Mandatory reporting is the first step in a troubling and common cascade: Poverty, reframed as "neglect," precipitates far too many reports, with roughly one-third of children enduring a CPS investigation. Investigated families are monitored and coerced to change their parenting (usually without support for alleviating their poverty),…

Background: Among the different modalities of family support, home visiting programs have proved to be one of the most effective secondary prevention models for families involved in child welfare services. Despite the promising outcomes and the extensive available literature, further research is needed to investigate target population…

The Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP) developed the "Strengthening Families Approach and Protective Factors Framework" (SF) and the "Youth Thrive Protective and Promotive Factors Framework" (YT) in response to an urgent need in the fields of child maltreatment prevention and youth services to shift from a primary…

This brief describes the American Public Human Services Association (APHSA) and Chapin Hall's partnership to build momentum and consensus for child welfare system transformation by bringing together human services agency leadership, experts with lived experience, and national partner organizations to advance cross-sector recommendations for shared…

Rising child welfare costs and a desire to keep kids out of the system have encouraged the use of kinship care--of which custodial grandparents make up the majority of caregivers. Unfortunately, custodial grandparents report greater needs for social and emotional support to successfully care for their grandchildren. Yet, the resources required to…

Child welfare leaders in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, determined that they needed new approaches to keeping families together safely -- and they wanted to center their efforts around the well-being of children and young people. For situations in which foster care was the only option, they wanted it to be temporary, with fewer disruptions…

The opioid epidemic has become a public health crisis; it is important to understand practices Extension educators can use to support affected families. We explored the benefits of a parenting program delivered by Extension educators, the Strengthening Families Program (SFP), for families involved in family treatment court services. Data came from…

This pilot study integrated quantitative and qualitative data to examine the feasibility of implementing a modified version of a multiple family group behavioral parent training intervention (The 4Rs and 2Ss for Strengthening Families Program [4Rs and 2Ss]) in child welfare (CW) placement prevention services from the perspectives of participating…

The Program of Intervention for Prevention of Institutionalization (P.I.P.P.I.) is a programme that integrates research, training, and intervention in working with families living in vulnerable situations. It is funded by the Italian Ministry of Welfare and, since 2011, has cumulatively involved roughly 8000 professionals from Social and Health…

Based on case studies in three states (CO, RI, and TX), this brief examines promising strategies to address the developmental and mental health needs of infants and toddlers involved in Child Welfare (CW). Due to family adversities, trauma, maltreatment, and separation from primary caregivers, these infants and toddlers are at substantial risk of…

This paper presents a protocol for a funded study of technical assistance strategies used to support the use of evidence, and, in particular, how participatory processes contribute to the use of evidence to improve outcomes for populations. Findings from the study will increase understanding of the relationships between technical assistance,…

Social workers are constantly predicting the future. In England and Wales there is a legal duty on them to do so, as the 1989 Children Act requires workers to assess not only whether children "have" suffered significant harm, but also whether they are "likely" to do so. Similarly, in Northern Ireland social workers are required…

Purpose: Bivariate and logistics regression analyses were conducted to examine the effectiveness of child welfare agencies' Family Group Decision-Making (FGDM) practices focused on strengthening families and positive outcomes for children. This study evaluates one mid-Atlantic state's implementation of a FGDM called family involvement meetings…

"Children's Budget 2021," the 15th annual Children's Budget analysis, is released as Congress stands at a proverbial crossroads for the nation's kids. For more than a decade, this report has documented mostly bad news, in which the share of federal spending for kids has sharply declined. But, as Congress grappled with how to respond to a…

In this article, Trenna Valado, Jennifer Tracey, Jonathan Goldfinger, and Rahil Briggs highlight the potential to expand the promise of pediatric care to encompass the full array of child and family needs that can affect the long-term wellbeing of infants and toddlers. Pediatric care is not stigmatized, nearly universally accessed, and oriented…