Florida Institute for Child Welfare Updates

Evaluation of the Guardianship Assistance Program

To fulfill the objectives of § 39.6225 Fla. Stat. Guardianship Assistance Program (GAP) for an implementation evaluation, the Florida Institute for Child Welfare contracted with the University of Florida to complete the evaluation.

Several challenges to the implementation of the GAP were identified through focus groups and interviews with guardians and child welfare professionals responsible for implementing the new program.

• Challenge 1: Lack of statewide guidelines on the GAP referral processes contribute to confusion among staff, hinders staff collaboration, and results in permanency delays for children and sometimes the inability to close cases to permanent guardianship under the GAP. 
• Challenge 2: There is confusion among staff regarding waivers for Level 1 licensing. While some staff appreciated the flexibility of waivers, several staff noted inconsistent application of waivers, no guidance, and concerns about safety issues. 
• Challenge 3: Some staff had not heard of the GAP prior to completing the survey for this evaluation. In addition, some staff who had heard of the GAP reported having not been trained on the GAP. 
• Challenge 4: Staff are frequently obtaining and providing tangible resources to caregivers to meet the home study requirements for Level 1 licensing. The availability of resources is a challenge and can sometimes delay the licensing process which in turn, can delay permanency.

Several recommendations were made to address these challenges. The full report can be viewed here.

Evaluation of the Early Childhood Court 

Building upon a legislatively mandated evaluation of the Early Childhood Court (ECC) in fiscal year 2018-2019, the Zero to Three organization contracted with the Institute in December 2020 to conduct a second evaluation based on the Institute’s earlier recommendations.   

To address the evaluation priorities, the research team (Institute and USF) will conduct two distinct, but related evaluation initiatives:

1. a mixed-methods evaluation of the effectiveness of therapeutic modalities, and
2.  a qualitative exploration of the perspectives of ECC-involved caregivers and providers regarding the therapeutic services and benefits of Early Childhood Court.  

This project will conclude September 30, 2021 and the report will be available in October 2021. 

Prevent Child Abuse Florida Prevention Advisory Council

In January 2021, Chris Lolley, the Director of Prevent Child Abuse Florida invited the Institute to sit on the council as it’s university and research-informed partner.  Marianna Tutwiler, the Program Director of Administration will serve in this capacity. 

Impact of COVID-19 on Child Welfare Workforce 

The University of South Florida was awarded a small grant to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on workforce disruptions in Circuit 10.   This study will consist of a survey, case study, and archival study.  Dr. Riann Van Zyl, PI, and his team seeks to answer the following research questions: 

1. Which turnover factors did child welfare workers experience before and during COVID-19?
2. Were turnover factors experienced differently before and during COVID- 19?
3. Which, if any, demographic and case level characteristics impacted turnover rates before and during COVID-19?
4. Which strategies were implemented prior to increasing retention in an organization from 30% to nearly 70%? (Case Study)
5. Why is turnover decreasing? Is this due to reduced caseload due to fewer hotline calls? Are virtual calls more efficient? Are parents better able to attend virtual meetings/counseling than face-to-face?
6. Which tasks child welfare workers and supervisors routinely engage in are best performed by means of virtual communication, and what are the reasons?  
7. Which tasks child welfare supervisors and workers routinely engage in are best performed by means of direct face-to-face communication, and what are the reasons?  

The full report will be available in late fall 2021. 

Research Symposium: May 26-27, 2021

Save the date for the Institute’s 2021 virtual research symposium, focused on Supporting Foster Youth and Young Adults for Success. More information will be available on the website FICW.FSU.EDU.

New Institute Staff

In 2021, the Institute has expanded its research team to include three new team members.

Michaé Cain

Graduate Assistant

Michaé Cain is a doctoral student at the FSU College of Social Work. She joined the institute as a graduate assistant for the Zero to Three Early Childhood Court Evaluation. Her research interests include foster care, policy, interpersonal violence, and human trafficking.

Taylor Dowdy-Hazlett

Graduate Assistant

Taylor Dowdy-Hazlett is a doctoral candidate at the FSU College of Social Work. She joined the institute as a graduate assistant for Dr. Lisa Magruder, program director of science and research at the institute. Taylor will work on the Zero to Three project conducting qualitative and quantitative evaluations, recruitment, data collection, analysis, report writing, and presentation of findings to stakeholders. Her research interests include child welfare, child trauma and neurobiology.

Kasey Longley

Research Assistant

Kasey Longley will join the Institute as a research assistant on the Kinship Navigator evaluation project. She is a doctoral candidate in the FSU Human Development and Family Science program. Her research interests include studying health behaviors and exercise motivation among families and those with mental disorders such as anxiety and depression. She has also done work on families with children with special health care needs. She holds a Master of Science in Family and Child Sciences and a bachelor’s degree in psychology, both from Florida State University. Between programs, she worked as a paralegal in family law, personal injury, and insurance law. During that time she became a Florida Supreme Court Certified Family Mediator and a commissioned notary.

Colleen McBride

Research Assistant

Colleen McBride joined the institute as a research assistant. She joins the Institute with a research background in the area of higher education disparity. Colleen earned her master’s degree in sociology from George Washington University.

Kayla Towle

Policy Intern

Kayla Towle is a student in the dual degree program in social work and public administration (MSW/MPA) at FSU and will graduate in April 2020. She will receive accreditations from three certificate programs at FSU: Child Welfare, Leadership in Public Policy, and Emergency Management and Homeland Security. She is the institute’s first policy intern. Kayla’s research interest is in child maltreatment and policy. Prior to working with FICW, Kayla was the intake and diversion Manager at The Kearney Center in Tallahassee, where she worked closely with individuals experiencing homelessness. In response to COVID-19, Kayla was instrumental in the move-out and placement of almost 400 residents to a non-congregate shelter. During this time, Kayla also became responsible for creating and managing the center's new diversion program, which diverts individuals from entering an emergency shelter by helping them identify or navigate other available resources.