Bethany R Lee
Biographic Data
| ID | 6187201 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Bethany R Lee |
| GIVEN NAMES | Bethany R |
| FAMILY NAME | Lee |
| SIGNATURE | LEE B R |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Maryland, Baltimore |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-4549-3027 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 30 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 129 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 30 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2008 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
Online training in adoption mental health competence
Integrated Care
MSW students (n = 202) from four U.S. universities participated in a Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training program focused on integrated care with children and youth. Data were aggregated across programs to assess for improved scores on the Attitudes Towards Healthcare Teams Scale (ATHCTS). Students who identified as White reported significantly higher ATHCT scores at pre-test compared to students who identified as a racial or ethnic…
Reducing Confounding Bias in Nonexperimental Evaluation
Directed Acyclic Graphs in Social Work Research and Evaluation
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy–Plus for Youth in Out-of-Home Care
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy–Plus (CBT+) has emerged as a promising intervention to address the myriad emotional and behavioral health needs of youth in the child welfare system. Existing CBT+ research has shown reductions in target clinical symptoms, but child welfare placement outcomes have not yet been assessed. The current study tested the effects of CBT+ on placement stability and psychiatric inpatient treatment use among youth in out-of-hom…
Relationships matter
Quality Parenting Initiative (QPI) is a systems reform approach aimed at strengthening the quality parenting practices of foster parents, and their support by child welfare workers. QPI has been implemented in over 80 jurisdictions across 10 states; however, no external evaluation has informed its development. This study explored perceptions of QPI's impact on the foster parent experience, with a particular focus on foster parent involvement in i…
The evaluation of a Nurturing parenting program implemented by child welfare workers
Parent, Child, and Adoption Characteristics Associated with Post-Adoption Support Needs
The purpose of this study is to (a) identify whether there are meaningful subgroups of families with distinct post-adoption needs and (b) determine which parent, youth, and adoption characteristics are associated with these collections of needs. Using data from the Modern Adoptive Families study, authors conducted a three-step latent class analysis with a sample of 1,414 families who rated the importance of 16 areas of parent education and suppor…
Knowing that I wasn’t alone”
Virtual coaching for child welfare workers – a tool to promote learning
This pilot study considers the effects of a virtual coaching intervention on learning outcomes of an online training for child welfare workers. A two-group pretest–posttest design was used to assess differences in outcomes for participants taking part in virtual coaching (n = 27) compared with similar participants who received online training only (n = 300). The virtual coaching group completed significantly more training modules and perceived gr…
Psychological Well-Being, Risk, and Resilience of Youth in Out-Of-Home Care and Former Foster Youth
Older Youth in Extended Out-of-home Care
The purpose of this study is to examine the permanency experiences of older youth, age 18–21 in out-of-home placements and placement characteristics that influence age of exit from child welfare. Findings suggest a difference between age groups with more 18-year old youth exiting to emancipation than youth who exit at age 21. A higher number of spells in care and a higher number of placement changes during the last spell were associated with exit…
The role of care coordination and out‐of‐home placement in youth dental and vision care visits
Care coordination has been proposed as an approach to promote access to services for youth with complex health and mental health needs. Youth with behavioral health needs are at increased risk of out‐of‐home placement, an experience which may also impact service utilization. Using a sample of administrative and public health insurance record data for youth with mental health needs, we assessed the relationships between care coordination and out‐o…
Parent perspectives on adoption preparation
Equipping the child welfare workforce to improve the well-being of children
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to discuss ways of equipping the child welfare (CW) workforce to improve the well-being of children through graduate education and post-MSW training
Family Centered Treatment, Juvenile Justice, and the Grand Challenge of Smart Decarceration
Purpose: Responding to social work’s grand challenge of smart decarceration, this study investigated whether Family Centered Treatment (FCT), a home-based service for juvenile court-involved youth, is more effective than group care (GC) in reducing recidivism. Outcomes are juvenile readjudication and commitment to placement, and adult conviction and sentence of incarceration. Method: Data were drawn from service provider and state administrative …
Replication of the Keep foster and kinship parent training program for youth with externalizing behaviors
Trajectory of Externalizing Child Behaviors in a Keep Replication
Objective: The purpose of this study is to examine the correlates of child behavior change over time in a replication of the KEEP intervention. Method: The study sample was drawn from the treatment group of the Maryland replication of KEEP (n=65). Change over time was analyzed using multilevel linear mixed modeling. Results: Parents’ use of positive reinforcement relative to discipline was associated with the rate of child behavior change among p…
Program and practice elements for placement prevention
