The Family First Prevention Services Act (Family First Act) makes historic reforms to the childwelfare system to better support children, families, and kinship caregivers, and promote a kin-firstculture. Many of the reforms have significant implications for connecting children to kinship … Read More
Author Archives: Susan Shaffette
Child Welfare Court Cases Involving Prenatal Substance Use: Policy Considerations
State supreme and appellate courts presiding over civil child protection cases often decide legal issues relating to a mother’s prenatal use of substances. As courts answer questions that arise during child welfare proceedings, they often interpret state civil child abuse … Read More
How Judges Can Support Family Reunification through Parent–Resource Parent Partnerships
Something profound happens when parents and resource parents work together and support one another during child welfare system involvement. The parent knows the person who is caring for their child and feels supported while working towards reunification. The resource parent … Read More
Tips & Tools for Providing High-Quality Legal Representation to Children and Parents in Child Welfare Proceedings: Out-of-Court Advocacy
Out-of-court advocacy is critical in every child welfare legal proceeding. As an attorney for the child or parent, you must be a highly skilled litigator and be willing to use the court process to meet your client’s goals. You must … Read More
2021 Annie E. Casey KIDSCOUNT Data Book Released
SUMMARY The 32nd edition of the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s KIDS COUNT® Data Book describes how children across the United States were faring before — and during — the coronavirus pandemic. This year’s publication continues to deliver the Foundation’s annual state rankings and … Read More
Opioids and the Courts- Difficult Conversations
The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) with support from the State Justice Institute (SJI) hosted a series of five webinars titled Opioids and the Courts- Difficult Conversations. The NCJFCJ and expert faculty explored challenges associated with referring children and … Read More
Using a Trauma-Informed Approach With Parents of Color in Family Court
A Report by Tricia Stephens, LCSW-R, Ph.D. Shifting to more trauma-informed practices in family court has been shown to improve outcomes for families. A report presented on the Rise website details the importance of using a trauma-informed approach in working … Read More
Family First Planning & Readiness Toolkit
The Family First Prevention Services Act is a unique opportunity to implement more prevention-oriented and family-centered child welfare systems. The tools in this kit align with the first phase of Family First Implementation: planning and readiness. These Chapin Hall tools … Read More
Family First Prevention Services Act Website
Signed into law on February 9, 2018, as a part of the Bipartisan Budget Act (HR. 1892), Family First includes long-overdue historic reforms to help keep children safely with their families and avoid the traumatic experience of entering foster care. In … Read More
NCJFCJ Bench Card Resource Center
The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ), with support from the State Justice Institute (SJI), announces the launch of an all-new Bench Card Resource Center for the judiciary. Visit the Bench Card Resource Center Juvenile and family court judges primarily use bench cards … Read More