Parental Cognitive Disabilities and Child Protection Services: The Need for Human Capacity Building

Authors

Sandra T. Azar, Pennsylvania State University
Kristin N. Read, Pennsylvania State University

Keywords

Child Protective Services, intellectual disabilities, mental retardation, parenting, staff training

Abstract

Theories regarding the social cognitive origins of parenting risk have recently emerged. This work not only has implications for the nature of interventions with parents, but also for the approaches taken by the social service systems that work with them. This paper reviews the evidence that there is a significant number of parents with cognitive disabilities within child protection caseloads and outlines the types of human capacity building and organizational development that are needed to support the parents' needs. Such capacity building will not only increase the effectiveness of child protection interventions with parents with cognitive disabilities (PCD), but will also attend to the support and training needs of the professionals who work with them. Capacity building for work with PCD goes beyond the typical training provided in social work programs by including developmentally sensitive intervention techniques and greater linkages with systems outside of child protective services

Recommended Citation

Azar, Sandra T. and Read, Kristin N. (2009) "Parental Cognitive Disabilities and Child Protection Services: The Need for Human Capacity Building," The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare: Vol. 36: Iss. 4, Article 9.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15453/0191-5096.3476
Available at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/jssw/vol36/iss4/9