{"title":"Initial Evidence for the Reliability and Validity of New Survey Measures to Evaluate Family Outcomes of Kinship and Adoption Navigator Programs","authors":"Lucia M. Reyes, Sarah Kaye, Stephanie Hood","doi":"10.1177/10443894231208564","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10443894231208564","url":null,"abstract":"Kinship navigator programs (KNPs) are an important strategy to prevent overreliance on the use of foster care, but the evidence for their effectiveness is still emergent. One of the challenges in building the evidence of KNPs is the lack of culturally responsive measures to assess program-specific outcomes. Four new measures were codesigned with advisors to the Ohio Kinship and Adoption Navigator Program, including service providers and caregivers with lived expertise, to assess the most proximal outcomes of the program: satisfaction with services, self-identified family needs, caregiver resourcefulness to meet children’s needs, and accessibility of community resources. Psychometric testing with 194 kinship caregivers and adoptive parents shows promising evidence for the measures’ reliability and validity. The findings have implications for navigator programs aiming to specify and measure proximal outcomes that are tailored to their program’s design.","PeriodicalId":47463,"journal":{"name":"Families in Society-The Journal of Contemporary Social Services","volume":" 770","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135185955","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Angelique Day, Ellen Barton, Suzanne Cross, Cheryl Miller, Joylina Gonzales
{"title":"Experiences and Service Utilization of American Indian/Alaskan Native Kinship Caregivers in Kinship Navigator Programs Across Washington State","authors":"Angelique Day, Ellen Barton, Suzanne Cross, Cheryl Miller, Joylina Gonzales","doi":"10.1177/10443894231193779","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10443894231193779","url":null,"abstract":"Kinship caregiving, especially the phenomenon of grandparents providing sole care for their grandchildren, occurs at a higher rate in American Indian/Alaskan Native (AI/AN) communities than in any other demographic group. In 2017, the State of Washington allocated resources to seven tribes to build and implement culturally relevant kinship navigation programs. Survey results ( N = 70) of AI/AN kinship caregivers in the state indicate that caregiver needs, service access, and utilization look different in tribal communities as compared with research conducted in nontribal communities. Specifically, AI/AN caregivers are more likely to report challenges with obtaining housing, transportation, and working with their kinship children’s school than nontribal caregivers. Focus groups with tribal kinship navigators ( N = 9) from five of these seven programs describe the greatest challenges they’ve experienced with program implementation including program eligibility, what kinship caregivers most often ask for assistance with, what system-level disparities that exist between tribal and nontribal kinship navigator programs and provide suggestions for program improvement.","PeriodicalId":47463,"journal":{"name":"Families in Society-The Journal of Contemporary Social Services","volume":"122 19","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135138190","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Amanda Rose Brown, Kaela Byers, Priya Vanchy Kadavasal, Dennis Alford, April L. Diaz, Becci A. Akin, Meghan Cizek
{"title":"Preventive Legal Services for Kinship Care: Reducing the Need for Foster Care with Family First","authors":"Amanda Rose Brown, Kaela Byers, Priya Vanchy Kadavasal, Dennis Alford, April L. Diaz, Becci A. Akin, Meghan Cizek","doi":"10.1177/10443894231201744","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10443894231201744","url":null,"abstract":"This study examines the implementation of preventive legal services for kinship families within the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) service array. A university research team, contracted by the Title IV-E agency to evaluate the FFPSA programs, interviewed legal staff and kinship caregivers to understand how the provision of preventive legal services impacts the prevention-related needs of families. Findings suggest that the provision of free legal services can prevent children in kinship families from entering foster care by enhancing access to the services needed to ensure youth have legal membership in families that maintain their cultural and community ties. Future implementation should consider preventive legal services in the prevention service array, and how the referral mechanisms and systems of support surrounding kinship families can coordinate to ensure that more children can remain with their families.","PeriodicalId":47463,"journal":{"name":"Families in Society-The Journal of Contemporary Social Services","volume":" 6","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135291397","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Conceptualizations of Permanency in an Online Foster Care Community","authors":"John Fowler, Angelique Day, Mark Zachry","doi":"10.1177/10443894231209799","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10443894231209799","url":null,"abstract":"Permanency