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Child Welfare-School Interactions

Lehnert, Megan Elaine

Abstract Details

2009, Master of Social Work, Ohio State University, Social Work.

Children who are victims of abuse and neglect attend schools nationwide. The child welfare system is charged with keeping children safe and protecting their overall well-being. While the system at large offers multiple services for children and families, including prevention, child protective services, family preservation services, foster care, and adoption, children in the child welfare system are known to struggle academically. Considering the ways in which the child welfare and school systems interact to address the needs of these children, as well as their families, is important. This study had two main research questions: (1) What are the ways in which child welfare workers interact with schools? Specifically, what are the different ways in which they interact with schools based on their child welfare role?, and (2) What are the factors that are related to the ways in which child welfare workers interact with schools? The child welfare worker factors that were studied include: caseload size, number of schools served, region of practice, educational area of study, level of burnout, and years or practice.

This study utilized a survey research design to collect data from a sample of 233 child welfare workers. Data analyses were conducted first using descriptive technique to learn more about child welfare-school interactions and the different ways workers interact with schools based on their child welfare role. One-way Analyses of Variance and independent samples t-test were also used to compare differences between groups across the Interactions with Schools Inventory. Overall, results found that interactions with schools were related to child welfare worker characteristics, specifically around caseload size, number of schools served, region of practice, and years of practice. There are implications around policy, administration, education and training for those working with child welfare and schools.

Dawn Anderson-Butcher, PhD (Advisor)
Scottye Cash, PhD (Committee Member)
169 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Lehnert, M. E. (2009). Child Welfare-School Interactions [Master's thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1249315218

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Lehnert, Megan. Child Welfare-School Interactions. 2009. Ohio State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1249315218.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Lehnert, Megan. "Child Welfare-School Interactions." Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 2009. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1249315218

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)