Melissa Radey
Biographic Data
| ID | 198582 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Melissa Radey |
| GIVEN NAMES | Melissa |
| FAMILY NAME | Radey |
| SIGNATURE | RADEY M |
| AFFILIATIONS | Florida State University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-9058-0349 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 57 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 150 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 57 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2006 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 7 |
Public and private safety nets, maternal stress, and child mental health outcomes among low-income families
Health is influenced significantly by poverty. Mothers living in poverty experience higher stress compared to mothers with more financial resources. Children who live in poverty also experience mental health concerns, including higher externalizing and internalizing mental health symptoms. Families’ support systems, or public and private safety nets, are central mechanisms for counteracting poverty’s negative impact; however, most research examin…
Does Exiting the Profession Help? Physical and Emotional Health Among Current and Former Child Welfare Workers
Separated families’ use of formal and informal childcare across 12 European countries
As family structures are becoming diverse across Europe, understanding how separated parents manage childcare is essential for supporting children’s well-being. However, little is known about how physical custody arrangements relate to childcare arrangements. Informed by the triple bind framework, this study examined the relationship between custody arrangement and children’s use of formal (e.g. preschool) and informal (e.g. family) care. We anal…
The power of belonging: Confirmatory factor analysis of the belonging barometer with child welfare workers
Longitudinal trajectories of maternal perceived support: The role of household conditions
Objective This study examines the relationship between mothers' household conditions and their perceptions of available support across their children's development. Background Many U.S. mothers and children live in arrangements with nonnuclear kin and experience changes in arrangements. Mothers and children living outside nuclear family structures and those with residential instability fare worse across mental and physical well‐being measures. Th…
I had to get away” Or “A huge, unfortunate misunderstanding”: Domestic Violence among Parents in the Child Protective Services System
Formal and Informal Support among Mothers Aging out of Foster Care and Maternity Group Homes: Who Steps in When Mothers Age Out
Within‐family processes among safety nets, maternal parenting stress, and child behavioral problems among low‐income families: The importance of race and ethnicity
Research has long emphasized the adverse effects of poverty on children; however, within‐family processes of how safety nets offset the effects of poverty differ by race and ethnicity are unclear. Guided by the context‐sensitive family stress model, the current study investigated within‐family processes among safety nets, maternal parenting stress, and child behavioral problems among low‐income families and revealed differences in these processes…
“It seems so simple … the actual execution is difficult”: Self-defined needs of parents entering the child welfare system
The child welfare system (CWS) aims to create safe environments by meeting parents' needs, yet few studies have considered parents' perspectives on their needs and the CWS's response to them at service delivery start. We used survey and interview data from a statewide cohort of parents entering CWS (N = 75). Using convergent mixed methodology, parents' needs coalesced around 3 areas: a chance to provide context to their situations; a clear path t…
Emerging Adulthood Transitions, Family Networks, and Mental Health Within the Context of Child Maltreatment
Family support can greatly help during emerging adulthood; however, family support networks are often complicated in the context of child maltreatment. The purpose of this descriptive study was to examine key indicators of adulthood, family network support, and the mental health of emerging adults who have experienced childhood maltreatment using the most recent wave of the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing data. Findings document that emerg…
Early Career Provider Stigma Trajectories Among Child Protective Services Workers
Sex differences in the association between occupational environment exposures and cognitive function outcomes in later life
Findings suggest that differences in how men and women respond to occupational exposures may be an important factor contributing to sex-based disparities in later-life cognitive outcomes. Future research is needed to determine how both work and non-work exposures across the life course differently shape long-term cognitive health outcomes in men and women in later life
Family Safety Nets and Child Outcomes of Families Involved with the U.S. Child Welfare System
Adverse Childhood Experiences and Young Adult Mental Health: The Mediating Role of Adolescent Depression
Profiles of perceived resources among low‐income, rural mothers: Prospective associations with maternal and child outcomes