generally refers to long-lasting family connections and support for youth. Historically, the U.S. child welfare system has focused primarily on legal permanency. Relational and cultural permanency has recently gained some attention while being largely left out of federal policy. This study provides a statistical analysis of permanency-related terms in posts from an online community of people with lived experience in foster care. The results indicate that people with lived experience discussed topics of legal, relational, and cultural permanency more frequently than people who have not spent time in foster care, with a focus on aging out, religion, holidays, friends, loneliness, and community. People with lived experience also discussed permanency-related topics in help-seeking ways. Implications include the need to broaden the understanding of permanency through recommendations for policy and practice.","PeriodicalId":47463,"journal":{"name":"Families in Society-The Journal of Contemporary Social Services","volume":" 7","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135291495","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Associations Between Family Resilience, Child Flourishing, and School Engagement Among Children in Kinship Care","authors":"Anthony Gómez, Sofia Guo, Caitlin Lau","doi":"10.1177/10443894231200660","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10443894231200660","url":null,"abstract":"While family resilience can diminish the risk of negative health outcomes among children in kinship care, less research examines if family resilience shapes positive indicators of development. Given previous studies have reported lower social-emotional competence and school engagement among children in relative care, additional research is needed to understand how kinship families support the flourishing and school engagement of their children. Using data from the 2017–2019 National Survey of Children’s Health, this study examines associations between family resilience and two positive indicators of developmental well-being, child flourishing and school engagement. Analyses showed family resilience was positively associated with child flourishing and school engagement. Findings suggest adapting family resilience interventions to the needs of kinship families may be an effective way of promoting the holistic well-being of children in kinship care.","PeriodicalId":47463,"journal":{"name":"Families in Society-The Journal of Contemporary Social Services","volume":"30 10","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135634908","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Megan S. Paceley, Ryan J. Watson, Jessica N. Fish, Clayton Jarrard, Virginia Ramseyer Winter, Shanna K Kattari, Samantha Walter
{"title":"The Relationship Between the Family Environment and Community Context on LGBTQ+ Youth’s Disordered Eating Behaviors","authors":"Megan S. Paceley, Ryan J. Watson, Jessica N. Fish, Clayton Jarrard, Virginia Ramseyer Winter, Shanna K Kattari, Samantha Walter","doi":"10.1177/10443894231194800","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10443894231194800","url":null,"abstract":"Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) youth experience disparate rates of disordered eating behaviors (DEB; purging, restricting food intake, and binge eating) compared with cisgender and/or heterosexual youth. Yet we have limited data examining the mechanisms that contribute to DEB among LGBTQ+ youth. This study examined associations among family acceptance and rejection and community context (acceptance, support, involvement, and bullying) on LGBTQ+ youth DEB, using data from the LGBTQ National Teen Survey ( N = 7,901) collected in 2017. Findings indicate that DEB for weight control and binge-eating DEB were positively related to family rejection and LGBTQ+-based bullying and negatively related to LGBTQ+ community acceptance and support. Findings from this study have implications for individual-, family-, and community-level interventions to support LGBTQ+ youth.","PeriodicalId":47463,"journal":{"name":"Families in Society-The Journal of Contemporary Social Services","volume":"21 15","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135684817","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Geoffrey L. Greif, Yoonzie Chung, Haelim Lee, Peiyuan Zhang
{"title":"The Experiences of Asian Americans Who Intermarry in the United States: A Qualitative Study","authors":"Geoffrey L. Greif, Yoonzie Chung, Haelim Lee, Peiyuan Zhang","doi":"10.1177/10443894231193377","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10443894231193377","url":null,"abstract":"Intermarriage is noted to be a difficult adjustment as culture, language, and family expectations can clash. Given the rising intermarried population and the challenges they may face, social workers need an up-to-date understanding of these couples’ experiences to better provide services. Surveys and interviews with 11 Asian women and 2 Asian men who intermarried were conducted from 2020 to 2021. Using grounded theory coding, each author on our biracial (Asian and white) team read interviews and identified themes. We identified five themes from the data: Societal Press, White Privilege, Family Relations, Communication, and Parental Responsibilities. Social work practitioners may employ these results in providing culturally sensitive strength-based services for interracial families.","PeriodicalId":47463,"journal":{"name":"Families in Society-The Journal of Contemporary Social Services","volume":"19 7","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135634319","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sarah R. Leat, Kristen Ravi, Abha Rai, Caterina Obenauf, Sean Bryant
