Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-vdxz6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T09:16:34.117Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Agency Workers’ Perceptions of Cross-System Collaboration to Support Students in Out-of-Home Care

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 January 2018

Amy Gill  and
Grace Oakley
Amy Gill*
Affiliation:
Graduate School of Education, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia
Grace Oakley
Affiliation:
Graduate School of Education, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia
*
address for correspondence: Amy Gill, Graduate School of Education, The University of Western Australia, M428, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia. E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Children and young people in out-of-home care (OOHC) experience a wide range of educational issues at rates disproportionate to their peers. Collaboration between child protection and education systems is critical to addressing unique educational needs within this cohort. This article presents a qualitative case study investigating child protection workers’ perceptions of their work with primary and high school educators in Western Australia. Methods included policy analysis and in-depth interviews with a purposeful sample of 11 Case Workers and Education Officers employed by The Department for Child Protection and Family Support in metropolitan, regional and remote locations in Western Australia. Overall, participants reported that a jointly established Memorandum of Understanding had helped strengthen mutual accountability for education planning to support students in OOHC. However, difficulties obtaining Documented Education Plans and limited access to supplementary educational supports within both systems were considerable sources of tension. An adaptation of Whittington's (2003) Two-Stage Model of Collaboration illustrates the hierarchical nature of the influences on cross-system collaboration in the present study. While the size of the study limited its scope to one stakeholder group, the study offers frontline insights that may inform the development of future education and child protection agency initiatives.

Keywords

out-of-home careeducationchild protection workerscross-system collaborationsocial policy
Type
Article
Information
Children Australia , Volume 43 , Issue 1 , March 2018 , pp. 47 - 56
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alexander, E. R. (1993). Interorganizational coordination: Theory and practice. Journal of Planning Literature, 7 (4), 328–343. doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/088541229300700403.Google Scholar
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2017). Child protection Australia 2015–2016. Child welfare series no. 66. Cat. no. CWS 60. Canberra: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Retrieved from http://www.aihw.gov.au/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=60129558819.Google Scholar
Baxter, J., Hayes, A., & Gray, M. (2011). Families in regional, rural and remote Australia. Canberra: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Retrieved from https://aifs.gov.au/publications/families-regional-rural-and-remote-australia.Google Scholar
Berridge, D. (2012). Reflections on child welfare research and the policy process: Virtual school heads and the education of looked after children. British Journal of Social Work, 42 (1), 26–41. doi: 10.1093/bjsw/bcr038.Google Scholar
Cashmore, J., Paxman, M., & Townsend, M. (2007). The educational outcomes of young people 4–5 years after leaving care: An Australian perspective. Adoption & Fostering, 31 (1), 50–59. doi: 10.1177/030857590703100109.Google Scholar
Chen, Z. Y., & Kaplan, H. B. (2003). School failure in early adolescence and status attainment in middle adulthood: A longitudinal study. Sociology of Education, 76, 11–127. doi: 10.2307/3090272.Google Scholar
Commonwealth of Australia. (2011). An outline of national standards for out-of-home care: A priority project under the national framework for protecting Australia's Children 2009–2020. Canberra: Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs. Retrieved from http://www.dss.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/pac_national_standard.pdf.Google Scholar
Crawford, K. (2012). Interprofessional collaboration in social work. Thousand Oaks: SAGE.Google Scholar
Creed, P., Tilbury, C., Buys, N., & Crawford, M. (2011). The career aspirations and action behaviours of Australian adolescents in out-of-home care. Children and Youth Services Review, 33 (9), 1720–1729. doi: 10.1016/j.childyouth. 2011.04.033.Google Scholar
