This award was provided as part of NSF's Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences Postdoctoral Research Fellowships (SPRF) program and supported by SBE's Law and Social Sciences program. The goal of the SPRF program is to prepare promising, early career doctoral-level scientists for scientific careers in academia, industry or private sector, and government. SPRF awards involve two years of training under the sponsorship of established scientists and encourage Postdoctoral Fellows to perform independent research. NSF seeks to promote the participation of scientists from all segments of the scientific community, including those from underrepresented groups, in its research programs and activities; the postdoctoral period is considered to be an important level of professional development in attaining this goal. Each Postdoctoral Fellow must address important scientific questions that advance their respective disciplinary fields. Under the sponsorship of Dr. Judy Gerber at Vanderbilt University, this postdoctoral fellowship award supports an early career scientist investigating the role of parent strengths in predicting family reunification in juvenile dependency (i.e., child protection) cases. The burden on the U.S. child welfare and juvenile dependency system is heavy. There are 4 million reports of child maltreatment annually; the government spends billions of dollars on improving the system every year; and community providers spend countless hours delivering intensive services to families. Yet, even after these efforts are successful in reunifying children and parents, families continue to experience problems, with approximately 30% of children re-entering foster care within three years. These statistics highlight the critical need for research to determine what predicts successful, safe, and long-lasting family reunification.
The purpose of the study is to identify strengths (e.g., commitment, insight, social support) in a sample of parents who have recently become involved in the juvenile dependency system. The study also will examine the extent to which these strengths change over the course of parents' cases, why they change, and how they relate to parents,compliance, behaviors, and permanency outcomes (i.e., reunification and re-entry rates). Parents who have recently had children sheltered in the juvenile dependency system will be interviewed to identify these strengths. A 6-month follow-up assessment will examine changes in strengths, and will include a qualitative component to examine why families experienced changes in the strengths,notably, a component not included in current strengths-based models. Case file reviews conducted within 12 months of case opening, will determine parents' compliance with services, professionals perceptions of parents, behavior change, and reunification rates. Administrative data reviews, conducted 6 months later, will determine re-entry rates. Findings have the potential to illuminate our understanding of the mechanisms associated with family reunification. Additionally, findings will help to inform the policy contexts that shape family planning and engagement to ultimately improve the lives of children and parents, and keep families together.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
