Child-Maltreatment-Research-L (CMRL) List Serve

Message ID: 10695

Date: 2019-03-01

Author:G Lillian Blake

Subject:Re: reason for placement

Hi Joe, I'm new to this listserv, but I wanted to reply with information that may be helpful to you and your research team. In child welfare research, I've seen "substantiated" and "unsubstantiated" or "confirmed" as terms to indicate whether or not claims on maltreatment (which often coincide with "reasons for placement" or "reasons for removal") have been assessed or not. Although AFCARS data were not used (directly) within these studies, such research reveals the problems with accuracy on whether or not maltreatment or dysfunctional home environments have been substantiated/confirmed, and whether or not the legal reasons for removal/placement include *all* forms of maltreatment or dysfunctional home environments, as opposed to only the ones reported by mandated reporters or third parties, or ones that are legally considered by particular jurisdictions as reasons for removal. Perhaps laws, policies, and practices differ in this area, as it relates to removal, placement, reunification, and permanency. Here are a few studies that mention some of these terms: Adams, Z. W., Moreland, A., Cohen, J. R., Lee, R. C., Hanson, R. F., Danielson, C. K., Self-Brown, S., & Briggs, E. C. (2016). Polyvictimization: Latent profiles and mental health outcomes in a clinical sample of adolescents. Psychology of Violence, 6(1), 145-155. doi:10.1037/a0039713 The phrase "confirmed trauma" is utilized in this study. Grasso, D. J., Dierkhising, C. B., Branson, C. E., Ford, J. D., & Lee, R. (2016). Developmental patterns of adverse childhood experiences and current symptoms and impairment in youth referred for trauma-specific services. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 44(5), 871-886. doi:10.1007/s10802-015-0086-8 "Moreover, only confirmed experiences were examined in this study, and so actual rates of ACEs may be underestimated, particularly for those that tend to be difficult to confirm." Havlicek, J. (2014). Maltreatment histories of foster youth exiting out-of-home care through emancipation: A latent class analysis. Child Maltreatment, 19(3-4), 199-208. doi:10.1177/1077559514539754 "51.8% of Illinois foster youth with histories of substantiated child maltreatment prior to and during any time in out-of-home care. Substantiated and unsubstantiated reports were not differentiated in the current study because evidence suggests differences between substantiated and unsubstantiated cases may not be very large with respect to the recurrence of maltreatment (Drake, Jonson-Reid, Way, & Chung, 2003) or risk to children (Dubowitz & Bennett, 2007; English, Marshall, Coghlan, Brummel, & Orme, 2002; Jonson-Reid, Drake, Kim, Porterfield, & Han, 2004; Kohl, Jonson-Reid, & Drake, 2009)." Hope this helps, though it is not directly related to substance abuse indicators. I'm sure there are additional studies that mention the differences between substantiated and unsubstantiated, but these are the only ones I've seen or noted so far. Nevertheless, maybe some key words and phrases found in these articles will help towards future searches. Best of luck on your research! Sincerely, Gayle Gayle Blakely, B.S., A.A. Research Assistant On Fri, Mar 1, 2019 at 9:19 AM Joseph Ryan > wrote: Hello list members. I am wondering about the accuracy of the "reasons for placement" category reported in AFCARS. Are States confident about how these data are collected and reported? I am particularly interested in the substance abuse indicator. There seems to be consistent stories about the opioid crisis and large increases in the foster care populations around the country. The AFCARS estimates indicate small increases in substance abuse as a reason for placement. I am just curious as to whether there are any studies on how accurate this item is captured. I know several States that suggest this measure is not to be trusted. Just looking for something a bit more empirical. Any leads would be appreciated. Joe -- Joseph P. Ryan, Ph.D. University of Michigan Child and Adolescent Data Lab ssw-datalab.org -- Gayle L. Blakely glillianblake@gmail.com (312) 468-7480

Hi Joe, I'm new to this listserv, but I wanted to reply with information that may be helpful to you and your research team. In child welfare research, I've seen "substantiated" and "unsubstantiated" or "confirmed" as terms to indicate whether or not claims on maltreatment (which often coincide with "reasons for placement" or "reasons for removal") have been assessed or not. Although AFCARS data were not used (directly) within these studies, such research reveals the problems with accuracy on whether or not maltreatment or dysfunctional home environments have been substantiated/confirmed, and whether or not the legal reasons for removal/placement include *all* forms of maltreatment or dysfunctional home environments, as opposed to only the ones reported by mandated reporters or third parties, or ones that are legally considered by particular jurisdictions as reasons for removal. Perhaps laws, policies, and practices differ in this area, as it relates to removal, placement, reunification, and permanency. Here are a few studies that mention some of these terms: Adams, Z. W., Moreland, A., Cohen, J. R., Lee, R. C., Hanson, R. F., Danielson, C. K., Self-Brown, S., & Briggs, E. C. (2016). Polyvictimization: Latent profiles and mental health outcomes in a clinical sample of adolescents. Psychology of Violence, 6(1), 145-155. doi:10.1037/a0039713 The phrase "confirmed trauma" is utilized in this study. Grasso, D. J., Dierkhising, C. B., Branson, C. E., Ford, J. D., & Lee, R. (2016). Developmental patterns of adverse childhood experiences and current symptoms and impairment in youth referred for trauma-specific services. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 44(5), 871-886. doi:10.1007/s10802-015-0086-8 "Moreover, only confirmed experiences were examined in this study, and so actual rates of ACEs may be underestimated, particularly for those that tend to be difficult to confirm." Havlicek, J. (2014). Maltreatment histories of foster youth exiting out-of-home care through emancipation: A latent class analysis. Child Maltreatment, 19(3-4), 199-208. doi:10.1177/1077559514539754 "51.8% of Illinois foster youth with histories of substantiated child maltreatment prior to and during any time in out-of-home care. Substantiated and unsubstantiated reports were not differentiated in the current study because evidence suggests differences between substantiated and unsubstantiated cases may not be very large with respect to the recurrence of maltreatment (Drake, Jonson-Reid, Way, & Chung, 2003) or risk to children (Dubowitz & Bennett, 2007; English, Marshall, Coghlan, Brummel, & Orme, 2002; Jonson-Reid, Drake, Kim, Porterfield, & Han, 2004; Kohl, Jonson-Reid, & Drake, 2009)." Hope this helps, though it is not directly related to substance abuse indicators. I'm sure there are additional studies that mention the differences between substantiated and unsubstantiated, but these are the only ones I've seen or noted so far. Nevertheless, maybe some key words and phrases found in these articles will help towards future searches. Best of luck on your research! Sincerely, Gayle Gayle Blakely, B.S., A.A. Research Assistant On Fri, Mar 1, 2019 at 9:19 AM Joseph Ryan > wrote: Hello list members. I am wondering about the accuracy of the "reasons for placement" category reported in AFCARS. Are States confident about how these data are collected and reported? I am particularly interested in the substance abuse indicator. There seems to be consistent stories about the opioid crisis and large increases in the foster care populations around the country. The AFCARS estimates indicate small increases in substance abuse as a reason for placement. I am just curious as to whether there are any studies on how accurate this item is captured. I know several States that suggest this measure is not to be trusted. Just looking for something a bit more empirical. Any leads would be appreciated. Joe -- Joseph P. Ryan, Ph.D. University of Michigan Child and Adolescent Data Lab ssw-datalab.org -- Gayle L. Blakely glillianblakegmail.com (312) 468-7480