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Caregiver involvement in behavioural health services in the context of child welfare service referrals: a qualitative study
Author(s) -
Pérez Jolles Monica,
Flick Jodon Anne Jodi,
Wells Rebecca,
Chuang Emmeline
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
child and family social work
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.912
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1365-2206
pISSN - 1356-7500
DOI - 10.1111/cfs.12279
Subject(s) - welfare , agency (philosophy) , context (archaeology) , qualitative research , human services , nursing , service (business) , health care , medicine , psychology , intervention (counseling) , service provider , business , sociology , political science , marketing , paleontology , social science , law , biology
Human service agencies serve a growing number of adults with behavioural health needs. Despite these agencies' key role in identifying need and facilitating services, many individuals do not receive care or end services prematurely. Few studies have explored the experiences of families referred to behavioural health services by such agencies or the extent to which families' perceptions of service need align with those of treatment providers and frontline workers. This study presents findings from a qualitative study of caregivers involved with child welfare agencies who were referred to behavioural health services. Researchers reviewed agencies' case records and conducted in‐depth interviews with 16 caregivers, 9 child welfare caseworkers and 12 behavioural health treatment counsellors. Findings suggest that when deciding to engage in services, caregivers weigh not only their individual and family behavioural health needs but also potential agency intervention, including loss of child custody. Many professionals reported that involvement with a child welfare agency hindered the caregiver's disclosure of behavioural healthcare needs. Implications for managers and practitioners are discussed.