Low‐income, rural families face significant mental health risks. However, the understanding of resources associated with mental health risks is limited. The present study investigated the associations between perceived resources of low‐income, rural mothers, and longitudinal maternal and child outcomes. This study utilized longitudinal data from the Family Life Project ( N = 1203), from US rural areas with high poverty rates. Mothers reported the…
Exploring the Interplay of Social Safety Nets, Race, Ethnicity, and Nativity on Psychological Distress Among Low-Income Mothers
State temporary assistance for needy families policies and high school diploma or equivalent attainment among mothers following a nonmarital birth: An event history analysis
This study examines high school diploma or equivalent (HS/E) attainment by mothers who had a nonmarital birth (“unmarried mothers”) and the associations between state‐level Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) policies and their postnatal HS/E attainment. Using an analytic sample of 1154 unmarried mothers without HS/E from the restricted‐use Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study, we tracked postnatal HS/E attainment patterns for …
Instrumental safety net configurations and changes over time among economically marginalized families
2,251), results indicated that mothers were sorted into four safety net configurations (public support only, private support only, all high, and all low) and 30%-53% of each class of mothers transitioned from one safety net configuration to another at the next neighboring wave, underscoring the importance of examining both public and private supports simultaneously and longitudinally. Membership in configurations with low private support (e.g., p…
CaseAIM: Child Welfare Workers’ Experiences Using Information and Communication Technology for Case Management Services
The use of information and communication technologies (ICT) to enhance child welfare services provides innovative tools and support for child welfare workers to manage caseloads effectively. This study used the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to understand case managers' experiences with the CaseAIM mobile app, a tool that supports workload efficiency through documentation, case access, support, and transportation. Thematic analysis of intervie…
The Importance of Job Demands and Supports: Promoting Retention Among Child Welfare Workers
What makes a case difficult: Definitions from child welfare workers and implications for workload and caseload management
This study examines child welfare worker definitions of difficult cases and how definitions change over time. Seven waves of child welfare worker responses to survey questions asking what makes a case particularly difficult were collected over 3.5 years. Findings identified eight general difficult categories: case attributes, parent/caregiver issues, case tasks, children’s issues, uncooperative/non-compliant clients, communication/logistical issu…
Examining Employment Outcomes of Recently Hired, Older Workers in the Child Welfare Workforce
Older workers represent a growing proportion of the child welfare workforce. Yet little research examines employment outcomes of this population. This study used data from the first two waves of the Florida Study of Professionals for Safe Families, a longitudinal study of 1,500 newly hired child welfare workers. Workers 50 and older had lower odds of job retention compared to younger adults. However, older workers reported less burnout and second…
Extent, trajectory, and determinants of child welfare turnover and exit destinations
Taking it day by day”: Maternity group homes in the lives of mothers aging out of foster care
The Experience of Maternity Group Homes: A Qualitative Study of Mothers and Providers
Foster teens are particularly vulnerable to the negative consequences of pregnancy. Maternity group homes (MGHs) aim to mitigate risks and promote stability among pregnant and parenting teens. This study applied the stage-environment fit and emerging adulthood frameworks to explore MGH experiences and exit outcomes from the perspectives of residents and providers. Mothers were 18 to 25 years old. Most participants were non-Hispanic, Black (64%), …
The influence of race/ethnicity on disadvantaged mothers’ child care arrangements
A Multi-Level Conceptual Model to Examine Child Welfare Worker Turnover and Retention Decisions
There is little disagreement about the importance of a healthy stable workforce in promoting effective provision of child welfare services. This review proposes a multi-level conceptual model of child welfare workforce turnover combining traditional individual and organizational impacts with factors associated with community context. Identified gaps in the literature along with a related research agenda are reviewed. Also presented is an overview…
Kin Financial Support: Receipt and Provision Among Unmarried Mothers
Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 2,039), we investigate how social resources influence unmarried mothers' provision and receipt of financial support within their social networks and whether patterns of financial support vary by race and ethnicity. Multinomial regression results indicate that relative to neither giving nor receiving, more advantaged mothers have higher odds of providing others with financial help…
It's really overwhelming”: Parent and service provider perspectives of parents aging out of foster care
Satisfactions and stressors experienced by recently-hired frontline child welfare workers
