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The role of child welfare managers in promoting agency performance through experimentation

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  • McBeath, Bowen
  • Briggs, Harold E.
  • Aisenberg, Eugene

Abstract

Child welfare agencies and managers are devoting increasing effort to the improvement of organizational performance and accountability. While there has been a rise in evidence-supported interventions in child welfare, the diffusion and applicability of many of these evidence-based programs to child welfare client populations remains limited. This paper introduces three models of managerial experimentation, each of which seeks to improve organizational performance through trial-and-error experimentation and continuous evaluation of staff activities and program outcomes. This article highlights the managerial tensions between the evidence-supported intervention approach and these different models of experimentation. Attention is paid to the role of the child welfare manager in trial-and-error program improvement processes and to the conditions under which managers are allowed to adapt, combine, and discontinue programs in response to changing agency conditions and client information. The implications of managerial experimentation and the rising focus on child welfare agency organizational performance for the development of child welfare programming that is both evidence-based and culturally-responsive are also discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • McBeath, Bowen & Briggs, Harold E. & Aisenberg, Eugene, 2009. "The role of child welfare managers in promoting agency performance through experimentation," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 112-118, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:31:y:2009:i:1:p:112-118
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    1. Gomez, Rebecca J. & Travis, Dnika J. & Ayers-Lopez, Susan & Schwab, A. James, 2010. "In search of innovation: A national qualitative analysis of child welfare recruitment and retention efforts," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(5), pages 664-671, May.
    2. Almeida Prado Cestari, José Marcelo & Pinheiro de Lima, Edson & Deschamps, Fernando & Morton Van Aken, Eileen & Treinta, Fernanda & Moura, Louisi Francis, 2018. "A case study extension methodology for performance measurement diagnosis in nonprofit organizations," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 203(C), pages 225-238.
    3. Garcia, Antonio & Aisenberg, Eugene & Harachi, Tracy, 2012. "Pathways to service inequalities among Latinos in the child welfare system," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 34(5), pages 1060-1071.
    4. Preston, Mark S., 2013. "Advancing case manager motivation in child welfare: Job control's curvilinear relationship and instrumental feedback's moderating influence," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 35(12), pages 2003-2012.
    5. Rauktis, Mary E. & McCarthy, Sharon & Krackhardt, David & Cahalane, Helen, 2010. "Innovation in child welfare: The adoption and implementation of Family Group Decision Making in Pennsylvania," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(5), pages 732-739, May.
    6. Karatekin, Canan & Gehrman, Richard & Lawler, Jamie, 2014. "A study of maltreated children and their families in juvenile court: I. Court performance measures," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 62-74.
    7. Strand, Virginia C. & Spath, Robin & Bosco-Ruggiero, Stephanie, 2010. "So you have a stable child welfare workforce -- What's next?," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 338-345, March.
    8. Frey, Lauren & LeBeau, Mary & Kindler, Diane & Behan, Christopher & Morales, Isabel M. & Freundlich, Madelyn, 2012. "The pivotal role of child welfare supervisors in implementing an agency's practice model," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 34(7), pages 1273-1282.
    9. Wells, Susan J. & Merritt, Lani M. & Briggs, Harold E., 2009. "Bias, racism and evidence-based practice: The case for more focused development of the child welfare evidence base," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(11), pages 1160-1171, November.
    10. Collins-Camargo, Crystal & Chuang, Emmeline & McBeath, Bowen & Bunger, Alicia C., 2014. "Private child welfare agency managers' perceptions of the effectiveness of different performance management strategies," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 133-141.
    11. Colvin, Marianna L., 2017. "Mapping the inter-organizational landscape of child maltreatment prevention and service delivery: A network analysis," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 352-359.
    12. Kum, Hye-Chung & Joy Stewart, C. & Rose, Roderick A. & Duncan, Dean F., 2015. "Using big data for evidence based governance in child welfare," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 127-136.

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