Author Archives: Jamar Little

Examining the Importance of Developmental Relationships for Young People

Developmental relationships—or relationships with supportive adults and peers—are critical for young people, especially young people who grow up in challenging circumstances like the child welfare system. Developmental relationships have many benefits, including helping young people shape their lives, build resilience, … Read More

LGBTQ+ Young People Are At Higher Risk For Childhood Adversity 

What are adverse childhood experiences? Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are potentially traumatic events that occur in childhood (0–17 years) including experiencing violence, abuse, or neglect; witnessing violence in the home or community; or having a family member attempt or die … Read More

Safety by Design for Generative AI: Preventing Child Sexual Abuse

Issue Overview Offline and online sexual harms against children have been accelerated by the internet. The child safety ecosystem is already overtaxed. In 2022 reports to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) contained over 88 million files … Read More

Incorporating Lived Experience Into Child Welfare Capacity Building

Purpose and Scope The purpose of this brief is to inform child welfare professionals about the work being done by the Child Welfare Capacity Building Collaborative (The Collaborative), which includes the Center for Courts, Center for States, and the Center … Read More

The Rising Movement to Divert Youth Out of the Justice System

Jurisdictions are increasingly exploring ways to divert youth accused of delinquent behavior from the justice system. Compared to young people who are arrested and prosecuted in juvenile court, young people who are diverted from formal court processing are less likely … Read More

Partnering for Success Symptom Monitoring Outcomes: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Plus for Children and Youth in Child Welfare

A substantial proportion of children and youth in the child welfare system have mental health concerns that warrant attention. While these youth are more likely to receive treatment in general, they are less likely to receive evidence-based treatments. Cognitive Behavioral … Read More

Associations Between Potentially Traumatic Events and Psychopathology Among Preadolescents in the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development Study®

The current cross-sectional study aimed to extend the literature on childhood adversity by examining the unique associations between potentially traumatic events (PTEs) and a range of mental health concerns, including domain-specific versus comorbid concerns. Participants were 11,877 preadolescents (47.8% female, … Read More

Applying the Social Work Health Impact Model to Child Maltreatment: Implications for Social Work Education

Child abuse and neglect (CAN) is a significant and growing public health problem, yet public health approaches to eliminating CAN have not been widely embraced in the United States or in social work education. Public health approaches require a large … Read More

Child Welfare: Purposes, Federal Programs, and Funding

The Work of Child Welfare Agencies Children depend on adults—usually their parents—to protect and support them. The broadest mission of public child welfare agencies is to strengthen families so that children can depend on their parents to provide them with … Read More

Legal Assistance for Native Kinship / Grandfamilies Involved with Child Welfare: How to Find an Attorney & Help Them Help You

Do you need legal advice? When you become involved in a child placement custody case (whether the child was removed from your home or you are a grandparent or other relative who would like to care for the child), it … Read More