Reducing child maltreatment recidivism: Fortifying the protective capacity of families
Location
Center for Advanced Learning and Simulation (CALS)
Publication Date
April 2025
Start Date
17-4-2025 8:00 AM
Description
Foster care is a temporary intervention to protect children who have experienced maltreatment. While children are in foster care, their parents engage in services to address the factors that led to child maltreatment (abuse and neglect). Unfortunately, only 35-40% of all children who enter foster care reunify with their biological parents, and approximately 20% of them re-experience episodes of multiple child maltreatment. Despite these tragic statistics, there is a vast number of families who reunify without any further child maltreatment. Therefore, this poster seeks to explore the protective factors that allow families to improve their functioning. Particularly, this poster highlights psychological and individual factors that lead biological parents to remediate the child abuse/neglect that they perpetrated on their children. Utilizing a systematic review of the research literature and case examples from the work that the LSUHSC Infant Team has done with families, this poster discusses psychological factors that lead to reunification of young children in foster care. These psychological and clinical elements focus on improving parental functioning to act as a protective factor in the infant-parent relationship. Demographic variables such as higher parental educational level, socioeconomic status, and children’s ages are protective factors. Evidence-based psychotherapeutic interventions and services play a significant role in helping parents. However, there is a dearth of studies investigating individual psychological resources that promote reunification and stability for families. Case examples indicate that parents who reunify tend to demonstrate positive social relationships, “enough” ego strength to acknowledge their wrongdoings, engagement in psychotherapy, and healthy coping strategies. The need for culturally sensitive and family-centered approaches when working with high-risk families is highlighted. Unique psychological resources and protective factors can support families involved in the Child Welfare System. Equity and social change within the community can improve by utilizing reflective practice.Foster care is a temporary intervention to protect children who have experienced maltreatment. While children are in foster care, their parents engage in services to address the factors that led to child maltreatment (abuse and neglect). Unfortunately, only 35-40% of all children who enter foster care reunify with their biological parents, and approximately 20% of them re-experience episodes of multiple child maltreatment. Despite these tragic statistics, there is a vast number of families who reunify without any further child maltreatment. Therefore, this poster seeks to explore the protective factors that allow families to improve their functioning. Particularly, this poster highlights psychological and individual factors that lead biological parents to remediate the child abuse/neglect that they perpetrated on their children.
Recommended Citation
Hill-Odom, Miriam; Chang, Angella; Del Corral, Sebastian PsyD; and Rinner, Amy PsyD, "Reducing child maltreatment recidivism: Fortifying the protective capacity of families" (2025). Dept. of Psychiatry Research Symposium. 2.
https://digitalscholar.lsuhsc.edu/psych_rd/2025/presentations/2
Reducing child maltreatment recidivism: Fortifying the protective capacity of families
Center for Advanced Learning and Simulation (CALS)
Foster care is a temporary intervention to protect children who have experienced maltreatment. While children are in foster care, their parents engage in services to address the factors that led to child maltreatment (abuse and neglect). Unfortunately, only 35-40% of all children who enter foster care reunify with their biological parents, and approximately 20% of them re-experience episodes of multiple child maltreatment. Despite these tragic statistics, there is a vast number of families who reunify without any further child maltreatment. Therefore, this poster seeks to explore the protective factors that allow families to improve their functioning. Particularly, this poster highlights psychological and individual factors that lead biological parents to remediate the child abuse/neglect that they perpetrated on their children. Utilizing a systematic review of the research literature and case examples from the work that the LSUHSC Infant Team has done with families, this poster discusses psychological factors that lead to reunification of young children in foster care. These psychological and clinical elements focus on improving parental functioning to act as a protective factor in the infant-parent relationship. Demographic variables such as higher parental educational level, socioeconomic status, and children’s ages are protective factors. Evidence-based psychotherapeutic interventions and services play a significant role in helping parents. However, there is a dearth of studies investigating individual psychological resources that promote reunification and stability for families. Case examples indicate that parents who reunify tend to demonstrate positive social relationships, “enough” ego strength to acknowledge their wrongdoings, engagement in psychotherapy, and healthy coping strategies. The need for culturally sensitive and family-centered approaches when working with high-risk families is highlighted. Unique psychological resources and protective factors can support families involved in the Child Welfare System. Equity and social change within the community can improve by utilizing reflective practice.Foster care is a temporary intervention to protect children who have experienced maltreatment. While children are in foster care, their parents engage in services to address the factors that led to child maltreatment (abuse and neglect). Unfortunately, only 35-40% of all children who enter foster care reunify with their biological parents, and approximately 20% of them re-experience episodes of multiple child maltreatment. Despite these tragic statistics, there is a vast number of families who reunify without any further child maltreatment. Therefore, this poster seeks to explore the protective factors that allow families to improve their functioning. Particularly, this poster highlights psychological and individual factors that lead biological parents to remediate the child abuse/neglect that they perpetrated on their children.