenings have influenced permanency outcomes. Objective: Using data from three states' federal demonstration projects, we examined whether receipt of trauma and behavioral health screening and results of screening were associated with placement stability (i.e., fewer placements). Our inquiry focused on whether similar patterns of statistical associations would be observed in three distinct state settings. Participants and setting: Samples comprised children in out-of-home care in three states newly implementing trauma and behavioral health screening. The states included a South Central state, New England state, and a Central Midwestern state. Results: In all three states, findings showed children who received screening had a higher number of placements (i.e., placement instability). Likewise, all three states found that children whose screening results indicated greater need, such as higher number of trauma symptoms or lower behavioral health functioning, were more likely to experience a higher number of placements (i. e., placement instability). Conclusion: Despite differences in screening tools and state-specific approaches, findings suggest that early screenings may provide important information that could be used to identify children's needs, make appropriate service referrals, establish well-matched placements, and support resource parents and birth parents toward better permanency outcomes. Regardless of potential benefits of early screening, it may be underutilized in the field. Future research is needed to replicate these findings and continue to build an evidence base for trauma and behavioral health screening.