Preventing unnecessary out-of-home placement for youth with behavioral and emotional needs is a goal of several public child-serving services, including child welfare, juvenile justice, and child mental health. Although a small number of manualized interventions have been created to promote family driven and community-based services and have empirical support, other less established programs have been initiated by local jurisdictions to prevent o…
Navigating family roles and relationships
During young adulthood, many transitions occur in family relationships. This paper explores family roles for young adults in the transition years who have been in the custody of the child welfare system and have mood challenges. To capture the voices of this less studied subpopulation, we conducted in‐depth qualitative interviews with 44 young adults in a M idwestern state. Through coding interview transcripts, we identified how these young peopl…
Implementing a Modular Research-Supported Treatment in Child Welfare
Objective: Increasing rates of mental health needs in child welfare clients highlight the importance of training child welfare workers in effective mental health interventions. This pilot study evaluates the effects of training public child welfare workers and interns in modularized research-supported treatments (RSTs). Methods: We compared knowledge of and attitudes toward RSTs and barriers and facilitators to their use in a sample of 26 field i…
Emerging adulthood among former system youth
Response Agreement Rates Between Child Welfare–Involved Youth and Their Caregivers
Data were collected from 40 youth and 37 caregivers, which represented 57 distinct youth and 20 youth–caregiver dyads to measure the level of agreement between youth self-report and their caregivers on a variety of topics. Topics included: the youth's past placements, service use and needs, experiences in the child welfare system, and the youth's emotional problems and social behaviors. Results indicated high agreement between youth and caregiver…
I Thought I Hated Data”
Social work is an applied profession using a combination of theory, research, and practice to meet the needs of client populations. First-hand experiential learning is central to social work education. Just as students learn clinical skills by interacting with clients in a practice setting, students need a forum to use real data to develop their skills in accessing, understanding, interpreting, and presenting answers to pertinent social work rese…
Outcomes of Group Care for Youth
Objective: The purpose of this study was to review empirical evidence of the effects of placement in group care compared to other interventions. Method: Two-group empirical studies were identified and effect sizes for all reported outcomes were calculated. Results: Nineteen two-group studies were found that compared group care with family foster care, treatment foster care, no placement, and different group care models. Most effects were small to…
Evidence-Based Practice at a Crossroads
Social work is increasingly embracing evidence-based practice (EBP) as a decision-making process that incorporates the best available evidence about effective treatments given client values and preferences, in addition to social worker expertise. Yet, social work practitioners have typically encountered challenges with the application of manualized evidence-supported treatments. For social work, the path to implementing the delivery of science-in…
Comparing outcomes for youth in treatment foster care and family-style group care
Emerging adulthood among former system youth
Parent perspectives on adoption preparation
Does what happens in group care stay in group care? The relationship between problem behaviour trajectories during care and post‐placement functioning
Residential programmes for youth may improve youth behaviour during placement, but it is not clear whether there is an association between a youth's behaviour pattern during placement and post‐placement outcomes. Life course perspective has been used to understand longitudinal patterns and pathways, and new statistical methods have been developed to identify latent trajectory groups. This study used administrative data from a family‐style group c…
North Carolina Family Assessment Scale
Objective: The purpose of this study is to assess the reliability and validity of the North Carolina Family Assessment Scale (NCFAS) among families involved with youth mental health services. Methods: Using NCFAS data collected by child mental health intake workers with 158 families, factor analysis was conducted to assess factor structure, and thematic analysis of intake notes was used to test content validity. Results: This study found only thr…
Relationships matter
Quality Parenting Initiative (QPI) is a systems reform approach aimed at strengthening the quality parenting practices of foster parents, and their support by child welfare workers. QPI has been implemented in over 80 jurisdictions across 10 states; however, no external evaluation has informed its development. This study explored perceptions of QPI's impact on the foster parent experience, with a particular focus on foster parent involvement in i…
Parent, Child, and Adoption Characteristics Associated with Post-Adoption Support Needs
The purpose of this study is to (a) identify whether there are meaningful subgroups of families with distinct post-adoption needs and (b) determine which parent, youth, and adoption characteristics are associated with these collections of needs. Using data from the Modern Adoptive Families study, authors conducted a three-step latent class analysis with a sample of 1,414 families who rated the importance of 16 areas of parent education and suppor…
Navigating family roles and relationships
During young adulthood, many transitions occur in family relationships. This paper explores family roles for young adults in the transition years who have been in the custody of the child welfare system and have mood challenges. To capture the voices of this less studied subpopulation, we conducted in‐depth qualitative interviews with 44 young adults in a M idwestern state. Through coding interview transcripts, we identified how these young peopl…
Transitioning from group care to family care
Family Centered Treatment, Juvenile Justice, and the Grand Challenge of Smart Decarceration
