IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/cysrev/v148y2023ics0190740923000713.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Facilitators and barriers to reunification among housing unstable families

Author

Listed:
  • Bai, Rong
  • Collins, Cyleste
  • Fischer, Robert
  • Crampton, David

Abstract

Housing unstable families with child welfare system involvement face multiple challenges to successfully reunifying with their families. This explanatory qualitative study followed up on findings from a county-sponsored Pay for Success (PFS) RCT. The study focused on understanding the facilitators and barriers to reunification, bringing together the perspectives of a random sample of 16 housing-unstable caregivers whose children were in foster care, their PFS program workers, and their child welfare caseworkers. We conducted in-depth, in-person interviews with 52 participants. Major facilitators of reunification included strong client motivation, PFS program workers empowering and advocating for clients, the program’s ability to meet clients’ basic needs, and PFS program worker/child welfare worker collaboration. The barriers participants identified included the clients’ complex and continuing challenges and crises, limited and/or toxic social support systems, and systemic issues within the court and child welfare systems, including evaluations of worthiness and a failure to collaborate. We explore findings regarding their contribution to the literature on housing unstable families involved with child welfare and implications for practice, policy, and research.

Suggested Citation

  • Bai, Rong & Collins, Cyleste & Fischer, Robert & Crampton, David, 2023. "Facilitators and barriers to reunification among housing unstable families," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:148:y:2023:i:c:s0190740923000713
    DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2023.106876
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740923000713
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.childyouth.2023.106876?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Brook, Jody & McDonald, Thomas P. & Yan, Yueqi, 2012. "An analysis of the impact of the Strengthening Families Program on family reunification in child welfare," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 691-695.
    2. Chambers, Ruth M. & Crutchfield, Rashida M. & Goddu Harper, Stephanie G. & Fatemi, Maryam & Rodriguez, Angel Y., 2018. "Family reunification in child welfare practice: A pilot study of parent and staff experiences," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 221-231.
    3. Ogbonnaya, Ijeoma Nwabuzor & Keeney, Annie J., 2018. "A systematic review of the effectiveness of interagency and cross-system collaborations in the United States to improve child welfare outcomes," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 225-245.
    4. Huscroft-D'Angelo, Jacqueline & Trout, Alexandra L. & Henningsen, Christine & Synhorst, Lori & Lambert, Matthew & Patwardhan, Irina & Tyler, Patrick, 2019. "Legal professional perspectives on barriers and supports for school-aged students and families during reunification from foster care," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    5. Tram T. B. Nguyen & Dong Li, 2022. "What does It Take to Achieve Safer Global Food Supply Chains?," Springer Books, in: Towards Safer Global Food Supply Chains, chapter 0, pages 103-115, Springer.
    6. Collins, Cyleste C. & Bai, Rong & Fischer, Robert & Crampton, David & Lalich, Nina & Liu, Chun & Chan, Tsui, 2020. "Housing instability and child welfare: Examining the delivery of innovative services in the context of a randomized controlled trial," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    7. Bai, Rong & Collins, Cyleste & Fischer, Robert & Crampton, David, 2019. "Pursuing collaboration to improve services for child welfare-involved housing unstable families," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 1-1.
    8. Jedwab, Merav & Chatterjee, Anusha & Shaw, Terry V., 2018. "Caseworkers' insights and experiences with successful reunification," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 56-63.
    9. Chambers, Ruth M. & Brocato, Jo & Fatemi, Maryam & Rodriguez, Angel Y., 2016. "An innovative child welfare pilot initiative: Results and outcomes," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 143-151.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Bai, Rong & Collins, Cyleste & Fischer, Robert & Crampton, David, 2020. "Family critical time intervention with housing unstable, child welfare-involved families: Service providers’ and families’ experiences with the phases," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    2. Dolbin-MacNab, Megan L. & Smith, Gregory C. & Hayslip, Bert, 2022. "The role of social services in reunified custodial grandfamilies," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    3. Jedwab, Merav & Chatterjee, Anusha & Shaw, Terry V., 2018. "Caseworkers' insights and experiences with successful reunification," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 56-63.
