Blog

The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) of 1978 is one of the key components to protecting the rights and culture of American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) children and families. Unfortunately, not all child welfare caseworkers are aware of how to apply ICWA or the troubling history that prompted the law to be enacted. This factsheet provides caseworkers with an overview of current and historical issues affecting child welfare practice with AI/AN families, practice implications, and cultural...

By Leyland Cecco, The Guardian, September 29, 2021 A federal court in Canada has paved they way for billions in compensation to First Nations children who suffered discrimination in the welfare system, after a judge dismissed a pair of legal challenges by the government. Two years ago , the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ruled that the federal government had “wilfully and recklessly” discriminated against Indigenous children living on reserves by failing to properly fund child and family...

This new report shares the results of a participatory action research (PAR) project that Rise conducted in winter 2021 in partnership with TakeRoot Justice . Our research documents parents’ experiences with the family policing system and explores a collective vision to transform our society’s structures, policies and practices related to family and community support. Imaginative and sometimes painful community conversations with 48 people impacted by ACS provide the foundation of this...

By The Annie E. Casey Foundation, September 23, 2021 IN THIS BRIEF, YOU'LL LEARN Why lawmakers should act before pandemic-relief provisions expire. The disparate outcomes that youth and families of color face in foster care. Why effective youth advocacy is important. Policy solutions that enhance support for all young people in foster care. SUMMARY This brief highlights historical federal child welfare policy achievements and urges policymakers to champion new reforms that promote lasting...

By Randy Krehbiel, Tulsa World, September 16, 2021 Child welfare services could be more effective — and less expensive — if they were more proactive than reactive, an Oklahoma House of Representatives subcommittee was told Tuesday. “Sixty percent of child protective services responses nationally are for neglect only, … but our interventions have been predominantly focused on addressing … physical abuse,” said Claire Anderson, a senior policy advisor with the Chapin Hall child welfare...

By Sara Tiano and Kelly Davis, the Imprint, September 2, 2021 Before July when it became unlawful, California officials sent hundreds of vulnerable children each year to residential treatment programs as far-flung as Wyoming and Florida. They were kids who the courts, social workers and probation officers decided were too troubled to place in family foster homes or in local group facilities. Their behaviors were so unsafe and mental health issues so severe, local officials determined, their...

This resource from Prevent Child Abuse America (PCAA) highlights the status of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) reauthorization by Congress. PCA America supports a strong and comprehensive reauthorization bill that includes significantly higher funding levels, increases transparency and accountability in the program, increases the focus on primary prevention and family support services, and promotes race equity. The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) is...

By Sixto Cancel, The New York Times, September 16, 2021 When I was 15, an usher at my church offered to become my foster parent. Hers was one of the best foster homes I lived in. But she wanted a son. It was more than I was able to give. I had been in foster care since I was 11 months old because of my mother’s drug addiction and poverty. Adopted at age 9 by a racist and abusive woman, I was locked out of the house at age 13. For two years, I couch surfed with friends, then entered foster...

In less than a week, parents and caregivers for children impacted by early childhood trauma will be learning and supported at the Standing Strong Virtual Conference - Sept 13-15, 2021, hosted by the Attachment & Trauma Network, Inc. (ATN) . This 3-day event is focused on helping those caring for children with developmental trauma, complex PTSD and attachment challenges learn advocacy strategies and focus on their own care/burnout needs now that their children are back in school. Speakers...

By Paul S Dilorenzo, for Imprint News, September, 1, 2021 Most of what I write for The Imprint is about family support and primary prevention programming. Like many of my colleagues, I frequently distinguish between “upstream” and the “deep-end” activities of the child welfare system, which is a shortcut description of what we perceive and then, how we function. It serves our purpose for partializing our work. However, I’m sure we would all agree that this might not be the perception of the...

By Juan Carlos Castillo and Michael Fitzgerald, The Imprint, August 25, 2021 Damali Flippin, a mother of a 6-year-old girl, had been living in Washington, D.C., for years not knowing where to find emotional and social support. With her family living far away, the pandemic deepened those needs. “To be candid, I’d been feeling very depressed and just, you know, anxious and not motivated,” she said in a recent public meeting held over videoconference. Her desolation continued until the day an...

The foster care system is designed to temporarily shelter children who have been removed from their homes due to maltreatment. Each year, the United States has more than 400,000 children living in foster care (1) . Placing children in foster homes can help to provide them a safe environment. Foster parents are dedicated to giving the best care for children living in their homes. Their care can provide children with a safe and stable environment to thrive and survive (2) . Effective child...