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Papers by peter Pecora
The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare
This article describes the methods and results of a training evaluation project that assessed beh... more This article describes the methods and results of a training evaluation project that assessed behavioral change following training. Child welfare workers were trained in counseling methods for working with adolescents who behave in ways that challenge conventional therapeutic techniques. As part of the training, participants developed action plans, which were lists of behaviors they wanted to implement in their counseling. Training participants were interviewed by telephone two months after the training. Results indicated that a number of action items were successfully implemented and that workers found the action process to be helpful in this regard. Results also indicate that success could have been enhanced if certain supports had been included in the training or in a follow-up session. Acting out adolescents are possibly the most difficult clientele served by child welfare and mental health staff. Many of the
The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare
American Indian and Alaska Native Mental Health Research
Education in Out-of-Home Care, 2019
Supporting educational needs of students in foster care is a fundamental responsibility of child ... more Supporting educational needs of students in foster care is a fundamental responsibility of child welfare agencies, education agencies, and courts. The systems and all other sectors of the community such as business, housing, health care, voluntary sector and faith-based organisations must work together to improve policies and practices. For more than a decade, momentum has grown at the federal, state and local levels to prioritize the educational needs of students in foster care. Increased data collection and reporting at state and local levels helps evaluate what programs are working and identify where interventions are needed. This Chapter reviews research and promising programs in the U.S. affecting the educational success of children in foster care.
The journal of applied research on children : informing policy for children at risk, 2018
Children and Youth Services Review, 2020
The Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) has compelled states to expand their priorities ... more The Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) has compelled states to expand their priorities to implement evidence-based practices (EBPs) as a means to prevent foster care placement. While the states may opt to include EBPs already approved by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), some state leaders are opting to commission an independent technical review for the EBP they would prefer to implement as part of their FFPSA plan. While the goal is for ACF to approve their plan and issue a temporary license, little guidance is provided on how to conduct technical reviews. Relying upon the expectations that ACF has outlined for each state, we illustrate the process for conducting reviews of SafeCare in Iowa and Utah and of Family-Centered Treatment in Arkansas. Despite FFPSA and ACF guidance, rendering an evidence rating was difficult given the variability in how some studies measured baseline equivalence, lack of robust testing methods, and conflicting findings across studies. We conclude with recommendations on addressing these challenges and strategies for conducting high-quality technical reviews. The review process offers an opportunity to synthesize a large body of research to inform child welfare practice.
Journal of Social Work Education, 2015
This study examined changes in training participants’ satisfaction with the instruction, knowledg... more This study examined changes in training participants’ satisfaction with the instruction, knowledge gain, transfer of new skills, and beliefs about family involvement and engagement in working with families to help ensure children have safety. One hundred and forty-five practitioners participated in the training. Findings revealed shifts in knowledge and use of certain kinds of safety and risk assessment. Qualitative training feedback revealed that caseworkers and supervisors are now talking more about their practice and how they are trying new strategies to help children and families rather than how they complete a list of procedural tasks. The combination of workshop-based training followed by agency-based coaching appears to be a promising approach to professional learning in this practice area of child welfare.
Korean Journal of family welfare, 2019
Children and Youth Services Review, 2019
This study utilizes a quasi-experimental propensity score matching design to assess the causal im... more This study utilizes a quasi-experimental propensity score matching design to assess the causal impact on child welfare outcomes when parents facing an abuse or neglect case in the New York City Family Court were provided interdisciplinary law office representation as opposed to a standard panel attorney. The interdisciplinary law office approach includes social work staff and parent advocates for the parent, and salaried attorneys working in nonprofit organizations. Using administrative child welfare data, the study assesses the foster care and safety outcomes of 9582 families and their 18,288 children. The propensity score matched results do not indicate a preventive effect toward foster care entry nor any difference in children's likelihoods of experiencing a subsequent substantiated report of maltreatment. However, when children's parents received the interdisciplinary representation and those children did enter foster care, children spent 118 fewer days on average in foster care during the four years following the abuse or neglect case filing. Subsequent competing risk models show that children whose parents received the interdisciplinary law office model achieved overall permanency, reunification, and guardianship more quickly. These results provide evidence that interdisciplinary law office parental representation is an effective intervention to promote permanency for children in foster care.