Recruitment and retention of child welfare workers in longitudinal research: Successful strategies from the Florida Study of Professionals for Safe Families
Predictors of Stability and Change in Private Safety Nets of Unmarried Mothers
Although the importance of social supports for single mothers in times of crisis is widely recognized, little is known about the stability of such "private safety nets" over time, as children age and maternal and household characteristics change. This study uses multilevel models and 4 waves of data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study to describe trajectories of social support perceptions for 3,065 unmarried mothers. Results sugge…
The Living Conditions of U.S.-Born Children of Mexican Immigrants in Unmarried Families
Recent research has brought attention to the hardship faced by children of immigrants in the United States, particularly in the Mexican-origin population. In this study, the authors are concerned with the extent to which U.S.-born children of Mexican immigrants who live in unmarried families may face exceptional risks. Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, the authors find that young children of Mexican immigrants in unm…
Hands on” versus “empty”: Supervision experiences of frontline child welfare workers
Me, myself and I: Perceptions of social capital for mothers ageing out of the child welfare system
Youth ageing out of the child welfare system become parents at rates two to three times higher than their non‐child welfare system involved peers. Substantial literature acknowledges that youth ageing out who are parenting are vulnerable; yet, little is known about their lived experiences. Social capital, or the actual or potential resources available from one's network, can provide essential resources for the wellbeing of parents ageing out. Thi…
Informal Networks of Low-Income Mothers: Support, Burden, and Change
ObjectiveThe authors examined the support and burden of low-income, urban mothers' informal networks.BackgroundLiving or growing up in poverty strongly predicts barriers and instability across several life domains for mothers and their children. Informal networks can play a critical role in promoting maternal and child well-being particularly in the midst of poverty. Understanding informal support and the reciprocal burden it may create is especi…
Extent, trajectory, and determinants of child welfare turnover and exit destinations
Learning, Negotiating, and Surviving in Child Welfare: Social Capitalization Among Recently Hired Workers
In the child welfare workplace, accessible relationships and support, although understudied, are vital to worker success. Using telephone interviews with a statewide sample of recently hired, frontline workers (N = 38), this study applied a social capital framework to consider support functionality or capitalization. Findings highlight that, although nearly all workers recognized the importance of instrumental and expressive support, many workers…
What makes a case difficult: Definitions from child welfare workers and implications for workload and caseload management
This study examines child welfare worker definitions of difficult cases and how definitions change over time. Seven waves of child welfare worker responses to survey questions asking what makes a case particularly difficult were collected over 3.5 years. Findings identified eight general difficult categories: case attributes, parent/caregiver issues, case tasks, children’s issues, uncooperative/non-compliant clients, communication/logistical issu…
Beginning the “never-ending” learning process: Training experiences of newly-hired child welfare workers
Social networks of unaccompanied women experiencing homelessness
This study explored strengths, barriers, and role of social networks among unaccompanied women experiencing homelessness. Twenty women from two local shelters participated in semistructured, face‐to‐face interviews. A constant comparative analysis revealed 4 themes: support as a coping mechanism, loss of support as a path to homelessness, support as a drain, and support as a way to give. Almost universally, women experienced considerable barriers…
The Experience of Maternity Group Homes: A Qualitative Study of Mothers and Providers
Foster teens are particularly vulnerable to the negative consequences of pregnancy. Maternity group homes (MGHs) aim to mitigate risks and promote stability among pregnant and parenting teens. This study applied the stage-environment fit and emerging adulthood frameworks to explore MGH experiences and exit outcomes from the perspectives of residents and providers. Mothers were 18 to 25 years old. Most participants were non-Hispanic, Black (64%), …
Showing Everybody’s True Colors”: Informal networks of low-income single mothers and their young children during the Covid-19 pandemic
I’ve Been Through It”: Assessing Employment Barriers among Unaccompanied Women Experiencing Homelessness
Women represent a growing segment of the homeless population; however, little work has examined employment among an important segment of this population: women unaccompanied by children. This study addressed the following research questions: Which common employment barriers (that is, physical health, mental health, substance abuse, or domestic violence) influence employment of unaccompanied women experiencing homelessness? How do these barriers i…
