IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/cysrev/v99y2019icp115-124.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A qualitative examination of recruitment and motivation to become a Guardian ad Litem in the child welfare system

Author

Listed:
  • Cooley, Morgan E.
  • Thompson, Heather M.
  • Colvin, Marianna L.

Abstract

There is limited research that examines the experiences of Guardians ad Litems or Court Appointed Special Advocates appointed to cases to represent the best interest of children involved with the child welfare system. The purpose of this paper is to (1) identify and explore the primary mechanisms through which Guardians ad Litem are recruited and/or learn about the program and (2) identify and categorize the motivations that individuals describe for becoming a Guardian ad Litem. Data were collected as part of a larger cross-sectional, qualitative study of the Florida Statewide Guardian ad Litem Office. The perspectives of 553 volunteers and employees comprise the sample. Themes pertaining to how advocates were recruited or became involved included personal contacts; media and advertising; involvement with GAL due to professional/career opportunity; targeted/purposeful recruitment efforts by GAL programs; and employment-related opportunity or involvement. In relation to what motivated advocates to volunteer, themes were life transitions; advocacy for children and families; volunteerism; personal fulfillment; personal/familial experiences; career or professional experiences; time; personal fit or interest; and attitudes/opinion of the GAL program. Implications for recruitment and motivation are discussed, as well as directions for future research.

Suggested Citation

  • Cooley, Morgan E. & Thompson, Heather M. & Colvin, Marianna L., 2019. "A qualitative examination of recruitment and motivation to become a Guardian ad Litem in the child welfare system," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 115-124.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:99:y:2019:i:c:p:115-124
    DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2019.01.031
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740918310120
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.childyouth.2019.01.031?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Phillips, Jon D., 2016. "A qualitative study of collaboration between guardians ad litem and caseworkers in the child welfare system," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 61-67.
    2. De Maeyer, Skrallan & Vanderfaeillie, Johan & Vanschoonlandt, Femke & Robberechts, Marijke & Van Holen, Frank, 2014. "Motivation for foster care," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 143-149.
    3. Bright, Melissa A. & Shovali, Tamar E. & Cooper, Alysha, 2016. "Reasons for discontinued service among Guardians ad Litem," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 230-236.
    4. Tay K. McNamara & Ernest Gonzales, 2011. "Volunteer Transitions Among Older Adults: The Role of Human, Social, and Cultural Capital in Later Life," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 66(4), pages 490-501.
    5. Whenan, Rachel & Oxlad, Melissa & Lushington, Kurt, 2009. "Factors associated with foster carer well-being, satisfaction and intention to continue providing out-of-home care," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(7), pages 752-760, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ryan Cooper & Joseph Doyle & Andres Hojman, 2023. "Legal aid in child welfare: Evidence from a randomized trial of Mi Abogado," POID Working Papers 077, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Griffiths, Austin & Holderfield-Gaither, Emily & Funge, Simon P. & Warfel, Erin T., 2021. "Satisfaction, willingness, and well-being: Examining the perceptions of a statewide sample of public and private foster parents," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    2. Davi, Nicole & Jones, Jennifer & Gillen, Martie, 2021. "An exploration of the motivations and barriers to being a foster parent in Florida," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    3. Williams, Kimberly A. & Lewis, Ericka M. & Feely, Megan, 2023. "Stay just a little bit longer: A scoping review of foster parent engagement in the U.S," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    4. Morris Okun & Frank J. Infurna & Ianeta Hutchinson, 2016. "Are Volunteer Satisfaction and Enjoyment Related to Cessation of Volunteering by Older Adults?," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 71(3), pages 439-444.
    5. Storer, Heather L. & Barkan, Susan E. & Stenhouse, Linnea L. & Eichenlaub, Caroline & Mallillin, Anastasia & Haggerty, Kevin P., 2014. "In search of connection: The foster youth and caregiver relationship," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 110-117.
    6. Strickler, Amy & Mihalo, Jennifer R. & Celedonia, Karen L., 2018. "Reducing barriers to using data: A learning collaborative approach to leverage collective knowledge about treatment parent satisfaction and retention," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 300-307.
    7. Mihalo, Jennifer R. & Strickler, Amy & Triplett, Dawn R. & Trunzo, Annette C., 2016. "Treatment foster parent satisfaction: Survey validation and predictors of satisfaction, retention, and intent to refer," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 105-110.
    8. Patterson, Debra & Day, Angelique & Vanderwill, Lori & Willis, Tamarie & Resko, Stella & Henneman, Kris & Cohick, Sue, 2018. "Identifying the essential competencies for resource parents to promote permanency and well-being of adolescents in care," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 457-466.
    9. Tullberg, Erika & Vaughon, Wendy & Muradwij, Nawal & Kerker, Bonnie D., 2019. "Unpacking “support”: Understanding the complex needs of therapeutic foster parents," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 1-1.
    10. De Wilde, Lieselot & Devlieghere, Jochen & Vandenbroeck, Michel & Vanobbergen, Bruno, 2019. "Foster parents between voluntarism and professionalisation: Unpacking the backpack," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 290-296.
    11. Morris A. Okun & Holly P. O’Rourke & Brian Keller & Kathryn A. Johnson & Craig Enders, 2015. "Value-Expressive Volunteer Motivation and Volunteering by Older Adults: Relationships With Religiosity and Spirituality," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 70(6), pages 860-870.
    12. Harding, Leith & Murray, Kate & Shakespeare-Finch, Jane & Frey, Ron, 2020. "The wellbeing of foster and kin carers: A comparative study," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    13. Festinger, Trudy & Baker, Amy J.L., 2013. "The quality of evaluations of foster parent training: An empirical review," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 35(12), pages 2147-2153.
    14. Sally Preston & Kevin Yates & Mark Moss, 2012. "Does Emotional Resilience Enhance Foster Placement Stability? A Qualitative Investigation," International Journal of Psychological Studies, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 4(3), pages 153-153, September.
    15. Kristine J. Ajrouch & Toni C. Antonucci & Noah J. Webster, 2016. "Volunteerism: Social Network Dynamics and Education," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 71(2), pages 309-319.
    16. Gypen, Laura & West, Delphine & Van Holen, Frank & Vanderfaeillie, Johan, 2020. "Birth children of foster carers: How do they experience the foster care placement," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    17. Noemi Mantovan & Robert M. Sauer & John Wilson, 2022. "The effect of work‐schedule control on volunteering among early career employees," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 60(3), pages 536-562, September.
    18. Elisete Diogo & Francisco Branco, 2019. "How Do People Become Foster Carers in Portugal? The Process of Building the Motivation," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 8(8), pages 1-15, August.
    19. Ahn, Haksoon & Greeno, Elizabeth J. & Bright, Charlotte Lyn & Hartzel, Samantha & Reiman, Sarah, 2017. "A survival analysis of the length of foster parenting duration and implications for recruitment and retention of foster parents," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 478-484.
    20. Haysom, Zoë & McKibbin, Gemma & Shlonsky, Aron & Hamilton, Bridget, 2020. "Changing considerations of matching foster carers and children: A scoping review of the research and evidence," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:99:y:2019:i:c:p:115-124. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/childyouth .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.