Table 1.

Staff Perceptions of Child Welfare Practice, Economic Resources, and Child Outcomes

Relationship Between Child Support Referrals and the Length of Time in Foster Carea
Question	Response Categories and Responses
How well do you remember the research shared by the Institute for Research on Poverty or DCF about the relationship between child support referrals and the amount of time children spend in foster care? (N = 177)	Not at all well	A little bit well	Somewhat well	Very well	Extremely well
	16.9%	45.8%	27.1%	9.6%
Based on your previous experience, how surprised were you by the research findings? (N = 171)	Not at all surprised	A little bit surprised	Somewhat surprised	Very surprised	Extremely surprised
	30.4%	30.9%	27.4%	7.0%	4.0%
To what extent did the research findings change your perspective? (N = 169)	None	A little	Somewhat	Quite a bit	A very great deal
	28.9%	23.6%	29.5%	17.7%	0%
Relationship Between Economic Resources and Child Maltreatmentb
Question	Response Categories and Responses
How much does a family’s income and other economic resources affect a child’s risk for maltreatment? (N = 995)	None	A little	Somewhat	Quite a bit	A very great deal
	1.6%	9.5%	29.3%	42.1%	17.3%
How much does a family’s income and other economic resources affect a family’s involvement in the child welfare system? (N = 994)	None	A little	Somewhat	Quite a bit	A very great deal
	3.1%	8.7%	27.8%	44.8%	15.3%

Source: Authors’ calculations.

^aAll survey respondents were asked if they were aware of any research shared by the Institute for Research on Poverty or DCF about the relationship between child support referrals and the amount of time children spend in foster care. Survey respondents who selected “yes” (n = 177) were then asked questions about the relationship between child support referrals and the length of time in foster care.

^bAll respondents, regardless of if they were aware of the policy redesign or the research from IRP, were asked these questions.