Highlights the key issues in kinship care and discusses them as they relate to agency structure for kinship family support in the public child welfare system. Examines concerns for future planning, including meeting regulations, monitoring, and development of permanent plans, and explores implications for policy and practice. (Author/SD)

Explores two historical periods that preceded the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978: the boarding and mission school era (1880s-1950s) and the Indian adoption era (1950s-70s). The assimilationist social welfare policy of those two eras led to the eventual need for special legislation that protects tribal self-determination, heritage, and family…

Argues that a child has a right to multicultural education when the child is a member of a minority community or when the child's mother and father are members of different cultural groups. Concludes that multicultural education as established in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child should be developed further and elaborated in…

Two families were studied that had children placed in foster care due to abuse and neglect by parents with mental retardation. One mother easily learned necessary parenting skills. In the second case, incremental resumption of custody was made contingent on completion of relevant parenting tasks; when progress in task completion ceased, parental…

Based on interviews with hundreds of remarried men and women, this guide to stepparenting realistically acknowledges the fears, doubts, and difficulties that affect the stepparenting situation, and offers practical help and insight into the many accompanying challenges and rewards. Following an introduction that acknowledges how few role-models…

Three of the most challenging problems in the custody evaluation field follow from: (1) the difficulties involved in adapting data derived from group studies or traditional tests into a form for individual cases; (2) the absence of clear and compelling guidelines to aggregate the information collected in a comprehensive evaluation; and (3) the…

This guide offers a comprehensive basis from which administrators of day care centers can identify legal issues and become aware of laws applying to the resolution of those issues. Sections of the guide focus on (1) choosing an organization type, (2) forming the organization, (3) formal legal requirements in establishing the program, (4) basic…

This document is the text of Public Law 98-378, the Child Support Enforcement Amendments of 1984. The act amends part D of title IV of the Social Security Act to assure, through mandatory income withholding, incentive payments to states, and other improvements in the child support enforcement program, that all children in the United States who are…

Ten agencies in New York State provide educational services to over 46,000 children (daily average) in state care or custody. This audit report, through verbal and statistical summaries, evaluates these agencies' performance. Chapter I provides background data, describes the scope of the audit, and discusses state laws and regulations designed to…

The Parents' Fair Share (PFS) Demonstration, a multi-site national project, tested a new approach to child support enforcement for low-income noncustodial parents (NCPs). Findings were drawn on survey responses of 2,005 custodial parents, mothers of children for whom NCPs owed child support. The sample was randomly assigned to a program group,…

Examines three aspects of legal treatment of blood relationships in the adoption process: (1) ability of relatives to participate in adoption proceedings; (2) how courts evaluate blood relationships in determining best interests of the child; and (3) rights of relatives to continued contact when a child is adopted by nonrelatives. (Author)

Compared parenting and children's (n=136) social, psychological, and academic adjustment across family structures. Biological/adoptive parents in intact families showed more positive parenting and coparenting practices than did parents in other family configuration; children in intact families showed higher levels of adjustment. Found differences…

Statewide study of 455 Ohio children who received family preservation or reunification services found that the homeless child was more likely to be a child of color, to be younger, to have problems maintaining a bond with parents, and to be in a relative's home, and less likely to have behavior problems or successful service outcomes. Contains 22…

Major changes are taking place in western families which affect the way professionals interact with families. Drawing on a multidisciplinary team of scholars, this book presents a synthesis of the demographic, theoretical, and research data on the various permutations of the single parent family. Topics include economics, single custodial or…

Due to the rural environment in which most Indian tribal human service personnel work, paraprofessional staff rarely have access to professional education programs that will enable them to expand their theoretical knowledge, enhance their practical skills, and advance their careers. Indian child welfare workers encounter complex tasks daily, which…