Day, A. G., Somers, C., Smith Darden, J., & Yoon, J. (2015). Using cross-system communication to promote educational well-being of foster children: Recommendations for a national research, practice, and policy agenda. Children & Schools, 37 (1), 54–62. doi: 10.1093/cs/cdu027.Google Scholar
Department for Child Protection and Family Support, Western Australia. (2017). Our roles. Retrieved from https://childprotectioncareers.wa.gov.au/our-roles/child-protection-worker.Google Scholar
Department for Child Protection and Family Support, Western Australia. (2016). Annual report 2015–2016. East Perth: CPFS. Retrieved from https://www.dcp.wa.gov.au/Resources/Documents/Annual%20reports/CPFS%20Annual%20Report%202015-16.pdf.Google Scholar
Department for Child Protection and Family Support, Western Australia. (2013). Memorandum of understanding between the department for child protection and family support and the department of education. Western Australia. Retrieved from http://www.dcp.wa.gov.au/Resources/Documents/Documented%20Education%20Planning/MOU%20and%20SCHEDULE%20BETWEEN%20CPFS%20and%20DOE%202013.pdf.Google Scholar
Department for Child Protection, Western Australia. (2009). Memorandum of understanding between the department of education and training and the department for child protection. WA.Google Scholar
Department of Education and Training, Western Australia. (2005). Schools plus resourcing informed practice handbook 2006 (updated 2010). In Western Australian Department of Education and Training. East Perth: DETWA.Google Scholar
Department of Education and Training, Western Australia. (n.d.). Documented plans supporting education for all: Guidelines for implementing documented plans in public schools. Retrieved from https://www.dcp.wa.gov.au/Resources/Documents/Documented%20Education%20Planning/GuidelinesForImplementingDocumentedPlans.pdf.Google Scholar
Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. (2011). Review of funding for schooling-final report (Gonski Report). Canberra: DEEWR.Google Scholar
Eisenburg, E. M. (1995). A communication perspective on interorganizational cooperation and inner-city education. In Rigsby, L., Reynolds, M., & Wang, M. (Eds.), School-community connections exploring issues for research and practice (pp. 101–119). San Francisco: Jossey Bass Publishers.Google Scholar
Ferguson, H. B., & Wolkow, K. (2012). Educating children and youth in care: A review of barriers to school progress and strategies for change. Children and Youth Services Review, 34 (6), 1143–1149. doi: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2012.01.034.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fernandez, E. (2008). Unravelling emotional, behavioural and educational outcomes in a longitudinal study of children in foster-care. British Journal of Social Work, 38, 1283–1301. doi: 10.1093/bjsw/bcm028.Google Scholar
Garstka, T. A., Lieberman, A., Biggs, J., Thompson, B., & Levy, M. A. (2014). Barriers to cross-systems collaboration in child welfare, education, and the courts: Supporting educational wellbeing of youth in care through systems change. Journal of Public Child Welfare, 8 (2), 190–211. doi: 10.1080/15548732.2014.888697.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Government of Western Australia. (2014). Student-centred funding model and one line budgets: A new way of resourcing and working. Perth: WAGov. Retrieved from https://www.education.wa.edu.au/documents/1212285/0/Student-centred+funding+model+brochure+-+July+2014/6604add2-c3b2-455e-aa72-9737cfbb0e0f.Google Scholar
Gustavsson, N. O., & MacEachron, A. E. (2011). No foster child left behind: Child welfare policy perspectives on education. Families in Society, 92 (3), 276–281. doi: 10.1606/1044-3894.4129.Google Scholar
Holosko, M. J. (2010). An overview of qualitative research methods (S. Edition, Trans.). In Thyer, B. (Ed.), The handbook of social work research methods (pp. 340–354). USA: SAGE Publications.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jervis-Tracey, P., Chenoweth, L., McAuliffe, D., O'Connor, B., & Stehlik, D. (2012). Managing tensions in statutory professional practice: Living and working in rural and remote communities. Australian and International Journal of Rural Education, 22 (2), 97–11.Google Scholar
Knight, B. A., Knight, C., & Teghe, D. (2007). Students at risk: Interagency collaboration in Queensland. Youth Studies Australia, 26 (2), 50–57.Google Scholar
Lee, S. Y., Benson, S. M., Klein, S. M., & Franke, T. M. (2015). Accessing quality early care and education for children in child welfare: Stakeholders' perspectives on barriers and opportunities for interagency collaboration. Children and Youth Services Review, 55, 170–181. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2015.06.0030190-7409/.Google Scholar
McLean, S. (2012). Barriers to collaboration on behalf of children with challenging behaviours: A large qualitative study of five constituent groups. Child & Family Social Work, 17, 478–486. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2206.2011.00805.x.Google Scholar
