Author Archives: Jamar Little

Trauma-Informed Housing: A Toolkit for Advancing Equity and Economic Opportunity in Affordable Housing

We know that when life hits us with stressful, overwhelming, or traumatic experiences, we’re more likely to bounce back – be resilient – when we have healthy ways to cope and a supportive environment. A safe, affordable place to call home … Read More

The Way Forward: Report of the Alyce Spotted Bear & Walter Soboleff Commission on Native Children

Introduction Created by Congress through bipartisan legislation, the Alyce Spotted Bear and Walter Soboleff Commission on Native Children was charged with conducting a comprehensive study of the programs, grants, and supports available to American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians … Read More

Co-designing a Kin-first Culture Approach in Child Welfare – Public Service Design Conference 2023

Bloom Works and the Washington state Department of Children, Youth and Families share how they used service design and co-design to help children in the foster care system stay connected to their extended families, and overcome systemic barriers to kin … Read More

On the Threshold of Change Forces that Could Transform Future Conditions for Youth in Extended Foster Care (EFC)

Introduction Prior to 2010, youth in foster care “aged out” of the system at the age of 18, which left them to navigate adulthood on their own. Many had been deeply traumatized by their experiences before foster care, the loss … Read More

Trauma-Informed Housing

An Approach to Empower Residents in Affordable Housing Design, Services, and Management Public and assisted housing provides affordable, stable housing to people with low incomes—including seniors, people with disabilities, and families with children. However, policies and practices around affordable housing … Read More

Birth and Foster Parent Partnership: Directory of Strategies and Resources

The Birth and Foster Parent Partnership (BFPP) was formed in 2016 to support birth parents, foster families and kinship care providers in building connections and using their voices to transform systems, policies, and practices to improve permanency outcomes for children … Read More

Transracial Adoption Conversations (T.R.A.C.) Coaching: Engaging Transracial Adoptive Caregivers in Conversations on Race and Meeting Children’s Racial Identity Needs Over the Lifespan

Transracial adoptions continue to grow in the United States, and transracial adoptions have outpaced the growth of same race adoptions. Between 2005-2007 and 2017-2019, the number of transracial adoptions increased by 58% while the number of same race adoptions increased … Read More

Building and Sustaining Data Analytics Capacity

INTRODUCTION U.S. states, tribes, and territories regularly send the administrative data they collect from human services programs to federal agencies to meet compliance requirements. Administrative data, however, can be leveraged beyond reporting to gain a deeper understanding of program operations, … Read More

Psychotropic Polypharmacy Trends Rise Among Child, Adolescent Medicaid Beneficiaries

The results of a study examining trends in psychotropic polypharmacy among youths enrolled in Medicaid indicated that there has been a rise in the concomitant use of multiple psychotropic medications in this patient population. According to the study’s investigators, psychotropic … Read More

Moving Beyond Legal Permanency

Child welfare professionals have traditionally focused on identifying and establishing legal permanency on federally established timelines for young people determined to be unable to return to the care of their parents. However, focusing mostly on legal permanency may result in … Read More