The availability and evaluation of education and training programs for child welfare workers serving migrant and newcomer children and families: A scoping review of the empirical literature Spanning 25-years

Abstract

The number of migrant children or children of migrant parents continues to grow in the contemporary global world. Interlocking social and structural inequalities contribute to these children and families’ vulnerabilities and risk of future maltreatment. The child welfare system has struggled to provide culturally appropriate service and care to racialized and cultural communities. The purpose of this scoping review is to explore the availability and effectiveness of the available education and training programs developed within the past 25-years for child welfare workers working with migrant and newcomer populations involved in the child welfare system.

Arksey and O’Malley’s (2005) framework and the PRISMA-ScR reporting guidelines (Peters et al., 2020, Tricco et al., 2018) were used to guide the process. The scoping review included: 1) electronic databases search, 2) hand-search of relevant journals, research repositories, and dissertation databases, and 3) reference lists of the studies included in the scoping review. The scoping review included original evaluation research in the English language from January 1, 1997 to December 31, 2022.

The scoping review yielded a total of four publications. All of the studies were published between 2010 and 2016 and were conducted in the United States. One study used a qualitative approach, while three studies used a mixed-methods approach. All of the studies reported the training programs led to improved outcomes and a greater understanding of working with migrant and newcomer populations. More research is needed to fill this significant knowledge gap. This scoping review offers some insights and recommendations for future research and practice.