Understanding the Effects of Client Violence on the Health of Child Protection Services Workers
Objective: Most child protection services (CPS) workers encounter client violence—physical and nonphysical violence initiated by clients—in their jobs, and such violence often harms worker health. Using the work-stress framework, this study aimed to understand the characteristics of client violence and how they affect worker health. Method: We conducted in-depth interviews with a statewide sample of CPS workers in Florida who have a range of expo…
Recruitment and Retention in a Parenting Intervention: A Case Study with Parents Aging Out of the Child Welfare System
Parenting interventions are efficacious in reducing child maltreatment and negative child behaviors, yet the recruitment and retention of parents, especially vulnerable parents, in such interventions can be challenging. Prior research identifies several ways to improve recruitment and retention including laying the foundation for the intervention, fostering relationships with parents, ensuring fit of the intervention with the intended population,…
Do single mothers take their share: Fafsa completion among aid-eligible female students
Measuring Parenting Practices Among Parents of Elementary School-Age Youth
Objectives: The objective of this study is to establish the factor structure of the Alabama Parenting Questionnaire (APQ), an instrument designed to measure parenting practices among parents of elementary school children. Methods: Exploratory (EFA) and confirmatory factor analytic (CFA) procedures are used to validate the APQ with 790 parents of children, ages 6—10. Results: Three subscales emerged representing parenting practices associated with…
The Living Conditions of U.S.-Born Children of Mexican Immigrants in Unmarried Families
Recent research has brought attention to the hardship faced by children of immigrants in the United States, particularly in the Mexican-origin population. In this study, the authors are concerned with the extent to which U.S.-born children of Mexican immigrants who live in unmarried families may face exceptional risks. Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, the authors find that young children of Mexican immigrants in unm…
Measuring Compassion Fatigue
The Social Psychology of Compassion
The influence of race/ethnicity on disadvantaged mothers’ child care arrangements
Measuring Parenting Practices Among Parents of Elementary School-Age Youth
Objectives: The objective of this study is to establish the factor structure of the Alabama Parenting Questionnaire (APQ), an instrument designed to measure parenting practices among parents of elementary school children. Methods: Exploratory (EFA) and confirmatory factor analytic (CFA) procedures are used to validate the APQ with 790 parents of children, ages 6—10. Results: Three subscales emerged representing parenting practices associated with…
Kin Financial Support: Receipt and Provision Among Unmarried Mothers
Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 2,039), we investigate how social resources influence unmarried mothers' provision and receipt of financial support within their social networks and whether patterns of financial support vary by race and ethnicity. Multinomial regression results indicate that relative to neither giving nor receiving, more advantaged mothers have higher odds of providing others with financial help…
Do single mothers take their share: Fafsa completion among aid-eligible female students
Predictors of Stability and Change in Private Safety Nets of Unmarried Mothers
Although the importance of social supports for single mothers in times of crisis is widely recognized, little is known about the stability of such "private safety nets" over time, as children age and maternal and household characteristics change. This study uses multilevel models and 4 waves of data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study to describe trajectories of social support perceptions for 3,065 unmarried mothers. Results sugge…
Me, myself and I: Perceptions of social capital for mothers ageing out of the child welfare system
Youth ageing out of the child welfare system become parents at rates two to three times higher than their non‐child welfare system involved peers. Substantial literature acknowledges that youth ageing out who are parenting are vulnerable; yet, little is known about their lived experiences. Social capital, or the actual or potential resources available from one's network, can provide essential resources for the wellbeing of parents ageing out. Thi…
It's really overwhelming”: Parent and service provider perspectives of parents aging out of foster care
Learning, Negotiating, and Surviving in Child Welfare: Social Capitalization Among Recently Hired Workers
In the child welfare workplace, accessible relationships and support, although understudied, are vital to worker success. Using telephone interviews with a statewide sample of recently hired, frontline workers (N = 38), this study applied a social capital framework to consider support functionality or capitalization. Findings highlight that, although nearly all workers recognized the importance of instrumental and expressive support, many workers…
A Multi-Level Conceptual Model to Examine Child Welfare Worker Turnover and Retention Decisions