Purpose: Responding to social work’s grand challenge of smart decarceration, this study investigated whether Family Centered Treatment (FCT), a home-based service for juvenile court-involved youth, is more effective than group care (GC) in reducing recidivism. Outcomes are juvenile readjudication and commitment to placement, and adult conviction and sentence of incarceration. Method: Data were drawn from service provider and state administrative …
Response Agreement Rates Between Child Welfare–Involved Youth and Their Caregivers
Data were collected from 40 youth and 37 caregivers, which represented 57 distinct youth and 20 youth–caregiver dyads to measure the level of agreement between youth self-report and their caregivers on a variety of topics. Topics included: the youth's past placements, service use and needs, experiences in the child welfare system, and the youth's emotional problems and social behaviors. Results indicated high agreement between youth and caregiver…
I Thought I Hated Data”
Social work is an applied profession using a combination of theory, research, and practice to meet the needs of client populations. First-hand experiential learning is central to social work education. Just as students learn clinical skills by interacting with clients in a practice setting, students need a forum to use real data to develop their skills in accessing, understanding, interpreting, and presenting answers to pertinent social work rese…
Older Youth in Extended Out-of-home Care
The purpose of this study is to examine the permanency experiences of older youth, age 18–21 in out-of-home placements and placement characteristics that influence age of exit from child welfare. Findings suggest a difference between age groups with more 18-year old youth exiting to emancipation than youth who exit at age 21. A higher number of spells in care and a higher number of placement changes during the last spell were associated with exit…
Replication of the Keep foster and kinship parent training program for youth with externalizing behaviors
Trajectory of Externalizing Child Behaviors in a Keep Replication
Objective: The purpose of this study is to examine the correlates of child behavior change over time in a replication of the KEEP intervention. Method: The study sample was drawn from the treatment group of the Maryland replication of KEEP (n=65). Change over time was analyzed using multilevel linear mixed modeling. Results: Parents’ use of positive reinforcement relative to discipline was associated with the rate of child behavior change among p…
Implementing a Modular Research-Supported Treatment in Child Welfare
Objective: Increasing rates of mental health needs in child welfare clients highlight the importance of training child welfare workers in effective mental health interventions. This pilot study evaluates the effects of training public child welfare workers and interns in modularized research-supported treatments (RSTs). Methods: We compared knowledge of and attitudes toward RSTs and barriers and facilitators to their use in a sample of 26 field i…
Virtual coaching for child welfare workers – a tool to promote learning
This pilot study considers the effects of a virtual coaching intervention on learning outcomes of an online training for child welfare workers. A two-group pretest–posttest design was used to assess differences in outcomes for participants taking part in virtual coaching (n = 27) compared with similar participants who received online training only (n = 300). The virtual coaching group completed significantly more training modules and perceived gr…
Comparing outcomes for youth in treatment foster care and family-style group care
North Carolina Family Assessment Scale
Objective: The purpose of this study is to assess the reliability and validity of the North Carolina Family Assessment Scale (NCFAS) among families involved with youth mental health services. Methods: Using NCFAS data collected by child mental health intake workers with 158 families, factor analysis was conducted to assess factor structure, and thematic analysis of intake notes was used to test content validity. Results: This study found only thr…
Does what happens in group care stay in group care? The relationship between problem behaviour trajectories during care and post‐placement functioning
Residential programmes for youth may improve youth behaviour during placement, but it is not clear whether there is an association between a youth's behaviour pattern during placement and post‐placement outcomes. Life course perspective has been used to understand longitudinal patterns and pathways, and new statistical methods have been developed to identify latent trajectory groups. This study used administrative data from a family‐style group c…
Transitioning from group care to family care
Outcomes of Group Care for Youth
Objective: The purpose of this study was to review empirical evidence of the effects of placement in group care compared to other interventions. Method: Two-group empirical studies were identified and effect sizes for all reported outcomes were calculated. Results: Nineteen two-group studies were found that compared group care with family foster care, treatment foster care, no placement, and different group care models. Most effects were small to…
Evidence-Based Practice at a Crossroads
Social work is increasingly embracing evidence-based practice (EBP) as a decision-making process that incorporates the best available evidence about effective treatments given client values and preferences, in addition to social worker expertise. Yet, social work practitioners have typically encountered challenges with the application of manualized evidence-supported treatments. For social work, the path to implementing the delivery of science-in…
I Thought I Hated Data”
Social work is an applied profession using a combination of theory, research, and practice to meet the needs of client populations. First-hand experiential learning is central to social work education. Just as students learn clinical skills by interacting with clients in a practice setting, students need a forum to use real data to develop their skills in accessing, understanding, interpreting, and presenting answers to pertinent social work rese…
