Fri 26 Feb 2021

Proposed Research Project - Evaluating Impacts of Earlier Child Protection Mediation

Posted by Heverton.Oliveira

Mediate BC Society (MBC) has received funding from the BC Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) to research (1) when mediation is most effective during the child welfare process, and (2) what the impacts/outcomes of earlier mediated intervention are.

Purpose

The purpose of this proposed research project is to develop clear, evidence-based guidance on the best timing(s) for the use of mediation in child welfare work to support better outcomes for children, families and communities.

Background

The Child, Family and Community Service Act (CFCSA) provides that children and families involved in child protection matters should be informed of services available to them and encouraged to participate in decisions that affect them. Since 1996, child protection mediation has been available to support this participation in decision-making in the face of systemic and situational power imbalances.

Mediation can be requested at any point during a social worker’s involvement with the family (on behalf of the Provincial Director of Child Welfare). Historically, early projects in child protection mediation were designed to facilitate early intervention in the process. With the increased availability of alternative processes for collaborative decision-making, mediation tends to be viewed as a tool on a spectrum of possible approaches. Mediation is increasingly being used once conflict between parents and social workers has already escalated, and less frequently in the early stages of the child welfare process. Anecdotally, Mediate BC and MCFD have heard that child protection mediators believe the shift away from the use of mediation as a form of early intervention is a missed opportunity to support family preservation.

Existing research on early mediation intervention in BC is limited, however the Surrey Court Project evaluation had promising findings; issue resolution achieved through early intervention facilitated planning meetings (the term used for mediations in that project) reduced the number of days children were in care by an average of 30%. In addition, the 34 cases referred to a planning meeting between Sept 2001 and Feb 2002 saved 82 scheduled trial days.

Outside of formal research, there are conversations around the potential positive impacts of early mediation. Some mediators believe that early mediation has the potential to reduce animosity and adversarial relations that are exacerbated by the Court process. If this is the case, then early mediation might also serve to reduce conflict and support social workers in healthier working environments (e.g. reduction in conflict and stress, reduction in workloads, reduction in social worker burnout and/or staff turnover).  It is also believed that earlier mediation intervention would benefit child protection workers in case settings (i.e. Intake; Family Service, Resource, Guardianship), as each time families work with different child protection workers, rapport must be rebuilt in order to establish a good working relationships; mediation may facilitate the transition to enhance that process. In some instances, mediation is used to introduce new social workers to the family or to bring guardianship workers into discussions prior to an application for a Continuing Custody Order; however, this use of mediation is not widespread and has not been researched to determine any potential benefits (e.g. improved case continuity).

Research on mediation as an early intervention tool aligns with the goals of family preservation within the Ministry of Children and Family Development’s Strategic Framework. Mediation is a flexible process that engages the child’s extended family and the community in decision-making. It can be designed and adapted to support Indigenous processes and the use of traditional Indigenous practices for decision-making during and following mediation. 

Research Questions

• When is mediation most effective during the child welfare process (e.g. at what stage of the social workers’ continuum of service to families, or as it relates to or interacts with other available collaborative practices)?
• What are the impacts/outcomes of earlier[1] mediated intervention on children, youth, families, Indigenous communities and/or social workers? What are other impacts of early mediation particularly related to costs and time?