    4. Balsells Bailón, M. Àngels & Urrea-Monclús, Aida & Vaquero Tió, Eduard & Fernández-Rodrigo, Laura, 2022. "The voices of children, mothers, and fathers: Can parenting programs improve reunification processes in the Spanish child protection system?," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    5. Vanderfaeillie, Johan & Borms, Dorien & Teunissen, M.S.L. & Gypen, Laura & Van Holen, Frank, 2023. "Reasons used by Flemish foster care workers in family reunification decision making," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    6. Perez Jolles, Monica & McBeath, Bowen & Collins-Camargo, Crystal & Chuang, Emmeline, 2022. "Organizational complexity within private child welfare agencies in the United States and impact on agency performance outlook," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    7. Sorek, Yoa & Szabo-Lael, Rachel & Almog-Zaken, Aya, 2024. "“Welfare used to mean darkness – Now it’s beaming with light”: Professionals and parents’ perceptions of a family preservation program in Israel," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    8. Balsells, Maria Àngels & Pastor, Crescencia & Mateos, Ainoa & Vaquero, Eduard & Urrea, Aida, 2015. "Exploring the needs of parents for achieving reunification: The views of foster children, birth family and social workers in Spain," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 159-166.
    9. Chartier, Stéphanie & Blavier, Adélaïde, 2021. "Should the reintegration of children in foster care into their biological families be the only goal of the legislation governing foster care? Factors influencing the relations between parents and thei," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    10. Hamel, Sylvie & Lacharité, Carl & Lepage, Andrée-Anne & Pellerin, Maud & Gélinas, Annie & Montambeault, Jean & Chicoine, Chantal, 2022. "Evaluating facilitators’ challenges administering a program building on existing strengths in families facing difficulties," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    11. Collins, Cyleste C. & Bai, Rong & Fischer, Robert & Crampton, David & Lalich, Nina & Liu, Chun & Chan, Tsui, 2020. "Housing instability and child welfare: Examining the delivery of innovative services in the context of a randomized controlled trial," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    12. Chambers, Ruth M. & Crutchfield, Rashida M. & Goddu Harper, Stephanie G. & Fatemi, Maryam & Rodriguez, Angel Y., 2018. "Family reunification in child welfare practice: A pilot study of parent and staff experiences," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 221-231.
    13. Alison L. Weightman & Mark J. Kelson & Ian Thomas & Mala K. Mann & Lydia Searchfield & Simone Willis & Ben Hannigan & Robin J. Smith & Rhiannon Cordiner, 2023. "Exploring the effect of case management in homelessness per components: A systematic review of effectiveness and implementation, with meta‐analysis and thematic synthesis," Campbell Systematic Reviews, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 19(2), June.
    14. Dare, Julie & Wilkinson, Celia & Karthigesu, Shantha P. & Coall, David A. & Marquis, Ruth, 2023. "Keeping the family: A socio-ecological perspective on the challenges of child removal and reunification for mothers who have experienced substance-related harms," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    15. Elizabeth Eggins & David B. Wilson & Joseph Betts & Sara Roetman & Ned Chandler‐Mather & Bronwyn Theroux & Sharon Dawe, 2024. "Psychosocial, pharmacological, and legal interventions for improving the psychosocial outcomes of children with substance misusing parents: A systematic review," Campbell Systematic Reviews, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 20(3), September.
    16. Lecompte, Vanessa & Pascuzzo, Katherine & Hélie, Sonia, 2023. "A look inside family reunification for children with attachment difficulties: An exploratory study," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    17. Sara Pérez-Hernando & Nuria Fuentes-Peláez, 2020. "The Potential of Networks for Families in the Child Protection System: A Systematic Review," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 9(5), pages 1-16, May.
    18. Bai, Rong & Collins, Cyleste & Fischer, Robert & Crampton, David, 2019. "Pursuing collaboration to improve services for child welfare-involved housing unstable families," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 1-1.
    19. Van Holen, Frank & Belenger, Laurence & Carlier, Elke & Potoms, Babette & Vanderfaeillie, Johan, 2018. "Short-term family foster care in Flanders: An exploratory study into the factors associated with family reunification decisions," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 699-708.
    20. Aliza Moledina & Olivia Magwood & Eric Agbata & Jui‐Hsia Hung & Ammar Saad & Kednapa Thavorn & Ginetta Salvalaggio & Gary Bloch & David Ponka & Tim Aubry & Claire Kendall & Kevin Pottie, 2021. "A comprehensive review of prioritised interventions to improve the health and wellbeing of persons with lived experience of homelessness," Campbell Systematic Reviews, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 17(2), June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:148:y:2023:i:c:s0190740923000713. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/childyouth .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.