H. Monty Montgomery - Transforming Child Welfare

transforming child welfare

Interdisciplinary Practices,
Field Education, and Research

Voices from the Prairies

Previous publications in the Voices from the Prairies series:

Passion for Action in Child and Family Services (2009)

Awakening the Spirit: Moving Forward in Child Welfare (2012)

Reinvesting in Families: Strengthening Child Welfare Practice for a Brighter Future (2014)

transforming child welfare

Interdisciplinary Practices,
Field Education, and Research

Voices from the Prairies

edited by

H. Monty Montgomery, Dorothy Badry,
Don Fuchs, and Daniel Kikulwe

2016 University of Regina Press.

Transforming Child Welfare: Interdisciplinary Practices, Field Education, and Research may be downloaded free of charge from www. uofrpress.ca or may be reprinted or copied, in whole or in part, for educational, service, or research purposes without permission. For all other purposes, written permission to reprint or use is required. Requests for written permission should be sent to the publisher.

Production of Transforming Child Welfare: Interdisciplinary Practices, Field Education, and Research has been made possible through funding from the Alberta Centre for Child, Family & Community Research ( accfcr ), the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (Connections Grant Program), and the Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation (Research Connections Program). The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views of accfcr or those of the editors. Every reasonable effort has been made to secure necessary permissions, but errors or omissions should be brought to the attention of H. Monty Montgomery at H.Monty.Montgomery@uregina.ca.

Suggested Citation: Montgomery, H., Badry, D., Fuchs, D., & Kikulwe, D. (Eds.). (2016). Transforming Child Welfare: Interdisciplinary Practices, Field Education, and Research. Regina, sk : University of Regina Press.

Printed and bound in Canada by Friesens. The text of this book is printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper with earth-friendly vegetable-based inks.

Cover Design: Duncan Campbell, University of Regina Press

Text Design: John van der Woude, JVDW Designs

Copy editor: Kirsten Craven

Proofreader: Katie Doke Sawatzky

Index: Patricia Furdek

Cover Art: Silhouette of girl blowing dandelion by Ulkass / Dreamstime.com

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Transforming child welfare : interdisciplinary practices, field education, and research : voices from the Prairies / edited by H. Monty Montgomery, Dorothy Badry, Don Fuchs, and Daniel Kikulwe.

Includes bibliographical references and indexes. Issued in print and electronic formats. isbn 978-0-88977-451-3 (paperback). isbn 978-0-88977-452-0 (pdf). isbn 978-0-88977-453-7 (html)

1. Child welfareCanada. 2. ChildrenGovernment policyCanada. 3. ChildrenCanadaSocial conditions. 4. Family policyCanada. 5. Social work with childrenCanada. 6. Social work educationCanada. i . Badry, Dorothy Eleanor, 1958-, author, editor ii . Kikulwe, Daniel, author, editor iii . Fuchs, Don, 1948-, author, editor iv . Montgomery, H. Monty, 1962-, author, editor

hv 745. a6t 73 2016 362.70971
c 2016-904752-0 c 2016-904753-9

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

University of Regina Press, University of Regina

Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, S4S 0A2
tel : (306) 585-4758 fax : (306) 585-4699
web : www.uofrpress.ca

We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts for our publishing program. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada. / Nous reconnaissons lappui financier du gouvernement du Canada. This publication was made possible through Creative Saskatchewans Creative Industries Production Grant Program.

This book is dedicated to those who care for and work with children. We must go forward with care, community, and compassion in striving for what is best for children and families, keeping in mind human rights and justice. The time for transformation in child welfare is here.

Foreword Brad McKenzie

From the Editors

Acknowledgements

introduction H. Monty Montgomery

Part I. Policy

chapter 1 : Honouring the Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child: Transforming Child Welfare in Canada into a Stronger Child Rights-Based System Marvin M. Bernstein

chapter 2: Forms and Strategies for Integrated Working in Child Welfare Judy Gillespie

chapter 3: Saskatchewan First Nations: Researching Ourselves Back to Life H. Monty Montgomery, A. J. Felix, Patsy Felix, Margaret Kovach, and Shelley Thomas Prokop

Part II. Practice

chapter 4: Child Protection Inquiries: What Are They Teaching Us? A Canadian Perspective Peter Choate

chapter 5: Strengthening Childrens Capacity to Cope with Separation, Loss, and Uncertain Futures: Action Steps for Front-Line Child Welfare Practice Sharon McKay

chapter 6: Aligning Practice, Ethics, and Policy: Adopting a Harm Reduction Approach in Working with High-Risk Children and Youth Peter Smyth

Part III. Research

chapter 7: Prioritizing Children in Care with fasd : Why Prevalence Matters Don Fuchs and Linda Burnside

chapter 8: A Community-Based Research Approach to Developing an hiv Education and Training Module for Child and Family Service Workers in Ontario Saara Greene, Doe OBrien-Teengs, Gary Dumbrill, Allyson Ion, Kerrigan Beaver, Megan Porter, and Marisol Desbiens

chapter 9: Boundaries and Identity: Racialized Child Welfare Workers Perspectives of Their Histories and Experiences When Working with Diverse Families Daniel Kikulwe

chapter 10: Pathways: Community-Engaged Research with Youth Transitioning to Adult In(ter)dependence from Government Care Marie Lovrod, Darlene Domshy, and Stephanie Bustamante

chapter 11: Narrative Threads in the Accounts of Women with Learning Difficulties Who Have Been Criminalized Elly Park, David McConnell, Vera Caine, and Joanne Minaker

Part IV. Teaching

chapter 12: The Caregiver Curriculum on fasd : Transforming Practice through Knowledge and Education Dorothy Badry, Deborah Goodman, and Jamie Hickey

chapter 13: An Indispensable Tool in the Tool Kit: Distance Delivery in Social Work Education to Support Child Welfare Practice James Mulvale

Epilogue Dorothy Badry and Daniel Kikulwe

Abstracts

Contributors

Endnotes

Brad McKenzie

Wicked problems are problems that are difficult to solve because they have a high degree of complexity, and the circumstances surrounding them are somewhat unique. Each solution gives rise to a new problem; thus, problems must be resolved over and over again without the ability to apply a commonly recognized model or blueprint (Rittel & Webber, 1973). Child abuse and neglect are wicked problems, and in the last national study conducted in Canada in 2008, more than 235,000 allegations of child maltreatment were identified (Public Health Agency of Canada, 2010). The rate of children in care in Canada is among the highest in the developed world (Thoburn, 2007), and the disproportionate rate of Indigenous children in care, particularly in Western Canada (Sinha, Trocm, Blackstock, MacLaurin, & Fallon, 2011), is a national tragedy. The child welfare system is under intense public and media scrutiny, yet efforts to protect children and support families continue to be confronted by constraints in funding, poorly coordinated service responses, and challenges in training and retaining professionals. An even more important issue is the inadequate systemic response to the structural causes of child maltreatment, including poverty, poor housing, and racial injustice, which in the case of Indigenous children and families are related to the legacy of residential schools and other forms of colonialism. The plethora of special studies and inquiries have, at best, resulted in modest changes in service delivery or funding, and too often these are accompanied by new procedures and requirements for compliance that seem to impede rather than support best practices that both protect children and support families. Meanwhile, our search for a single best practice model in child and family welfare, like the search for the Holy Grail, continues in vain.