Journal of Public Child Welfare, 2018
The Arkansas Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) has reduced the use of therapeutic... more The Arkansas Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) has reduced the use of therapeutic residential care (e. g., group homes, residential treatment centers) for youth placed in child welfare. Youth in acute or subacute congregate care for 30 or more days without Medicaid now are of particular interest. This is a longer-term psychiatric program, typically 3 to 6 months. The project team conducted a systems analysis to determine the specific characteristics and levels of need for 42 youth so that DCFS can more effectively serve these youth in the least restrictive form of treatment possible.
This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law as indicated in a notice app... more This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law as indicated in a notice appearing later in this work. This electronic representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for non-commercial use only. Unauthorized posting of RAND PDFs to a non-RAND Web site is prohibited. RAND PDFs are protected under copyright law. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of our research documents for commercial use. For information on reprint and linking permissions, please see RAND Permissions.
Social Work Research and Abstracts, 1993
ABSTRACT
Social Work, 1983
EJ297721 - Declassification of Social Service Jobs: Issues and Strategies.
Academic Pediatrics, 2017
Journal of Family Strengths, 2012
Child Welfare, May 1, 1994
This volume of edited chapters on Intensive Family Preservation Services (IFPS) is one of the mos... more This volume of edited chapters on Intensive Family Preservation Services (IFPS) is one of the most recent additions to a growing body of literature on this subject. The collection of diverse chapters is intended to provide the reader with a summary of developments in the "initiation, development, implementation, and evaluation" of IFPS in the United States. With a huge upsurge to over 300 family-based services programs currently in operation, this is a challenge for any single publication.Morton's historical summary chapter extends published articles written by Horejsi [1981] and others, and in doing so provides a summary of major legislative and service emphases from the 1600s to the 1990s. The relevance of Social Attachment Theory and Functional Theory to IFPS are described by Grigsby after a brief summary of how crisis intervention, family systems, social learning, and ecological theories inform IFPS program design. Grigsby might have extended the early work of Barth [1990] and others by describing how IFPS programs are currently applying and testing the theories described by Barth. The chapter, however, offers a useful overview of these theories, and lays the groundwork for further examination of their applicability. In particular, the relationship between Functional Theory and IFPS, while briefly described, has some intriguing implications for program design and practice. For example, two of the tenets of Functional Theory are advocacy for realignment of social resources and planned systems change, two areas that are underemphasized by some IFPS staff members because of a lack of administrative leadership, staff training, and staff time in those programs where higher caseloads are required.Quinn's chapter describing the working relationship between child protective services and an IFPS program sets forth important principles for developing a successful program in terms of case referral, screening, and joint casework. Although her recommended use of a single "gatekeeper" for screening referrals is not always sufficient because of the need for interdepartmental screening teams, the other principles discussed in this chapter are helpful.The strengths and limitations of using teams of clinicians and support workers, based on experience with an IFPS program at the Yale Child Study Center, are cogently described from a practice perspective by Soule et al. Although cost-effectiveness data are not provided, a strong clinical case is made for the ability of an IFPS staff member to use either a solo therapist or team model, depending upon the family situation.In the research section of the book, the utility of the Florida IFPS research summary was reduced by a lack of information about critical aspects of the studies, such as how many families were omitted from the follow-up, degree of case matching, structure of the assessment measures, and specific statistical results for each assessment scale. It will be important to see if during the next evaluation phase the department is able to overcome some of the methodological limitations identified in this chapter by, in part, instituting an experimental design utilizing a control group.Berry provides new research data indicating ways in which clients changed, and the lower success rates of IFPS programs with neglectful families. Littell et al. argue that the program objectives for IFPS have been broadened beyond placement prevention because of inconclusive study results. The authors do not cite the positive findings from a number of other studies such as the significant differences in placement prevention rates at 12 months reported by the more complete New Jersey report [Feldman 1991], but their concern about a lack of program effectiveness data, case targeting, and the need for choosing case-level and systems-level outcome measures are compellingly presented. …
The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare
This article describes the methods and results of a training evaluation project that assessed beh... more This article describes the methods and results of a training evaluation project that assessed behavioral change following training. Child welfare workers were trained in counseling methods for working with adolescents who behave in ways that challenge conventional therapeutic techniques. As part of the training, participants developed action plans, which were lists of behaviors they wanted to implement in their counseling. Training participants were interviewed by telephone two months after the training. Results indicated that a number of action items were successfully implemented and that workers found the action process to be helpful in this regard. Results also indicate that success could have been enhanced if certain supports had been included in the training or in a follow-up session. Acting out adolescents are possibly the most difficult clientele served by child welfare and mental health staff. Many of the
The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare
American Indian and Alaska Native Mental Health Research
Education in Out-of-Home Care, 2019
Supporting educational needs of students in foster care is a fundamental responsibility of child ... more Supporting educational needs of students in foster care is a fundamental responsibility of child welfare agencies, education agencies, and courts. The systems and all other sectors of the community such as business, housing, health care, voluntary sector and faith-based organisations must work together to improve policies and practices. For more than a decade, momentum has grown at the federal, state and local levels to prioritize the educational needs of students in foster care. Increased data collection and reporting at state and local levels helps evaluate what programs are working and identify where interventions are needed. This Chapter reviews research and promising programs in the U.S. affecting the educational success of children in foster care.
The journal of applied research on children : informing policy for children at risk, 2018
Children and Youth Services Review, 2020
The Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) has compelled states to expand their priorities ... more The Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) has compelled states to expand their priorities to implement evidence-based practices (EBPs) as a means to prevent foster care placement. While the states may opt to include EBPs already approved by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), some state leaders are opting to commission an independent technical review for the EBP they would prefer to implement as part of their FFPSA plan. While the goal is for ACF to approve their plan and issue a temporary license, little guidance is provided on how to conduct technical reviews. Relying upon the expectations that ACF has outlined for each state, we illustrate the process for conducting reviews of SafeCare in Iowa and Utah and of Family-Centered Treatment in Arkansas. Despite FFPSA and ACF guidance, rendering an evidence rating was difficult given the variability in how some studies measured baseline equivalence, lack of robust testing methods, and conflicting findings across studies. We conclude with recommendations on addressing these challenges and strategies for conducting high-quality technical reviews. The review process offers an opportunity to synthesize a large body of research to inform child welfare practice.
Journal of Social Work Education, 2015
This study examined changes in training participants’ satisfaction with the instruction, knowledg... more This study examined changes in training participants’ satisfaction with the instruction, knowledge gain, transfer of new skills, and beliefs about family involvement and engagement in working with families to help ensure children have safety. One hundred and forty-five practitioners participated in the training. Findings revealed shifts in knowledge and use of certain kinds of safety and risk assessment. Qualitative training feedback revealed that caseworkers and supervisors are now talking more about their practice and how they are trying new strategies to help children and families rather than how they complete a list of procedural tasks. The combination of workshop-based training followed by agency-based coaching appears to be a promising approach to professional learning in this practice area of child welfare.
Korean Journal of family welfare, 2019
Children and Youth Services Review, 2019
This study utilizes a quasi-experimental propensity score matching design to assess the causal im... more This study utilizes a quasi-experimental propensity score matching design to assess the causal impact on child welfare outcomes when parents facing an abuse or neglect case in the New York City Family Court were provided interdisciplinary law office representation as opposed to a standard panel attorney. The interdisciplinary law office approach includes social work staff and parent advocates for the parent, and salaried attorneys working in nonprofit organizations. Using administrative child welfare data, the study assesses the foster care and safety outcomes of 9582 families and their 18,288 children. The propensity score matched results do not indicate a preventive effect toward foster care entry nor any difference in children's likelihoods of experiencing a subsequent substantiated report of maltreatment. However, when children's parents received the interdisciplinary representation and those children did enter foster care, children spent 118 fewer days on average in foster care during the four years following the abuse or neglect case filing. Subsequent competing risk models show that children whose parents received the interdisciplinary law office model achieved overall permanency, reunification, and guardianship more quickly. These results provide evidence that interdisciplinary law office parental representation is an effective intervention to promote permanency for children in foster care.
