Child Welfare Reform: A Scoping Review

Jill R. McTavish (), Christine McKee, Masako Tanaka and Harriet L. MacMillan
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Jill R. McTavish: Offord Centre for Child Studies, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, 293 Wellington Street North, Hamilton, ON L8L 8E7, Canada
Christine McKee: Offord Centre for Child Studies, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, 293 Wellington Street North, Hamilton, ON L8L 8E7, Canada
Masako Tanaka: Offord Centre for Child Studies, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, 293 Wellington Street North, Hamilton, ON L8L 8E7, Canada
Harriet L. MacMillan: Offord Centre for Child Studies, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, 293 Wellington Street North, Hamilton, ON L8L 8E7, Canada

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 21, 1-24

Abstract: While there have been ongoing calls to reform child welfare so that it better meets children’s and families’ needs, to date there have been no comprehensive summaries of child welfare reform strategies. For this systematic scoping review, we summarized authors’ recommendations for improving child welfare. We conducted a systematic search (2010 to 2021) and included published reviews that addressed authors’ recommendations for improving child welfare for children, youth, and families coming into contact with child welfare in high-income countries. A total of 4758 records was identified by the systematic search, 685 full-text articles were screened for eligibility, and 433 reviews were found to be eligible for this scoping review. Reviews were theoretically divided, with some review authors recommending reform efforts at the macro level (e.g., addressing poverty) and others recommending reform efforts at the practice level (e.g., implementing evidence-based parenting programs). Reform efforts across socioecological levels were summarized in this scoping review. An important next step is to formulate what policy solutions are likely to lead to the greatest improvement in safety and well-being for children and families involved in child welfare.

Keywords: child maltreatment; child welfare; child protection; reform; scoping review; policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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