There is little disagreement about the importance of a healthy stable workforce in promoting effective provision of child welfare services. This review proposes a multi-level conceptual model of child welfare workforce turnover combining traditional individual and organizational impacts with factors associated with community context. Identified gaps in the literature along with a related research agenda are reviewed. Also presented is an overview…
Recruitment and retention of child welfare workers in longitudinal research: Successful strategies from the Florida Study of Professionals for Safe Families
Satisfactions and stressors experienced by recently-hired frontline child welfare workers
Unmarried Mothers' Postnatal School Enrollment: The Role and Intersection of Demographic and Socioeconomic Characteristics
Drawing from a theoretical model of educational decisions and intersectionality theory, this study examined demographic, socioeconomic, and public assistance characteristics that influence unmarried mothers' postnatal enrollment. Using the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS), binomial and multinomial regression techniques were used to examine unmarried mothers' enrollment in their child's first nine years. Results showed unmarried …
Hands on” versus “empty”: Supervision experiences of frontline child welfare workers
Recruitment and Retention in a Parenting Intervention: A Case Study with Parents Aging Out of the Child Welfare System
Parenting interventions are efficacious in reducing child maltreatment and negative child behaviors, yet the recruitment and retention of parents, especially vulnerable parents, in such interventions can be challenging. Prior research identifies several ways to improve recruitment and retention including laying the foundation for the intervention, fostering relationships with parents, ensuring fit of the intervention with the intended population,…
Adapting a parenting intervention for parents aging out of the child welfare system: A systematic approach to expand the reach of an evidence-based intervention
Parents aging out of the child welfare system face a constellation of unique risk factors that threaten the well-being of themselves and their children. Although parenting interventions are an important resource for providing much-needed services to parents aging out, there is currently a lack of evidence-based parenting interventions that address the unique needs of this population. The purpose of this project was to systematically adapt an evid…
Employment among unaccompanied women experiencing homelessness
Women represent one of the fastest growing segments of the homeless population and employment is often central exiting homelessness. However, little research considers employment experiences among unaccompanied women, a particularly vulnerable sub-population. This study explored how unaccompanied women experiencing homelessness (n = 20) perceived and negotiated employment in a mid-sized community. Thematic analysis revealed four themes: limited w…
Beginning the “never-ending” learning process: Training experiences of newly-hired child welfare workers
Social networks of unaccompanied women experiencing homelessness
This study explored strengths, barriers, and role of social networks among unaccompanied women experiencing homelessness. Twenty women from two local shelters participated in semistructured, face‐to‐face interviews. A constant comparative analysis revealed 4 themes: support as a coping mechanism, loss of support as a path to homelessness, support as a drain, and support as a way to give. Almost universally, women experienced considerable barriers…
Informal Networks of Low-Income Mothers: Support, Burden, and Change
ObjectiveThe authors examined the support and burden of low-income, urban mothers' informal networks.BackgroundLiving or growing up in poverty strongly predicts barriers and instability across several life domains for mothers and their children. Informal networks can play a critical role in promoting maternal and child well-being particularly in the midst of poverty. Understanding informal support and the reciprocal burden it may create is especi…
Understanding the Effects of Client Violence on the Health of Child Protection Services Workers
Objective: Most child protection services (CPS) workers encounter client violence—physical and nonphysical violence initiated by clients—in their jobs, and such violence often harms worker health. Using the work-stress framework, this study aimed to understand the characteristics of client violence and how they affect worker health. Method: We conducted in-depth interviews with a statewide sample of CPS workers in Florida who have a range of expo…
Gender Support Disparities in a Majority-Female Profession
Theory and empirical evidence establish gender disparities in work pay and promotion trajectories, particularly in majority-male workplaces. Workplace support’s role, particularly in majority-female workplaces, in facilitating gendered occupational trajectories is less clear. Authors used a statewide sample of child welfare workers (N = 1,501) to examine gender differences in support and analyzed qualitative interviews with a subsample of partici…
“I don't have much of a choice”: Low‐income single mothers' Covid ‐19 school and care decisions
Psychology (45 works) · Medicine (38 works) · Political science (23 works) · Social Psychology (22 works) · Sociology (22 works) · Welfare (21 works) · Developmental psychology (20 works) · Economics (19 works) · Child Welfare and Adoption (18 works) · Social Psychology (17 works)