Child Welfare Research: A Review and Critique

Abstract

Child welfare is uneasy about the limitations of its scientific information. Expressions of dissatisfaction with the contributions of research to practice are not uncommon. A survey of studies in child welfare, undertaken as a basis for documenting the nature and direction of current research, reveals the following types of investigations being pursued: characteristics of child welfare populations, decision-making, evaluative studies of services, and developmental studies of children and families. Evaluative studies of services and anal yses of the characteristics of special populations, typically unwed mothers, adopted children, and foster parents, dominate research activity. Decision-making procedures involving practi tioners and administrators are receiving only token attention. Methodological gaps exist which must be bridged for the pur pose of improving research in child welfare. The need also exists for researchers to plan studies of a programmatic nature so that each study builds on the previous one and to gather data in the crucible of actual practice situations.