How Decisions To Change the Case Plan Goal Are Initiated

Project Title:	How Decisions To Change the Case Plan Goal Are Initiated
Grant/Contract Number:	90CW1095
Type of Project:	Research
Funding Agency:	Child Welfare Research and Demonstration Program
Agency Contact Person:	Geneva Ware-Rice (202) 205-8305
Principal Investigator:	James P. Gleason
Mailing Address:	University of Illinois at Chicago Jane Addams College of Social Work 1040 West Harrison Street (m/c 907) Chicago, IL 60607-7134
Total Project Duration:	10/1/95 to 9/30/98
FY 98 Total Costs:	$199,858
Total Project Budget:	$599,574
Child Maltreatment Focus:	Not specified
Type of Abuse:	Not specified
Sample Size:	Not specified
Age of Subjects:	Not specified
Child Abuse and Neglect Focus of This Project:	Nature/Scope Origins and Consequences Treatment and Preventive Interventions Policy
Summary

The Jane Addams College of Social Work, working with the National Resource Center for Permanency Planning at the Hunter College School of Social Work, City University of New York, the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, and the New York Child Welfare Administration, will conduct a 3-year study of Chicago and New York City children entering State custody as infants to identify the factors that support or delay changes in their case plan goals. Data will be collected from a random sample of 600 children placed in care during their first year of life, with about 100 children at each site who entered State custody during each of the 3 years of the study. The sample will include approximately equal numbers of kin and nonkin placements. These cases will be followed for 1 year, and caseworkers will complete data collection forms at 6 and 12 months to indicate if and how the case goal changed during that period, and what factors supported or delayed the change. Based on the findings of the interviews and follow-up data, key informants will be chosen for in-depth, open-ended interviews. The interview protocol will include such variables as caseworker and caseload characteristics; characteristics of the infants, their siblings, birth parents, and current caregivers; the permanency goal; and the persons involved in assessing and planning the case. The study will include development of several scales to facilitate multivariate analysis.