Nearly 2.5 million children in the U.S. are growing up in kinship families being raised by relatives, or close family friends. Research is clear – when children can’t stay with their parents, they do best with kin. Kinship families offer greater stability … Read More
Author Archives: Susan Shaffette
TPR Issue Spotter
The TPR Issue Spotter is designed to assist attorneys challenging the termination of parental rights (TPR) by highlighting significant state Supreme Court and appellate decisions that have upheld parental rights. It is not comprehensive but focuses on cases that exemplify … Read More
Judge’s Action Alert: Using the Family First Prevention Services Act to Strengthen Reasonable Efforts Determinations
This judge’s action alert highlights:– how reasonable efforts findings support children and families in the child welfare system.– how the Family First Act strengthens judges’ reasonable efforts findings.– how to use the Family First Act to strengthen reasonable efforts to … Read More
Keeping Children Safe with Families
Sowing the Seeds of Hope As the 2025 Signature Report from Casey Family Programs explains, keeping children safe has been the core responsibility of child welfare programs for decades, but what we’ve learned over that time about the best ways … Read More
April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month
Each April, during National Child Abuse Prevention Month, we highlight the resilience of families and uplift the vital work being done across the country to keep children safe and families together. In alignment with the Children’s Bureau’s 24th National Conference … Read More
Promoting Peer Support in Child Welfare
Peer support programs are crucial for children and families, particularly when children are removed from their parents, whether or not it is through the formal child welfare system. For children, youth, parents and the caregivers that support them, the ability … Read More
How Opportunity Passport Helped Young People in Foster Care in 2023
Posted February 5, 2025 By the Annie E. Casey Foundation Youth in the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Opportunity Passport® financial learning intervention saved more than $895,000 toward their life, schooling and career goals in 2023, new data show. Created by the Foundation’s Jim Casey Youth … Read More
A Landscape Scan of Research on the K-12 Education of Young People in the United States Who Experience Foster Care, Incarceration, and/or Homelessness
Annie E. Casey Foundation – shared by the Legal Center for Foster Care and Education Every year in the United States, more than 1.6 million young people are forced to navigate their K-12 education while experiencing homelessness, foster care, and/or … Read More
Federal Update: Summary of New Federal Joint Guidance to Support Students in Foster Care
The Legal Center for Foster Care and Education created a comprehensive summary explaining the recent joint guidance released by the U.S. Department of Education & Children’s Bureau. The guidance aims to help states and localities implement federal laws to promote school … Read More
Healthier Lives Across Generations: A Blueprint for Intergenerational Living
The Blueprint is a call to action and a strategic plan designed to promote intentional intergenerational housing and communities that foster meaningful interactions among people of all generations. Download the Report (PDF) Watch the Recording of the Release Event Download … Read More