McSweeney, R. (2011). Rapid response prioritising services for children and young people in care. Retrieved from http://www.dcp.wa.gov.au/Resources/Documents/Documented%20Education%20Planning/RapidResponse2011.pdf.Google Scholar
Miles, M. B., Huberman, A. M., & Saldana, J. (2014). Qualitative data analysis: A methods sourcebook (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications.Google Scholar
Montserrat, C., & Casas, F. (2017). The education of children and adolescents in out-of-home care: A problem or an opportunity? Results of a longitudinal study. European Journal of Social Work, 1–14. doi: 10.1080/13691457.2017. 1318832.Google Scholar
Noonan, K., Matone, M., Zlotnik, S., Hernandez-Mekonnen, R., Watts, C., Rubin, D., & Mollen, C. (2012). Cross-system barriers to educational success for children in foster care: The front line perspective. Children and Youth Services Review, 34 (2), 403. doi: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2011.11.006.Google Scholar
Ombudsman, Western Australia. (2011). Planning for children in care: An Ombudsman's own motion investigation into the administration of the care planning provisions of the Children and Community Services Act 2004. Retrieved from http://www.ombudsman.wa.gov.au/Publications/Documents/reports/OWA_Care_Planning_Report_Nov11.pdf.Google Scholar
Payne, M. (2002). The politics of systems theory within social work. Journal of Social Work, 2 (3), 269–292. doi: 10.1177/146801730200200302.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robbins, S. P., & Barnwell, N. (2002). The systems perspective. In Robbins, S. & Barnwell, N. (Eds.), Organisation theory concepts and cases (4th ed., pp. 9–15). New South Wales: Pearson Education Australia.Google Scholar
Scherr, T. (2007). Educational experiences of children in foster care: Meta-analyses of special education, retention and discipline rates. School Psychology International, 28 (4), 419–436. doi: 10.1177/0143034307084133.Google Scholar
Shea, N., Zetlin, A., & Weinberg, L. (2010). Improving school stability: An exploratory study of the work of the AB 490 liaisons in California. Children and Youth Services Review, 32, 74–79. doi: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2009.07.013.Google Scholar
Sloper, P. (2004). Facilitators and barriers for co-ordinated multi-agency services. Child: Care, Health & Development, 30 (6), 571–580. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2214.2004.00468.x.Google Scholar
Stone, S., D'Andrade, A., & Austin, M. (2007). Educational services for children in foster care: Common and contrasting perspectives of child welfare and education stakeholders. Journal of Public Child Welfare, 1 (2), 53–70. doi: https://doi.org/10.1300/J479v01n02_04.Google Scholar
Tilbury, C. (2009). The over-representation of indigenous children in the Australian child welfare system. International Journal of Social Welfare, 18, 57–64.Google Scholar
Tilbury, C. (2010). Educational status of children and young people in care. Children Australia, 35 (4), 7–13. doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1035077200001231.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Trout, A., Hagaman, J., Casey, K., Reid, R., & Epstein, M. (2008). The academic status of children and youth in out-of-home care: A review of the literature. Children and Youth Services Review, 30 (9), 979–994. doi: 10.1016/j. childyouth.2012.01.046.Google Scholar
Weinberg, L. A., Zetlin, A., & Shea, N. M. (2009). Removing barriers to educating children in foster care through interagency collaboration: A seven county multiple-case study. Child Welfare, 88 (4), 77–111.Google Scholar
Whittington, C. (2003). A model of collaboration. In Weinstein, J., Whittington, C., & Leiba, T. (Eds.), Collaboration in social work practice (pp. 39–62). London: Jessica Kingsley.Google Scholar
Yin, R. K. (1994). Case study research design and methods (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications.Google Scholar
Zetlin, A., Weinberg, L., & Kimm, C. (2005). Helping social workers address the educational needs of foster children. Child Abuse & Neglect, 29, 811–823.Google Scholar
Zetlin, A., Weinberg, L., & Shea, N. (2010). Caregivers, school liaisons, and agency advocates speak out about the educational needs of children and youths in foster care. Social Work, 55 (3), 245–254. doi: 10.1093/sw/55.3.245.Google Scholar
Ziviani, J., Darlington, Y., Feeney, R., Meredith, P., & Head, B. (2013). Children with disabilities in out-of-home care: Perspectives on organizational collaborations. Children and Youth Services Review, 35 (5), 797–805. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2013.02.003.Google Scholar