Practice Notes are developed in collaboration between CASCW affiliates and public child welfare practitioners. They are intended as a reference for child welfare practitioners, linking research with best practices.
Practice Notes #38 - Creative Arts and Body-Based Approaches for Group Work with Survivors of Trauma
Authors: Jane Gilgun, PhD, LICSW
Published: Fall 2021
Evidence is growing that creative arts and body-based approaches have a significant part to play in helping persons cope with the effects of trauma. Backed by significant neurological evidence on how trauma affects the brain and the entire nervous system, creative arts and body-based therapies complement traditional trauma treatments by focusing on not only the mind, but also on the body. Knowledge of these approaches can increase effectiveness of child welfare practice.
Practice Notes #37 - An Ecological-Systems Inquiry into Risks for Delinquency Among Maltreated Children
Authors: Haight, W., Cho, W.
Published: May 2021
Twenty-one professionals, serving various roles in child welfare and juvenile justice systems, described risk factors for delinquency among maltreated children at multiple ecological levels: individual youth, parent-child relationships, and child-serving systems. Professionals also considered the involvement of maltreated children in delinquency to be a complex issue reflecting the social, cultural, and practice contexts.
Practice Notes #36 - Parent-centered Planning for Parents with Disabilities
Authors: Elizabeth Lightfoot, PhD, & DeZelar, S.
Published: November 2020
The parent-centered planning model is a new strengths-based model to help parents with disabilities plan for parenting. This model is an adaptation of person-centered planning, which is common in the field of disability services. This model helps parents set realistic long-term parenting goals and enlists informal and formal supporters to assist parents in making concrete steps toward achieving these goals.
Practice Notes #35 - Mindful Therapies with Teen Girls who Experienced Sexual Abuse
Author: Jane F. Gilgun, PhD
Published: October 2020
Movement and creative art therapies are designed for work with survivors of sexual abuse and other traumas. The effects of traumas become encoded in the neural circuits of the brain and nervous system. They are experienced as dysregulations of emotions, thoughts, behaviors, and physiology. Trauma, therefore, creates distressing mind-body connections. Movement and creative art therapies rewire neural circuits, have positive effects on mind-body connections, and foster self-regulation.
Practice Notes #34 - Promising Practices to Support Parents with Intellectual Disabilities
Authors: Elizabeth Lightfoot, PhD, & Mingyang Zheng, MSW
Published: November 2019
Parents with intellectual disabilities have a high risk of child welfare involvement. There are a growing number of promising practices that can help support parents with intellectual disabilities, including interventions that focus on building parenting skills and increasing social connections and social supports. Read more from this issue of Practice Notes on changes you can incorporate into your practice for supporting parents with intellectual disabilities.
Practice Notes #33 - Preparing for the Potential Reopening of Inter-Country Adoption from Romania
Authors: Elizabeth Lightfoot, PhD, & Mingyang Zheng, MSW
Published: November 2019
Romania is considering allowing international adoptions again after banning the practice for more than fifteen years due to widespread adoption irregularities. Adoption and child welfare workers in the United States can better support children adopted from Romania if they are aware of the historical and current trends in Romanian child welfare and the latest research on the impact of institutionalization on child development. Read more from this issue of Practice Notes developed by Dr. Liz Lightfoot while on sabbatical as a Fulbright Scholar in Romania where she studied services to children and people with disabilities.
Practice Notes #32 - Motivational Interviewing in Transition Planning: Supporting Youth Transitioning Out of Foster Care
Practice Notes #32—Motivational Interview in Transition Planning: Supporting Youth Transitioning out of Foster Care
Summer 2019
Authors: Richmond, A., Borden, L. M.
There are approximately 442,995 children in foster care in the United States, and a quarter of these young people are age 14 or older. In addition, more than 17,000 young people age out of foster care at age 18 each year. To successfully transition into independent living, youth in care need supportive and healthy adult-youth relationships as well as access to resources and opportunities that can assist them as they work towards independence. Read more form this issue of Practice Notes on how you can incorporate Motivational Interviewing into your practice supporting youth.
Practice Notes #31 - Relapse Prevention Planning with Parents with Co-Occurring Disorders in Child Welfare
Practice Notes #31—Relapse Prevention Planning with Parents with Co-Occurring Disorders in Child Welfare
Summer 2018
Authors: Ward, A., Wiseman, J., Barry, K.
