A Strengths-based Approach to Supervised Visitation in Child Welfare

Gabriel Tobin Smith · Valerie B. Shapiro · Rachel Sperry · Paul A. LeBuffe

25 citations0/0 files storedChild Care in Practice

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Child Welfare and Adoption Social Work Education and Practice Legal and Social Justice Studies

Abstract

This article describes a strengths-based approach to supervised visitation within the child welfare system of the United States. Supervised visitation gives parents accused of abuse or neglect the opportunity to spend time with children temporarily removed from their care. Although supervised visitation has the potential to be a tool for promoting successful reunification by maintaining or growing caregiver relationships with children, and pursuing and monitoring caregiver skill acquisition, the risk-management objective that underlies child protection services creates a challenging context for strengths-based approaches. There is a need to articulate a practice model that navigates the tension between the dual aims of child welfare services: risk management and fostering change that leads to a successful reunification. The model for supervised visitation described in this article embraces resilience theory, grounded in strengths-based strategies to build protective factors. This article first describes the collaborative construction of the Joan Sherman Program for Resilient Children through the integration of insights from diverse stakeholders, research evidence, and strengths-based practice principles. Six aspects of the model are described in depth: enhancing the visitation environment, strengths-based assessment, resilience meetings between workers and caregivers, stable visitation routines, activities to promote resilience, and progress check-ups. The article also describes the training programme developed to build workforce capacity and support model implementation. The article concludes by reflecting upon the successes of, and challenges to, the implementation of a strengths-based approach to supervised visitation in the child welfare system and proposes that the model be subjected to a comprehensive programme evaluation.

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References

2008Burden and consequences of child maltreatment in high-income countries 2004Mental Health Need and Access to Mental Health Services by Youths Involved With Child Welfare: A National Survey 2012The economic burden of child maltreatment in the United States and implications for prevention 1999Childhood Maltreatment Increases Risk for Personality Disorders During Early Adulthood 2012Childhood maltreatment is associated with reduced volume in the hippocampal subfields CA3, dentate gyrus, and subiculum 2000The Child Welfare Challenge: Policy, Practice, And Research 2002DEVELOPMENTAL ISSUES IN THE IMPACT OF CHILD MALTREATMENT ON LATER DELINQUENCY AND DRUG USE*2010The Role of Childhood Neglect and Childhood Poverty in Predicting Mental Health, Academic Achievement and Crime in Adulthood

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2017The Devereux Student Strengths Assessment (DESSA) comprehensive system: Screening, assessing, planning, and monitoring 2015Literature review on supervised contact between children in out-of-home care and their parents 2020Cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT) to support parental contact for children in out-of-home care 2015KContact, an enhanced intervention for contact between children in out-of-home care and their parents: protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial

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