Service navigation and concrete supports from a family Perspective: A preventative and community-based approach to child welfare

The child welfare system in the United States has historically focused funding on intervening after child maltreatment has occurred, with fewer resources allocated to prevention. However, research has found that families benefit from concrete supports, like financial payments, and when families are provided with these supports, child welfare involvement significantly declines. Less is known about the impact of preventative approaches, such as service navigation, which could act as a bridge between families and essential concrete supports and resources. Additionally, it is vital to incorporate family voice into decisions being made regarding the development and evaluation of prevention programming. This qualitative study explores family experiences and outcomes with community-based service navigation. The sample included 12 family members working with a community navigator at the time of data collection. Data were obtained through focus groups and interviews held in English, Spanish, and Arabic. A thematic analysis guided the researchers in better understanding participants’ perspectives on service navigation. Results indicate that participants found preventative service navigation to be a supportive and collaborative experience through which they were connected with concrete supports and other essential resources. Five themes were identified: (1) normalizing the need for support; (2) time as a limited resource for families; (3) service navigation as empowering and humanizing for families; (4) service navigation poses new challenges for families; and (5) service navigation creates new opportunities for families. Results from this study suggest that service navigation may represent a more socially just intervention to ensure child safety, permanency, and well-being.