Over the course of a person’s illness, relapse is often a part of the recovery process. Research indicates that individuals with co-occurring mental illness and substance use disorders (COD) are at higher risk for relapse. When parents with COD are involved in the child welfare system, relapse prevention plans are suggested as an evidence-based approach to equip individuals with more resources while in recovery.
Practice Notes #30 - Risk and Resilience: Intimate Partner Violence Exposure (IPV)
Practice Notes #30—Risk and Resilience: Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) Exposure
Summer 2017
Authors: Renner, L.M., Anderson, L., & Barry, K.
Child welfare professionals are generally well-informed of the co-occurrence between Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) and child maltreatment (Graham-Bermann, 2011). Yet, only about half report that they perform systematic screenings for IPV in all cases of child maltreatment (Graham-Bermann, 2011). In this issue we will present tips for assessing and discussing factors of risk and resilience when interacting with individuals, families and communities affected by IPV.
Practice Notes #29 - Intimate Partner Violence in Child Welfare
Practice Notes #29—Intimate Partner Violence in Child Welfare
Summer 2017
Authors: Renner, L.M., Anderson, L., & Barry, K.
An estimated 7 million children live in families in which severe intimate partner violence (IPV) occurred in the past year1 and one-third of all families involved with Child Protection Services (CPS) experienced IPV in the year preceding their involvement in the child welfare system.2 Considering the pronounced co-occurrence, it is important that child welfare workers have knowledge and awareness of children’s exposure to IPV.
Practice Notes #28 - Barriers to Traumatic Stress Screenings in Child Welfare Settings
Practice Notes #28—Barriers To Traumatic Stress Screening In Child Welfare Settings
Winter 2017
Authors: Tseng, A., Barry, K., Bray, C., LaLiberte, T.
Many children entering the child welfare system have been exposed to traumatizing events or situations that can have profound adverse effects, including unstable behaviors, cognitive difficulties, problematic relationships, and mental health issues. Unfortunately, multiple factors hinder efforts to screen for traumatic stress in child welfare. It is paramount to identify these children so that they can receive appropriate interventions and services in a timely manner.
Practice Notes #27 - Screening for Traumatic Stress in Child Welfare
Practice Notes #27—Screening for Traumatic Stress in Child Welfare
Winter 2017
Authors: Tseng, A., Barry, K., Bray, C., LaLiberte, T.
Nearly 35 million children (0-17 years) in the United States have experienced one or more types of childhood trauma (NSCH, 2012). The child welfare system becomes involved in the care of approximately one million children — and, unfortunately, a large number of these children have suffered from maltreatment and/or other trauma (NSCH, 2012). Screening for traumatic stress can help identify these children and ensure that they receive appropriate interventions and services.
Practice Notes #26 - Supporting Recovery in Parents with Co-Occurring Disorders in Child Welfare
Practice Notes #26—Supporting Recovery in Parents with Co-Occurring Disorders in Child Welfare
Fall 2016
Authors: Ward, A., Barry, K., Laliberte, T., & Meyer-Kalos, P.
Roughly 7.9 million adults have co-occurring mental and chemical health disorders in the United States (Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality, 2014). Only 7.4% of these individuals receive treatment for both conditions, and a staggering 55.8% receive no treatment at all (SAMHSA, 2010). Maintaining a recovery-oriented perspective in the child welfare process can help parents and their families struggling with co-occurring disorders (COD) connect to integrated treatment and build confidence in a longer-term process of recovery.
Practice Notes #25 - Resilience in Maltreated Children
Practice Notes #25—Resilience in Maltreated Children
Winter 2015
Authors: A. Tseng, K. Barry, T. LaLiberte
Child maltreatment exemplifies one of the most harmful and stressful challenges to confront children today. Although the experience of abuse or neglect has a severe impact on most children, not all maltreated children are negatively affected to the same degree. Examining how and why certain maltreated children show resilience despite adverse conditions may lead to key insights into the complex processes that result in vastly different developmental outcomes.
Practice Notes #24 - Helping Maltreated Children Understand and Recognize Emotions
Practice Notes #24—Helping Maltreated Children Understand and Recognize Emotions
Fall 2015
Authors: A. Tseng, M. Mendez, T. LaLiberte
Over the past two decades, research has shown that maltreatment can disrupt a child’s ability to recognize and understand the emotions of others. These difficulties can lead to problems as children attempt to navigate their interpersonal relationships. Child welfare workers can better help children that have experienced abuse and neglect read emotional cues and build successful relationships if they are aware of how maltreatment can impact emotion-processing.