{"title":"Do I Belong Here? Experiences of Transgender Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence in Domestic Violence Shelters","authors":"Sarah R. Leat, Kristen Ravi, Abha Rai, Caterina Obenauf, Sean Bryant","doi":"10.1177/10443894231196929","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10443894231196929","url":null,"abstract":"Transgender survivors experience high rates of intimate partner violence (IPV) compared with cisgender survivors. In addition, transgender survivors face barriers to seeking help from domestic violence shelters due to concerns surrounding discrimination because of their gender identity. Understanding the experiences of transgender survivors in shelters is critical to ensuring inclusive, gender-affirming services are available. This study used a multi-case study to present the findings of interviews with three trans women staying in a domestic violence shelter that housed women. Findings reveal experiences of micro- and macro-aggressions from cisgender residents within the shelter, the juxtaposition of feeling both safe and unsafe, and discussions around toxic masculinity and male-perpetrated violence. Results demonstrate the importance of culturally responsive training for shelter staff and educating shelter residents to increase inclusiveness for transgender survivors in domestic violence shelters.","PeriodicalId":47463,"journal":{"name":"Families in Society-The Journal of Contemporary Social Services","volume":"15 3","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135684367","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Paula Marie Powe, Cortney VanHook, Allison Collier, Mark Nakhla, Isaiah Crum, Megan Hamm, Elizabeth Miller
{"title":"Black Fathers’ Perspectives About Early Childhood Adversity and Toxic Stress: Results From Focus Groups","authors":"Paula Marie Powe, Cortney VanHook, Allison Collier, Mark Nakhla, Isaiah Crum, Megan Hamm, Elizabeth Miller","doi":"10.1177/10443894231193867","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10443894231193867","url":null,"abstract":"Black children in the United States disproportionately experience early childhood adversity and toxic stress, which can lead to long-term negative physical and mental health outcomes. Mothers are traditionally enrolled in intervention programs to help address this while fathers typically are not. This study assessed Black fathers’ perspectives about early childhood adversity and toxic stress to begin to understand this public health concern through their lens. Sixteen self-identified Black fathers watched a six-minute animation about toxic stress, neurodevelopment, and resilience, and engaged in focus group discussions. Fathers identified unique and culture-specific contributors to early childhood adversity and toxic stress, as well as their inherent strengths and needs to help protect children. Implications for social work practice, particularly related to Black father engagement in early childhood prevention and intervention programs, are discussed.","PeriodicalId":47463,"journal":{"name":"Families in Society-The Journal of Contemporary Social Services","volume":"28 12","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135634926","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ayomide A. Foluso, Brianna Routh, Mark B. Schure, Daniel J. Koltz
{"title":"Influence of Kinship Caregiver and Family Characteristics on Kinship Care Experiences","authors":"Ayomide A. Foluso, Brianna Routh, Mark B. Schure, Daniel J. Koltz","doi":"10.1177/10443894231204533","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10443894231204533","url":null,"abstract":"Kinship care is the increasingly preferred child placement with a relative when the biological parents are unable to provide care. Program and resource supports must understand how to best meet these caregivers’ needs. Through thematic analysis of existing literature, this study aims to understand how kin caregiver characteristics affect kinship care outcomes. A total of 28 peer-reviewed articles were included in this analysis. Findings indicate that caregiver characteristics, including racial differences, family roles, economic burden, structural supports, and caregiver health, have potentially differential impacts on kinship care and outcomes. Identifying influential caregiver characteristics highlights the importance of adapting policy, programming, and research to support diverse kinship families, rather than viewing them as homogeneous. Incorporation of these characteristic considerations may lead to more effective and impactful supports and improved well-being for all kinship families.","PeriodicalId":47463,"journal":{"name":"Families in Society-The Journal of Contemporary Social Services","volume":"18 3","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135684517","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}