Implications of a parent orientation in the child welfare system: training : a case study

The child welfare system is a convoluted entity that is disproportionately comprised of families with co-occurring disparities; who are often deprived of pertinent information on the child welfare and Juvenile Court process. This paper examines social workers’ perception of a need to increase parents’ knowledge, develop an orientation, and binder to present the information, as well as evaluate the efficiency of this pilot project. The findings of the needs assessment was conducted with 33 Butte County, California social workers that was utilized to plan develop, and implement a Parent Orientation and Parent Binder for parents involved in the child welfare system. Social workers referred parents who were in the reunification process, of which seven participated. The parents’ knowledge of the child welfare and Juvenile Court system was evaluated through a quantitative survey pre and post the orientation, as well as the referring social worker who evaluated the parents’ knowledge prior and post attendance. The results for the parent and social worker surveys indicated a significant increase of parents’ knowledge. Increased attention to educating parents involved with the child welfare system has the potential to encourage parents’ engagement level and increase the probability of successful reunification with their child.