Strengthening Families to Keep Children Safe from Harm

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Strengthening Families to Keep Children Safe from
Harm

• Diane DePanfilis, Ph.D.
• Associate Professor of Social Work
• Co-Director, University of Maryland, Baltimore
• Center for Families
• In Harms Way Breaking the Cycle of Drugs and
  Violence against Children and Families
• Community Issues Forum
• November 9, 2001

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Key Points

• Strong association between substance abuse and
  child maltreatment
• Strengthening families in their communities will
  increase protective and decrease risk factors

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Why is this important?

• Established connection between substance abuse
  and child maltreatment.
• Children of substance abusing parents more likely
  to be maltreated.
• Maltreating parents are more likely to abuse
  alcohol or other drugs.
• Children of substance abusers, particularly
  maltreated children, are at high risk for abusing
  drugs, school problems, behavioral problems.

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What harm do children face in West Baltimore?

• Poverty up to 58 of children live in poverty.
• Truancy 39 miss gt than 20 days/year.
• Child abuse neglect 39 per 1000 children
• Juvenile arrest rates 130 per 1000 children
• Teen pregnancy 16 of females ages 10-17

Baltimore City Data Collaborative, 2001
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Consensus

• Targeting single risk factors not likely to be as
  effective as an ecological perspective.
• Intervention and prevention programs for this
  population must be individualized and offer
  multiple services.
• Services must empower families, build on
  strengths, and respect cultural diversity.

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Goals of Family Strengthening Programs

• To increase protective factors
• To decrease risk factors

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Protective Factors

• Supportive caregiver-child relationships
• Positive discipline methods
• Close monitoring supervision of children
• Coping strategies by adults children
• Social support community connections
• Spirituality
• Cultural roots
• Economic stability

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Risk Factors

• Family conflict, chaos, stress
• Caregiver mental physical health problems
• Child behavioral, mental and physical health
  problems
• Poor caregiver-child relationships
• Social isolation
• Poverty community violence

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Strengthening Families in West Baltimore
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Overview of Program

• Family Connections, Baltimore, Maryland
• Promotes the safety and well being of children
  and families through family and community
  services, professional education and training,
  and research and evaluation.

A program of the University of Maryland,
Baltimore Center for Families
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Target Population

• Screen for
• Demographics
• Risk Criteria
• Motivation to change

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Target neighborhoods
Serve children and families who live or go to
school in the following zip codes 21201,
21216, 21217, 21223, and 21230
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Intervention

• Social work services geared to increase
  protective factors and decrease risk factors.

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Philosophical Principles

• Community outreach
• Family assessment and tailored interventions
• Helping alliance
• Empowerment approaches
• Strengths perspective
• Cultural competence
• Outcome driven service plans

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Intervention Services

• Crisis intervention
• Emergency assistance
• Individualized outcome based services
• Individual and family counseling
• Strengthening multi-ethnic families and
  communities parent groups
• Child therapeutic activity groups
• Client advocacy
• Service coordination and management

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Preliminary selected findings

• Based on 154 families with 473 children who have
  completed the program and research interviews at
  baseline, closing, and six-month follow-up.

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Significant changes in

• Caregiver well being
• Family well being
• Safety
• Child well being

Most effects endure six months after services are
terminated.
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Caregiver well being Depression
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Caregiver well beingParenting Stress
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Family well beingParenting Attitudes
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Family well beingPerceptions of Neighborhoods
significant increase in satisfaction with
neighborhood (Perceived Neighborhood scale).
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Family well beingDaily hassles
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Family well beingFamily Conflict
Self-Report Family InventoryConflict Subscale
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SafetyHousing conditions
without problems
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Child well beingChild Behavior
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To find out more about Family Connections in West
Baltimore, go to http//family.umaryland.edu
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Selected references

• Alvarado, R., Kumpfer, K. (2000). Strengthening
  Americas families. Juvenile Justice, VII(3),
  8-18.
• Ashery, R.S., Robertson, E.B., Kumpfer, K.L.
  (Eds.). (1998). Drug abuse prevention through
  family interventions. Rockville, MD U.S. DHHS,
  National Institute on Drug Abuse.
• Baltimore City Data Collaborative (2001).
  Baltimore City Neighborhood Profiles, 1997.
  Available http//www.baltimorekidsdata.org