Esther Wattenberg
Professor
Coordinator of Outreach,
Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare
Associate, Center for Urban and
Regional Affairs (CURA)
Office: 205C Peters Hall
Phone: (612) 625-6550
E-mail: ewattenb@umn.edu
Mailing address: 105 Peters Hall
Degrees & Institutions
Post Graduate Study, London School of Economics
M.A., Social Service Administration, University of Chicago, 1957
M.A., University of Toronto, 1945
B.A. University of Western Ontario
Interest Areas
Child Welfare: Children in Long-term Foster Care, Kinship Foster
Care, Concurrent Planning; Family Policy: Income Support for
Female-headed Families; Teenage Parents; Paternity Issues; Single-parent
Families
Current Research
- Extensive grant-funded research in the areas of contemporary child welfare, social policy and delivery systems for family and children\'s services, and community development.
- Principal Investigator for "Directing Attention to Drug and Alcohol Endangered Children: Community Engagement in Decision-Making," funded by the Office of Justice Programs, Minnesota Department of Public Safety, January 2004.
- Principal Investigator for "A Study of Children in Multiple Placements: Factors in Stability and Instability," funded by Hennepin County, Minnesota, The Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare, and the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs, University of Minnesota, March 2003 to March 2004.
- Principal Investigator for "Matching Needs and Resources," a planning grant from the Agricultural Extension Services, University of Minnesota, to study "Opportunities for Responding to Vulnerable Children and Families: A Model of Community Engagement in Decision-Making in Rural Counties and Adjacent American Indian Reservations," March 2003.
Recent Publications
Wattenberg, E. (2004). Brief encounters: Children in shelter for seven
days or less. Children and Youth Services Review, 26,
(6), 591-607.
Available on-line at
http://authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S0190740904000416.
Wattenberg, E. (2001). When the Rehabilitation Ideal Fails: A Study
of
Parental Rights Termination. Child Welfare, LXXX, (4).
Wattenberg, E. (Ed.). (1997). Redrawing the family circle:
Concurrent
Planning-Permanency for young children in high risk
situations.
Summary of proceedings for symposium.
Wattenberg, E., & Pearson, Y. (Eds.). (1997). Rethinking child
welfare:
Can the system be transformed through community partnerships.
Proceedings for workshop.
Wattenberg, E., & Boisen, L. (1994). Testing the community standard
on
neglect: Are we there yet? Findings from a first-stage survey
of
professional social services worker. In E. Wattenberg (Ed.).,
Children
in the shadows: The fate of children in neglecting families
(pp. 31-
59). Proceedings of the conference held April 15th, 1994 at
the
University of Minnesota. Minneapolis: Center for Advanced
Studies in
Child Welfare and the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs.
Wattenberg, E. (1991). Minor mothers and welfare reform. Public
Welfare, 49 (4), 12-21, 46.
Wattenberg, E. (1991). Children having children: The crisis and
Minnesota's response. CURA Reporter, XXI (3).
Jones, L. E., & Wattenberg, E. (1991). Working, still poor: A loan
program's role in the lives of low-income single parents.
Social Work,
36 (2), 146-153.
Other Research and Publications
Wattenberg, E., Edited monographs: "The Fatherhood Factor in Permanency
Planning," Practice Notes, Issue No. 15, March 2004; "The Exploratory
Interview of a Maltreatment Report: The First Encounter in a Child
Protection System," Practice Notes, Issue No. 14, July 2003;
"Visitation: Through the Eyes of a Child," Practice Notes, Issue No. 13,
January 2003; "Family Group Decision-Making: Incorporating Family
Strengths, Concerns, and Resources in Developing a Safety Plan,"
Practice Notes, Issue No. 12, September 2002; "Mediation for Child
Welfare", Practice Notes, Issue No. 11, Fall, 2001; and "The
Contribution of Ethnographic Interviewing to Culturally Competent
Practice", Practice Notes, Issue No. 10, Winter 2001. Available on-line
at: Center for Advanced
Studies in Child Welfare
"A Briefing Paper on the Minnesota Child Welfare System: Responding to the Needs of Children Unable to Live at Home," April, 2002. Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare
"Family-Support Infrastructure is Crumbling," Op-Ed piece in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, May 2, 2004, as part of a series entitled, "The Lost Youth of Leech Lake: Perspectives on a Disturbing Portrait," Star Tribune, April 25-27, 2004.
Principal Investigator for "Improving Practice with High-Risk Families and Children", funded by the McKnight Foundation, 2001-2002.
Principal Investigator for the study "Developing Optimal Permanent Placements for Young Children in Foster Care", funded by The McKnight Foundation, 1999-2002.