Have you ever felt the need to be seen and acknowledged? It’s a universal desire, right?! Unfortunately, the Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) community often doesn’t receive the recognition it deserves, especially concerning mental health and wellness. That’s … Read More
Author Archives: Jamar Little
Data Snapshot Reveals Alarming Depression Rates Among Youth
OJJDP has updated its Statistical Briefing Book with a new Data Snapshot on major depressive episodes (MDE) among youth. The snapshot draws on data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. The data show one in five youth ages 12–17 experienced an MDE in … Read More
Your Case, Your Rights: Your Guide To Exercising Self-Advocacy
Your Case, Your Rights: Companion Guide Step 1: Believing in Your Rights Practicing Self-Empowerment Activities When we were talking with current and former foster youth about creating this guide, a common theme we heard was foster youth needed to believe … Read More
QIC-EY Lessons Learned: Fundamental Insights to Engage Children and Youth
Launched in October 2021 and funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Children’s Bureau, the Quality Improvement Center on Engaging Youth in Finding Permanency (QIC-EY) is charged with advancing child welfare programs … Read More
Modernizing Minor Guardianship in State Courts
More than 4% of all children live in kinship care arrangements, where relatives are responsible for children who may or may not have a living biological parent. One such arrangement is commonly known as minor guardianship, where caregivers can petition … Read More
Capacity Building Center for Tribes Prevention Brief
Introduction Prevention-centered practices are rooted in the belief that a child’s connection to their family and tribal communities keeps the community whole. Honoring our stories, Indigenous ways of knowing, and belief systems when developing prevention practices can help programs increase … Read More
Advocating For Reasonable Efforts For LGBTQIA+ Youth In Foster Care
Attorneys representing children and youth in foster care cases have an affirmative duty to advance equity for their clients. This responsibility is particularly important when providing legal representation to LGBTQIA+ youth, who experience disproportionate and disparate child welfare outcomes. NACC … Read More
Here’s How Companies Can Show Up for Unconventional Families
An unconventional family, by our definitions, is one that falls outside of the traditional dynamic of a heterosexual couple with biological children. Today, families come in all different varieties. In fact, 80 percent of households in the U.S. have an atypical structure. … Read More
Fostering Responsible Tech Use
Balancing the Benefits and Risks Among Public Child Welfare Agencies Across the country, child welfare agencies work with over 390,000 youth in foster care each year by temporarily placing them in foster homes, facilitating adoption if parental rights are terminated, … Read More
Improving Timely Health Care for Children and Youth in Foster Care: How to Build a Family of Measures
Measuring progress is essential to successful quality improvement (QI) initiatives. There are three types of measures in quality improvement QI: outcome measures, process measures, and balancing measures. Taken together, these three measure types make up a family of measures. Below … Read More