The prevention of child maltreatment recidivism through the Solution-Based Casework model of child welfare practice

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Solution-Based Casework model of child welfare practice to prevent recidivism of child maltreatment for families involved with the public child welfare system. Previous research has focused primarily on casework, child, and family characteristics associated with maltreatment recidivism. Most prevention models have targeted high-risk families who have not yet entered this public child welfare system (primary prevention). Hence, this study addresses the need for the field to identify viable practice models for the public child welfare system to prevent re-abuse (secondary or tertiary prevention). This research compared recidivism referrals for a sample of workers who used the Solution-Based Casework model to those who did not use the model. There were 760 cases tracked over a 6-month time period. Results indicate that cases in which the Solution-Based Casework model was used experienced significantly fewer recidivism referrals than those in which the model was not used.