Practice Notes #23 - Children in 'Newly Poor' Families: Coping with the Economic Crisis
Practice Notes Issue 23, Summer 2010
Editor: Esther Wattenberg
We are now experiencing one of the worst economic downturns since the Great Depression. How children cope within a family environment that has lost the confidence that comes with a steady income is not fully understood. Interviews with School Social Workers, “Homeless Liaisons,” and staff of community agencies provided this edition of Practice Notes with an outline of issues. The experiences they shared reminded all of us engaged in assuring the well-being of children how acute the suffering may be of a child whose expectation of a safe, comfortable, predictable world has been shattered when parents lose their homes, their jobs, and their roles as providers.
Practice Notes #22 - Supervision: The Key to Strengthening Practice in Child Welfare
Practice Notes Issue 22
Winter 2009
Editor: Esther Wattenberg
Supervisors play the pivotal role in assuring “Best Practices” for Child Welfare, at a time when “doing more with less” has moved the system into a crisis stage. At the same time, demands for accountability (as noted in Minnesota’s Social Services Information System) and effectiveness (as measured in the Children and Families Services Review) have sharpened the focus for Child Welfare practice. This is the context for this edition of Practice Notes.
Practice Notes #21 - Visiting Children in Foster Care: Messages from the Practice Field
Practice Notes Issue 21
Summer 2008
Editors: Esther Wattenberg & Annie Welch
Recently, social workers’ visits with children in foster care have become a “hot topic.” Despite evidence showing a linkage between positive outcomes for children in foster care and visits from a social worker, the recent CFSR has disclosed uneven attention to visitation and a lack of standardization of practice among Minnesota counties. This edition of Practice Notes covers this topic; it was informed by the wisdom of experienced practitioners and an exploration of national initiatives.
Practice Notes #20 - Responding to Traumatic Events: Children in Life-Threatening Circumstances
Practice Notes, Issue 20
January 2008
Editor: Esther Wattenberg
Trauma suffered by children has struck a deep chord within the Child Welfare system. In this edition of Practice Notes, we have acknowledged a few traumatic episodes faced by children, including the collapse of the I-35W bridge in Minnesota. We have attempted to understand the children’s experiences and the therapeutic responses to their condition.
Practice Notes #19 - Reinforcing the Importance of Attachment for Child Welfare Practice
Practice Notes Issue 19
July 2007
Editors: Esther Wattenberg & Kate Troy
The relevance of attachment theory for the case planning and prevention tasks in Child Welfare underlines the importance of this edition of Practice Notes. This edition of “Practice Notes” intends to provide a pathway to grasping various dimensions of attachment: first, a bare-bones definition and then how this leads the practitioner to consider the impact of maltreatment and traumatic experiences; the role of foster parents; clues for referrals to a consultant; attachment considerations across cultures; and practice guidelines.
Practice Notes #18 - Trial Home Visits: Strengthening Reunification Practices
Practice Notes Issue 18
March 2006
Editors: Esther Wattenberg & Kristen Bauerkemper
The trial home visit is now a key strategy in assuring successful reunification. This edition of Practice Notes is intended to provide guidelines for strengthening practice in the volatile and crisis-ridden period of reunification, known as the “trial home visit.”
Practice Notes #17 - Double Jeopardy: Youth Involved in Dual Systems of Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice & Mental Health Screening
Practice Notes, Issue 17
August 2005
Editor: Esther Wattenberg
This edition of Practice Notes is directed to the population of youngsters who are dually involved in the Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice systems. The mental health screening legislation enacted by the Minnesota legislature during the 2003 session directed the two systems to pursue mental health screening. The purpose was clear: early identification of mental health problems, through a screening process, could be a crucial response to the growing concern for the mental health of children in high-risk situations. What follows is an early report on patterns of responses and persistent challenges in Minnesota.
Practice Notes #16 - Referral for Disabilities: A New Responsibility for Child Protection
Practice Notes, Issue 16
February 2005
Editor: Esther Wattenberg
Two significant laws were recently passed that require referral and screening of very young children to detect the need for disability and mental health services. This edition of Practice Notes will concentrate on early identification of children with developmental delays and disabilities. While these are distinct categories of children at-risk (disabilities, mental health, special needs), there is also considerable overlap. How we respond to duplication of services, strategies and case plans is yet to be understood.
