New Americans and Child Protection
Administering Organizations
The International Institute of Metropolitan St. Louis &
the Missouri Department of Social Services Children's Division,
St. Louis City Office
Objectives and Unique Needs
Addressed
The collaborative
relationship between the International Institute and the
Department of Social Services began in 2000, after both agencies
recognized that a case involving a refugee family had not
gone well. In 2002, BRYCS helped facilitate a Cross-Service
training between refugee communities, refugee resettlement
workers, and Child Protective workers, which further strengthened
the initial relationship. Four years later, the relationship
is institutionalized and has helped numerous refugee families.
Child Protective workers and refugee providers have often
been at odds in their quest to provide both prevention and
protective services to New American children. The Children's
Division (the Child Protection Agency) is working within the
Child Protection laws to keep children safe. New American
families often come from cultures where parenting techniques
differ from those required by American laws.
In St. Louis, the International Institute and the Children's
Division have formed a strong, multidisciplinary response
when child protection is needed. While there are sometimes
misunderstandings between the two disciplines, it is in everyone's
best interest to form a relationship so that these differences
can be worked out. Child Protective Services needs to develop
staff with expertise and interest in working with New Americans.
Refugee service providers need to understand child protection
roles and responsibilities and the laws and definitions of
child abuse and neglect.
Description
Collaborative efforts can start with one person at each agency
developing a rapport with someone at the other discipline;
it just takes two. Problems can then be addressed through
liaisons at both agencies. Staff at each agency needs to partner
with their peers at the other agency.
JOINT HOTLINE RESPONSE: When a hotline
call comes in regarding a refugee family, there is a multidisciplinary
response including the hotline investigator, refugee worker,
and interpreter. In addition, all Child Protective forms are
available in eight languages and there is a "What Language
Do You Speak" form for workers to use with refugee families
to help identify what interpreters they need.
CROSS-TRAININGS: Trainings have been used
to increase the cultural competence of Child Protective workers
as well as an awareness of child abuse and neglect for refugee
workers. A part of this process required workers from both
agencies to shadow each other to gain a better understanding
of each others' work. In addition, workers from both agencies
meet to problem solve when there are families known to both
agencies and a "Child Protection and Refugee Workgroup"
meets regularly to work on situations that create problems
for New Americans.
BOY/GIRL SCOUT TROOPS: Responding to accusations
that American adults might be taking advantage of refugee
children as well as recognizing the need for more supervision
when families work irregular hours, the Children’s Division
and the International Institute formed Boy/Girl Scout Troops
for refugee children. The groups provide the children with
wholesome, fun activities while teaching them valuable skills
to help them succeed in their new country.
COFFEE KLATCHES: In an attempt to share
information and educate refugees about Child Protection, Bosnian
parents were asked to host small groups of their friends and
neighbors for coffee and informal discussions with child protection
staff. The Children’s Division wanted to dispel erroneous
information that had spread about CPS - rumors that are common
among all refugee populations. For example, there is a myth
in the Bosnian community that CPS only wants to take children
away. In addition, some believe that if parents try to make
their children behave, their sons and daughters can call the
police and have them arrested. Word of mouth is often an effective
form of communication within the Bosnian community and the
Children’s Division decided to use this to their advantage.
In addition, sitting around talking over a cup of coffee is
a common activity in Bosnia. Therefore, Bosnian community
leaders hosted small groups in their homes, so that they could
learn the correct information and share it with others –
especially those who could benefit from services – in
their community. Several meetings were held in family living
rooms, one was held in a church building, and two sessions
were held at a school with the janitorial staff who were all
Bosnians. Overall, the “Coffee Klatches” were
effective because the people at the meetings were not identified
as people who abuse their children; therefore, there was no
stigma associated with attending. What’s more, this
approach is easily replicated, with no associated expenses.
CHILDREN’S SERVICES IN THE SCHOOLS:
CPS workers are linked to certain schools in the city of St.
Louis. They spend part of the day each week in their respective
schools, getting to know the teachers, children, and school
personnel. Many times problems can be handled informally without
a formal hotline report. For example, Children’s Services
encourages the schools to let them know about absenteeism
before it reaches the stage where a hotline call needs to
be made. Schools have the ability to fax students’ attendance
reports to Children’s Services and they often respond
with a “Safekeeping Report” (a less formal intervention
than a “Child Abuse and Neglect” response). CPS
workers also help the school encourage attendance by, for
example, making home visits with the teachers and helping
the school address behavioral issues. CPS workers sometimes
facilitate situations where children are brought back to school
on the bus if there is no parent at home when the bus drops
them off in the afternoon. In addition, CPS workers in St.
Louis often attend Parent Teachers Conferences, Back to School
Picnics, Neighborhood Night Outs, and other celebrations.
|
| Resource
Materials Used in Program
Interpreters, form letters, and parenting brochures.
You Can Talk with Your Child’s School and
You Can Help Your Children in School videos in English
and Bosnian at http://www.focus-stl.org/prog/initiatives/edu-natf.cfm
.
Groups Served by Program
Children served are from Bosnia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Kurdistan,
Russia, and a number of African countries.
Funding
The Children’s Division pays the International Institute
for interpretation, due to Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights
Act, which requires agencies receiving federal funding to
ensure there are no barriers to access due to language. Otherwise,
this collaborative relationship requires no funding charges
and is based on consistent communication and resource sharing
between existing employees in both agencies.
Staffing and Required Staff
Training
Each agency has an employee who serves as a main contact,
but each of those individuals also has other roles and responsibilities
in their respective agencies. All of the employees from both
agencies, however, participate in the cross-trainings and
have contacts with their counterparts at the other agency.
Additional Comments
Children’s Services would like to purchase portable
DVD players so that the videos on the American education system
(see the link above) can be viewed in the families’
homes when CPS staff responds to hotline reports on educational
neglect.
Evaluation
While they have not done a formal evaluation, they have collected
case examples that demonstrate the effectiveness of their
collaboration. See the interview
that BRYCS did with Frances Johnson for case examples.
Outcomes
The main outcome we hope to achieve is that when
a problem arises, all employees know who to contact for help
with refugee or CPS issues. Ultimately, refugee families and
children will be safer and their interactions with both agencies
will be culturally-appropriate as well as within the guidelines
of child protection laws.
Contacts
The International Institute of Metropolitan St. Louis
Lara Fallon, Social Work Coordinator
3654 S. Grand
St. Louis, Missouri 63118
(314) 773-9090 (x160)
(314) 773-4081 (fax)
fallonl@intlinst.org
Department of Social Services, Children's Division
Frances Johnson, MA, Program Manager
6821 S. Broadway
St. Louis, Missouri 63111
(314) 301-7822
(314) 301-7888 (fax)
Frances.A.Johnson@dss.mo.gov
Dates
This joint initiative began in 2000 and is still operating
today. |
