Author Archives: Jamar Little

Adoption Triad: Practicing Adoption Competence by Examining the Impact of Race, Culture, and Diversity

Children and youth who are adopted often have experienced trauma and need help sorting through complicated feelings stemming from their adoption and past experiences. Rather than being a one-time event, adoption is an ongoing process that requires continuous support long … Read More

A Framework for Reviewing Professional Development Strategies in Child Care and Early Education

Introduction State and territory child care and early education (CCEE) leaders typically support a range of professional development (PD) opportunities for the CCEE workforce. This highlight describes the Professional Development Matrix for Quality Improvement created by Douglass, Tout, and Doyle. The matrix provides … Read More

COVID-Era Child Welfare Financing Lessons for a Post-Pandemic World

Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic caused an unprecedented global health crisis that disrupted daily life and presented unique challenges to child welfare agencies across the United States. Child welfare agencies contended with complex decisions on how, when, and if to transition … Read More

Every Community Is Worth Collecting Data On

By Tina Kauh My parents, like so many other immigrants, moved to America with dreams of a better life, full of opportunity for themselves and their children. My parents were Korean immigrants who left nearly everything when they came to … Read More

10 Ways to Practice PCEs During the Holiday Season.

School is out for the holidays, and the holiday season is an opportunity to fill children’s time off with the positive experiences that are all around. Many families have traditions, and many communities have events and activities for the whole … Read More

The 15 Best Grounding Exercises For Kids

Dr. Lucy Russell, is a clinical child psychologist, and most of the children she work with at her clinic show symptoms of anxiety. Grounding exercises are wonderful tools that can help children feel safe and “rooted” when fears or worries become … Read More

Parenting Foster Kids with Challenging Behaviors

Often, foster kids have come into care specifically because they have experienced loss, abuse, or neglect. Those experiences and other kinds of trauma that may have occurred in their home, including being removed from their birth family, can and often … Read More

Relative Foster Care Is Increasing Among American Indian and Alaska Native Children in Foster Care

A new analysis from Child Trends finds that, from federal fiscal year (FFY) 2018 to FFY 2021, the use of relative foster care placements for American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) children in foster care grew in seven of the … Read More

Trauma-Focused Practice Supplement for the Crossover Youth Practice Model

THE CROSSOVER YOUTH PRACTICE MODEL (CYPM) The Center for Juvenile Justice Reform (CJJR) designed the CYPM to improve multi-system collaboration on behalf of crossover youth and their families and inspire practice and policy changes aimed at better meeting their needs. … Read More

Supporting High-Needs Youth at Home and in the Community: Implementation of Youth Advocate Programs, Inc.’s Core Model in Six Jurisdictions Across the United States

Executive Summary Over the last twenty years, the number of youth incarcerated in residential facilities across the United States has declined significantly. While the reasons for this precipitous drop are complex, many scholars believe that the decline has been driven … Read More