Practice Notes #15 - The Fatherhood Factor in Permanency Planning
Practice Notes, Issue 15
March 2004
Editor: Esther Wattenberg
This edition of Practice Notes is intended to reinforce the policy of providing permanency for children by strengthening the relationship between father and child (Minn. Stat. 260.181. Subd. 3). The identification and involvement of unmarried fathers who are not residing with their children has long been a challenge for social workers. However, considering the role of the father is an urgent matter for permanency decisions that must be made within a brief time span.
Practice Notes #14 - The Exploratory Interview of a Maltreatment Report: The First Encounter in a Child Protection System
Practice Notes, Issue 14
July 2003
Editor: Esther Wattenberg
This edition of Practice Notes is concerned with the interface between gathering evidence of maltreatment, and at the same time, assessing family strengths. This dual responsibility is familiar territory for child protection workers and their associates. This “multi-tasking” requires an artful synthesis of intuition, experience, and a solid knowledge base of social work principles. This edition of Practice Notes is directed chiefly to front-line child protection workers.
Practice Notes #13 - Visitation: Through the Eyes of a Child
Practice Notes, Issue 13
January 2003
Editor: Esther Wattenberg
An important message is worth repeating. Earlier Practice Notes dealt with general aspects of “Visitation.” We return to the topic, but with a special emphasis on two situations of separation and loss requiring specific attention: sibling separation and children with incarcerated mothers.
Practice Notes #12 - Family Group Decision Making: Incorporating Family Strengths, Concerns, and Resources in developing a Safety Plan
Practice Notes, Issue 12
September 2002
Editors: Esther Wattenberg & Jennifer Menke
Family Group Decision Making (FGDM) articulates a basic principle: the inherent strengths of families and their resources can be engaged to respond to the safety and well being of children. A striking aspect of FGDM is the enthusiasm of professionals as well as the reported high satisfaction of families engaged in this intervention. FGDM is far from a quick fix for vulnerable children in high risk families. But the efforts to mobilize an entire family to provide lasting and available resources across the lifespan of the child is forward looking and engenders a palpable sense of hope.
Practice Notes #11 - Mediation for Child Welfare
Practice Notes, Issue 11
January 2002
Contributors: Esther Wattenberg, Mark Umbreit, Ji-In Yeo, Cristina Schneider, & Anne Preston
The child protection system is a minefield of disputes. These are inevitable when the state intervenes in the intimate life of a family. We are thus drawn to mediation, a method which is centered in conflict resolution. According to Dr. Mark Umbreit, engaging the parent in an alliance with the child protection worker, rather than as an adversarial party, is the key to good social work practice, and mediation skills provide guidance. This edition of Practice Notes borrows elements from formal mediation models and intends to demonstrate how mediation skills might be incorporated in everyday practice.
Practice Notes #10 - The Contribution of Ethnographic Interviewing to Culturally Competent Practice
Practice Notes, Issue 10
Winter 2001
Contributors: Esther Wattenberg & Annette Semanchin
Culturally competent practice is generally recognized as indispensable for child welfare practitioners, yet skills and techniques are somewhat elusive. Cultures have differing views and standards for acceptable parenting practices. The stakes are high in assessing risk of harm to vulnerable children. How can the practitioner interpret, assess, and then address the problems of families whose lives and experiences are so different from their own? Ethnography provides a framework for delivering culturally competent services. This issue of Practice Notes provides an introduction to ethnographic interviewing.
Practice Notes #9 - Siblings in Foster Care: Maintaining the Ties That Bind
Practice Notes, Issue 09
Fall 2000
Contributors: Esther Wattenberg & Annette Semanchin
A large number of children who must be placed in foster care are members of sibling groups—estimated between 56% and 85%. National studies disclose that up to 75% of children are separated from at least one of their siblings when placed in foster care, underlining the importance of the issue. While the lifelong value of sibling relationships is acknowledged, the practice field struggles with pragmatic placement issues. This edition of “Practice Notes” identifies Minnesota’s policy, provides some insights from existing studies and suggests recommendations.
Practice Notes #8 - Assuring the Well-Being School-Aged Children in Foster Care
Practice Notes, Issue 08
Winter 2000
Contributors: Esther Wattenberg, Phu Phan, & Eva Spranger
A growing body of research is demonstrating that a large portion of children in foster care suffers significant emotional and behavioral disturbances. Further, a high percentage of maltreated children experience difficulties associated with school-based problems. Given the clear indication that school-aged children may enter foster care with significant risks to their normative functioning in both psycho-social and educational experiences, how competently is the child welfare system responding to these risks?
