This article presents an evaluation study of a case management method for child protection services, the Delta Method for Family Supervision, in terms of supervision order duration and occurrence and duration of out-of-home placements. Additionally, case and case manager characteristics were examined. Data was collected about 224 cases, 58 case managers and 30 team managers of all 15 offices of the Child and Youth Protection Services in the Netherlands. In all cases the Delta Method was applied. Data were obtained by interviews, questionnaires and case files. Multi-level analysis was performed to study the influence of independent variables on supervision order duration, and the occurrence and duration of out-of-home placements. Case characteristics related to 87% of the differences in the duration of supervision order, case manager characteristics to 13% of the differences. Some case manager characteristics about applying the Delta Method were significantly related to shorter duration of the supervision order and the occurrence and duration of out-of-home placement. Case characteristics also showed strong relations. Together with the more general aspects of case management supported by this study, such as a one family and one worker approach, this contributes to a more effective practice of case management for child protection services.
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Few evidence-based methods for case management in child protection and child welfare are available. That is why Youth Protection Amsterdam Area developed a new method, by integrating their best practices: Intensive Family Case Management (IFCM). Because IFCM was developed in practice, clarity about its core elements and behavior acts was lacking. The purpose of this study was to establish a valid operationalization of IFCM used for implementation purposes such as training, clinical supervision and monitoring. A 74-item draft was developed to describe the behavioral acts of IFCM, based on a literature study and analysis of internal documents and training. To ensure content validity, a Delphi study was conducted. Over two rounds, professionals (1) rated the behavioral acts needed in the application of IFCM on a five-point Likert scale and (2) provided their preferred terminology. Items with consensus ratings of 80 % or more were included in the final description. Selected IFCM experts rated the behavior acts over two rounds. The initial list with 74 behavior acts was reduced to 55 acts with a consensus of 80 % or more. Certain behavior acts were combined, others did not lead to consensus. Based on experts’ feedback, the initial terminology of 46 behavior acts was modified. The final 55 acts were categorized in ten core elements. This study explicates the core elements of IFCM and describes the 55 necessary behavior acts in preferred and recognizable terminology. The study describes implications of these findings for the practice and gives recommendations for future research.
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In 2010, the Dutch Probation Service introduced a digital decision support system for case management plans, a so called fourth generation risk/needs assessment instrument. Does this system help probation officers in determining the appropriate interventions that should prevent recidivism for each individual client? And to what extent are the case management plans based on existing theories on desistance from crime? These are the central questions in the thesis of Jacqueline Bosker of the University of Applied Sciences Utrecht: ‘Linking Theory and Practice in Probation – Structured decision support for case management plans’. “Further development is still needed, but we can conclude that the use of digital decision support helps improve the quality of case management plans.” Bosker concluded in her research that this form of decision support enhances the quality of the case management plans. “In the most practical sense, it helps a probation officer not to overlook certain measures that might be applicable for the client considering the risks and needs. The plans also correspond better to the offenders’ goals and focus more on strengthening social bonds. Over the years, desistance from crime has been studied and researched. This knowledge should be used in practice. A decision support system helps linking theory and practice.”
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