Emerging adulthood among former system youth
Response Agreement Rates Between Child Welfare–Involved Youth and Their Caregivers
Data were collected from 40 youth and 37 caregivers, which represented 57 distinct youth and 20 youth–caregiver dyads to measure the level of agreement between youth self-report and their caregivers on a variety of topics. Topics included: the youth's past placements, service use and needs, experiences in the child welfare system, and the youth's emotional problems and social behaviors. Results indicated high agreement between youth and caregiver…
Program and practice elements for placement prevention
Preventing unnecessary out-of-home placement for youth with behavioral and emotional needs is a goal of several public child-serving services, including child welfare, juvenile justice, and child mental health. Although a small number of manualized interventions have been created to promote family driven and community-based services and have empirical support, other less established programs have been initiated by local jurisdictions to prevent o…
Navigating family roles and relationships
During young adulthood, many transitions occur in family relationships. This paper explores family roles for young adults in the transition years who have been in the custody of the child welfare system and have mood challenges. To capture the voices of this less studied subpopulation, we conducted in‐depth qualitative interviews with 44 young adults in a M idwestern state. Through coding interview transcripts, we identified how these young peopl…
Implementing a Modular Research-Supported Treatment in Child Welfare
Objective: Increasing rates of mental health needs in child welfare clients highlight the importance of training child welfare workers in effective mental health interventions. This pilot study evaluates the effects of training public child welfare workers and interns in modularized research-supported treatments (RSTs). Methods: We compared knowledge of and attitudes toward RSTs and barriers and facilitators to their use in a sample of 26 field i…
Trajectory of Externalizing Child Behaviors in a Keep Replication
Objective: The purpose of this study is to examine the correlates of child behavior change over time in a replication of the KEEP intervention. Method: The study sample was drawn from the treatment group of the Maryland replication of KEEP (n=65). Change over time was analyzed using multilevel linear mixed modeling. Results: Parents’ use of positive reinforcement relative to discipline was associated with the rate of child behavior change among p…
Replication of the Keep foster and kinship parent training program for youth with externalizing behaviors
Equipping the child welfare workforce to improve the well-being of children
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to discuss ways of equipping the child welfare (CW) workforce to improve the well-being of children through graduate education and post-MSW training
Family Centered Treatment, Juvenile Justice, and the Grand Challenge of Smart Decarceration
Purpose: Responding to social work’s grand challenge of smart decarceration, this study investigated whether Family Centered Treatment (FCT), a home-based service for juvenile court-involved youth, is more effective than group care (GC) in reducing recidivism. Outcomes are juvenile readjudication and commitment to placement, and adult conviction and sentence of incarceration. Method: Data were drawn from service provider and state administrative …
Psychological Well-Being, Risk, and Resilience of Youth in Out-Of-Home Care and Former Foster Youth
Older Youth in Extended Out-of-home Care
The purpose of this study is to examine the permanency experiences of older youth, age 18–21 in out-of-home placements and placement characteristics that influence age of exit from child welfare. Findings suggest a difference between age groups with more 18-year old youth exiting to emancipation than youth who exit at age 21. A higher number of spells in care and a higher number of placement changes during the last spell were associated with exit…
The role of care coordination and out‐of‐home placement in youth dental and vision care visits
Care coordination has been proposed as an approach to promote access to services for youth with complex health and mental health needs. Youth with behavioral health needs are at increased risk of out‐of‐home placement, an experience which may also impact service utilization. Using a sample of administrative and public health insurance record data for youth with mental health needs, we assessed the relationships between care coordination and out‐o…
Parent perspectives on adoption preparation
Virtual coaching for child welfare workers – a tool to promote learning
This pilot study considers the effects of a virtual coaching intervention on learning outcomes of an online training for child welfare workers. A two-group pretest–posttest design was used to assess differences in outcomes for participants taking part in virtual coaching (n = 27) compared with similar participants who received online training only (n = 300). The virtual coaching group completed significantly more training modules and perceived gr…
Parent, Child, and Adoption Characteristics Associated with Post-Adoption Support Needs
The purpose of this study is to (a) identify whether there are meaningful subgroups of families with distinct post-adoption needs and (b) determine which parent, youth, and adoption characteristics are associated with these collections of needs. Using data from the Modern Adoptive Families study, authors conducted a three-step latent class analysis with a sample of 1,414 families who rated the importance of 16 areas of parent education and suppor…
Knowing that I wasn’t alone”
The evaluation of a Nurturing parenting program implemented by child welfare workers
Reducing Confounding Bias in Nonexperimental Evaluation
Psychology (29 works) · Medicine (26 works) · Child Welfare and Adoption (19 works) · Child Abuse and Trauma (15 works) · Nursing (15 works) · Psychiatry (13 works) · Developmental psychology (12 works) · Political science (12 works) · Sociology (11 works) · Clinical Psychology (9 works)