Peer-reviewed article
Model Fidelity and Child Well-Being in Family Team Conference: The Interaction Effect of Racial Matching and Child Race
Jangmin Kim, Mijin Choi, Catherine A. LaBrenz, Marian S. Harris, Reiko Boyd et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined whether racial matching between caseworkers and children improves outcomes in Family Team Conferences, a child welfare practice model. The research analyzed survey data from 736 caseworkers to understand how racial dynamics affect child well-being. High fidelity to the FTC model was necessary for improving child well-being, but racial matching itself did not improve outcomes. Instead, caseworkers' facilitation competencies were more important than racial matching for helping all children, regardless of race.
Key points
- High fidelity to the FTC model was a necessary condition to improve child well-being
- Racial matching between caseworkers and children was not a significant factor in improving child well-being
- Racial matching did not strengthen the positive relationship between FTC fidelity and child well-being
- Caseworkers' facilitation competencies, not racial matching, significantly improved outcomes for children of all races
- The study suggests making FTC more culturally responsive through improved caseworker competencies rather than relying on racial matching
Limitations
The study relies on caseworker survey data rather than direct measurement of child well-being outcomes or independent observation of FTC sessions. The cross-sectional nature of the data limits understanding of causal effects and long-term impacts on children.
Abstract
Abstract Family Team Conference (FTC) has been suggested as a promising practice model to effectively reduce racial disproportionality and disparities in child welfare. However, previous studies have noted ongoing challenges to promoting cultural responsiveness in FTC. This study analysed caseworkers’ survey data (n = 736) to explore the role of racial matching between caseworkers and children as an effective practice to strengthen the high fidelity of FTC associated with child well-being. The results of the extended regression model indicate that high FTC fidelity was a necessary condition to improve child well-being. However, racial matching was neither a significant factor of child well-being nor a moderator that strengthened the positive association between FTC fidelity and child well-being. Instead, a follow-up analysis showed that caseworkers’ competencies for facilitating FTC were a significant moderator to promote the positive effect of FTC fidelity on the well-being of all children regardless of their race. This paper concludes with research and practice implications to make FTC more culturally responsive to achieve its intended outcomes especially for children of colour.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- Family Team Conference (FTC) model with attention to racial matching between caseworkers and children, and caseworker facilitation competencies
- Population
- Children involved in child welfare (caseworkers surveyed, n=736)
Key finding
High FTC fidelity was necessary to improve child well-being