As technology continues to evolve, child welfare agencies across the country are exploring how new tools and systems can simplify complex work, improve communication, and address longstanding challenges. When implemented thoughtfully, technology can create efficiencies that help the child welfare … Read More
Author Archives: Susan Shaffette
A National Look at Title IV-E Prevention Candidacy
How states can reach families earlier and match services to need. AUTHORS: Cody Inman, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary and Commissioner of the Administration on Children, Youth and Families (dlg.) Alex J. Adams, Assistant Secretary, Administration for Children and Families Introduction … Read More
Trauma-Informed Approach: Best Practices for Children’s Attorneys
LSBA Children’s Law Committee This guide provides Louisiana children’s attorneys, including those working in child welfare, delinquency, and mental health, with information on best practices and resources needed to develop a trauma-informed approach and effectively serve their clients. It is … Read More
Kinship Legal Toolkit
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
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