Casey Family Programs in the USA recently published an important report called, “Strategies to Increase Birth Parent Engagement, Partnership, and Leadership in the Child Welfare System: A Review.”
Birth parent engagement in child welfare programs is associated with reducing the recurrence of maltreatment, as well as contributing to the reunification of families and improving emotional adjustment in children. Engaging birth parents early and often is especially critical considering the negative outcomes for children experiencing maltreatment. This report explores the barriers and proactive strategies to engaging birth parents in child welfare services, as well as benefits stemming from developing connections between birth and foster parents, utilizing birth parents as agency partners that mentor and train other birth parents, and drawing upon birth parent experience in an advisory capacity at the organizational level.
Usage of the Signs of Safety approach in the USA is reviewed and the approach is cited in the report as a promising program for increasing engagement.
The report can be found at the following here.