In England, the national mortality review programme for people with intellectual disabilities, the LeDeR programme, was established in 2015. The programme supports local areas to review the deaths of all people with intellectual disabilities aged 4 years and over. Each death has an initial review; if indicated, a full multi-agency review takes…

The Families Forward Demonstration (FFD) examined new strategies to increase the earnings of parents who owe child support but are unable to fully meet their obligations due to low earnings. It also focused on "responsive" child support services that helped parents understand their support obligations, and even suspended certain…

Traditional approaches to disseminating research based programs and innovations for children and families, which rely on practitioners and policy makers to make sense of research on their own, have been found insufficient. There is growing interest in strategies that "make it happen" by actively building the capacity of service providers…

In their critique of differential response (DR), Hughes and colleagues raise a number of important issues that are central to broader efforts at the Administration on Children, Youth, and Families (ACYF) including the need for greater reliance on evidence-based practice in child welfare, more rigorous evaluation methodologies, and a robust set of…

The field of children's services in Australia is currently undergoing significant change. For example, the current implementation of the Early Years Reform Agenda encompasses the development of National Quality Standards, which promote a strong focus on workforce development. As a consequence, practitioners in this sector are being required to…

As part of the Assessing the New Federalism project, this paper explores the role of the state and federal government in narrowing state spending differences among noneducation children's programs. An analysis of the variation among states in need, capacity, and willingness to spend is followed by an analysis of two federal funding…

The primary purpose of this hearing was to enable committee members to question Government Accounting Office (GAO) personnel about the results of the GAO study of the implementation of the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Black Grant. A background paper on the MCH block grant program is provided prior to the introduction of testimony concluding…

Examined implementation of the "Looking After Children" (LAC) materials in 12 local authorities in England. Found that only 10 of 757 case files contained no LAC documentation. Standards of completion varied among local authorities, different forms, area offices, and groups of children. Completion was better for children admitted to the…

Examined the implementation of "Looking After Children" materials in five Australian States and Territories. Found that few system changes were required for cultural reasons. Initial fears of increasing workloads were outweighed by positive responses from practitioners, caregivers, and youth with experience in the out-of-home care…

Presents successful training strategies for implementing the "Looking After Children" materials for children in out-of-home care in English local authorities. Discusses the need to implement the materials at all levels of the organization, introduce the materials as a creative work tool, and use the resulting data in research and…

The national attention focused on child sexual abuse has resulted in calls for prevention programs and ways to protect children. A child sexual abuse prevention program was developed and implemented by social workers in all the public elementary schools of a high-risk county in cooperation with the Council on Child Abuse, the Department of Family…

At the request of the U.S. House of Representatives, this study identified problems confronting child protective service (CPS) units, which affect the system's capacity to protect children from abuse and neglect. State and local responses to these problems, and opportunities for the federal government to assist in improving the system's capacity…

Highlighting the need for a redefinition and redirection of social services for children and families, this report proposes a new model for social services that can enhance the development of children and the functioning of families. Two essential and interrelated components of the model described and discussed are: (1) supporting and expanding…

This report examines "permanency planning" and "special needs adoption" for children with disabilities, based on the experience of Project STAR in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Project STAR (Specialized Training for Adoption Readiness) was established in 1985 to provide support services for families of children with disabilities…

These hearings transcripts compile testimony regarding how programs authorized by the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act and the Missing Children's Assistance Act currently operate, in preparation for upcoming reauthorization. Opening statements by U.S. Representatives Peter Hoekstra (Michigan) and Ruben Hinojosa (Texas) underscore the obligation to…