Practice Notes #7 - Protecting Children in Substance-Abusing Families
Practice Notes, Issue 07
Fall 1999
Contributors: Esther Wattenberg, Phu Phan, & Eva Spranger
Parental substance abuse is widely acknowledged as the primary risk factor associated with child abuse and neglect. Children from families with substance abuse conditions are more likely to remain in out-of-home placements for longer periods of time and have less chance of being reunified with their parents or being adopted. While the substance abuse treatment and child welfare systems frequently work with the same families, each system operates with different goals, legal mandates, and desired outcomes. This issue of Practice Notes will explore these issues and provide guidelines for assessing a child’s safety and well-being when parental substance abuse is occurring in the home.
Practice Notes #6 - Protecting Children in Families Involved in Domestic Violence
Practice Notes, Issue 06
Spring 1999
Contributors: Esther Wattenberg, Phu Phan, & Eva Spranger
Child welfare agencies are seeing a growing number of cases of children witnessing adult domestic violence, or maltreated children whose mothers are also the victim of domestic assault. Yet the problems of child maltreatment and violence against women have traditionally been viewed and treated as two distinct issues. Working together on behalf of the safety of all victims of family violence requires communication, cross-training, and ongoing coordination and integration of services. This issue provides practical guidelines for child welfare professionals based on a national curriculum (Ganley & Schechter, 1996) and it provides resources for professionals interested in learning more about national efforts to successfully respond to all victims of family violence.
Practice Notes #5 - Practice Issues in Concurrent Planning
Practice Notes, Issue 05
Winter 1999
Contributors: Esther Wattenberg, Phu Phan, & Eva Spranger
Concurrent planning requires county social services to make reasonable efforts to reunify a child with the family, while simultaneously exploring alternative permanent options. Concurrent planning is a concept that provides a strong affirmation of the necessity to pay attention to the developmental needs of young children. Practitioners are required, with renewed emphasis and within strict timelines, to focus on the safety of the child as a paramount factor in assessing family capacity. This edition of Practice Notes is concerned with issues that deal with protecting the young child in the care of an emotionally disturbed parent.
Practice Notes #4 - Post-Adoption Services
Practice Notes, Issue 04
June 1998
Post-adoption services now loom as a paramount issue in permanency planning. While studies recommend that post-adoption services be integrated into the adoption process, this practice in not uniformly implemented. Minnesota’s Department of Human Services now requires that all non-profit private agencies that hold contracts for delivering adoption services provide post-adoption activities for 18 months after finalization of an adoption. Federal funds (Title IV-B) have earmarked 20% for post-adoption services. How these resources will be made available for the crucial phase of assuring a permanent placement for a child is currently under discussion.
Practice Notes #3 - Kinship Foster Care
Practice Notes, Issue 03
April 1998
Contributors: Esther Wattenberg, Sharon Haas, & Phu Phan
Extensive placement with relatives has created a rapidly expanding segment of the child welfare system. When permanency plans are required, the state has indicated that relative care is a preferred option (MN Chapter 259.29). The advantages for children are many, including stability, permanency, and a lifelong tie to family networks. For this issue, we will look at the topic of relative foster care, also known as kinship care.
Practice Notes #2 - Reunification
Practice Notes, Issue 02
February 1998
Contributors: Esther Wattenberg, Sharon Haas, & Phu Phan
The passage of the Adoption and Safe Families Act, (P.L. 105-89), considered the most important child welfare reform legislation in almost twenty years, shifts attention to children’s safety as the paramount concern that must guide all child welfare services. Nevertheless, the goals of family reunification and family preservation are maintained. Of the options for permanency, family reunification for a child in out-of-home care continues to be a crucial objective. It is imperative that child welfare professionals understand the key elements that maximize chances for successful reunification.
Practice Notes #1 - Visitation
Practice Notes, Issue 01
December 1997
Contributors: Esther Wattenberg, Sharon Haas, & Phu Phan
In our exploration of the literature, we found that there is little controversy in research regarding the value of parental visitation in determining a child’s return to the home. There exists an assumption of “reasonable efforts” for parental visitation in most case plans. However, variations occur in how the plan is developed and presented, and whether visitation is encouraged. What follows is a collection of journal article summaries, highlighting concerns and questions on visitation planning and practice. We have also spotlighted a local pilot project.
Practice Notes Special Prompts on Developmental Risk
Practice Notes
February 2010
Editors: Renee Anderson & Esther Wattenberg