Journal of Public Child Welfare, 2018
The Arkansas Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) has reduced the use of therapeutic... more The Arkansas Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) has reduced the use of therapeutic residential care (e. g., group homes, residential treatment centers) for youth placed in child welfare. Youth in acute or subacute congregate care for 30 or more days without Medicaid now are of particular interest. This is a longer-term psychiatric program, typically 3 to 6 months. The project team conducted a systems analysis to determine the specific characteristics and levels of need for 42 youth so that DCFS can more effectively serve these youth in the least restrictive form of treatment possible.
This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law as indicated in a notice app... more This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law as indicated in a notice appearing later in this work. This electronic representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for non-commercial use only. Unauthorized posting of RAND PDFs to a non-RAND Web site is prohibited. RAND PDFs are protected under copyright law. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of our research documents for commercial use. For information on reprint and linking permissions, please see RAND Permissions.
Social Work Research and Abstracts, 1993
ABSTRACT
Social Work, 1983
EJ297721 - Declassification of Social Service Jobs: Issues and Strategies.
Academic Pediatrics, 2017
Journal of Family Strengths, 2012
Child Welfare, May 1, 1994
This volume of edited chapters on Intensive Family Preservation Services (IFPS) is one of the mos... more This volume of edited chapters on Intensive Family Preservation Services (IFPS) is one of the most recent additions to a growing body of literature on this subject. The collection of diverse chapters is intended to provide the reader with a summary of developments in the "initiation, development, implementation, and evaluation" of IFPS in the United States. With a huge upsurge to over 300 family-based services programs currently in operation, this is a challenge for any single publication.Morton's historical summary chapter extends published articles written by Horejsi [1981] and others, and in doing so provides a summary of major legislative and service emphases from the 1600s to the 1990s. The relevance of Social Attachment Theory and Functional Theory to IFPS are described by Grigsby after a brief summary of how crisis intervention, family systems, social learning, and ecological theories inform IFPS program design. Grigsby might have extended the early work of Barth [1990] and others by describing how IFPS programs are currently applying and testing the theories described by Barth. The chapter, however, offers a useful overview of these theories, and lays the groundwork for further examination of their applicability. In particular, the relationship between Functional Theory and IFPS, while briefly described, has some intriguing implications for program design and practice. For example, two of the tenets of Functional Theory are advocacy for realignment of social resources and planned systems change, two areas that are underemphasized by some IFPS staff members because of a lack of administrative leadership, staff training, and staff time in those programs where higher caseloads are required.Quinn's chapter describing the working relationship between child protective services and an IFPS program sets forth important principles for developing a successful program in terms of case referral, screening, and joint casework. Although her recommended use of a single "gatekeeper" for screening referrals is not always sufficient because of the need for interdepartmental screening teams, the other principles discussed in this chapter are helpful.The strengths and limitations of using teams of clinicians and support workers, based on experience with an IFPS program at the Yale Child Study Center, are cogently described from a practice perspective by Soule et al. Although cost-effectiveness data are not provided, a strong clinical case is made for the ability of an IFPS staff member to use either a solo therapist or team model, depending upon the family situation.In the research section of the book, the utility of the Florida IFPS research summary was reduced by a lack of information about critical aspects of the studies, such as how many families were omitted from the follow-up, degree of case matching, structure of the assessment measures, and specific statistical results for each assessment scale. It will be important to see if during the next evaluation phase the department is able to overcome some of the methodological limitations identified in this chapter by, in part, instituting an experimental design utilizing a control group.Berry provides new research data indicating ways in which clients changed, and the lower success rates of IFPS programs with neglectful families. Littell et al. argue that the program objectives for IFPS have been broadened beyond placement prevention because of inconclusive study results. The authors do not cite the positive findings from a number of other studies such as the significant differences in placement prevention rates at 12 months reported by the more complete New Jersey report [Feldman 1991], but their concern about a lack of program effectiveness data, case targeting, and the need for choosing case-level and systems-level outcome measures are compellingly presented. …