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
Attorneys
Trauma-Informed Courtroom Practices: A Bench Card for Judges
The National Council for Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ), in partnership with OurFamilyWizard, has released Trauma-Informed Courtroom Practices: A Bench Card for Judges, designed to support judges in making informed decisions when working with children and families affected by trauma. READ MORE
Judge’s Action Alert: Using the Family First Prevention Services Act to Strengthen Reasonable Efforts Determinations
Reasonable efforts determinations are a valuable tool judges can use to assess a child welfare agency’s efforts: Though “reasonable efforts” requirements have existed in federal law for over 40 years, the Family First Prevention Services Act of 2018 (Family First … Read More
Preventative Legal Advocacy for Youth Clients
INTRODUCTION Early legal representation plays a critical role in keeping families together and preventing unnecessary foster care placements. In recent years, many jurisdictions have embraced preventive and prepetition legal representation for parents as a powerful tool to help stabilize families … Read More
Fatherhood, Family, And The Crisis Of Boys And Men
Scholars and think-tank researchers, as well as mainstream media and social media, increasingly focus on the “trouble with men.” This attention is well deserved. Wholesale economic shifts have hollowed out the secure, well-paying jobs in the middle of the economy … Read More
Prenatal Drug Exposure: CAPTA Reporting Requirements for Medical Professionals
Why use this fact sheet? As medical professionals who work with pregnant patients, you face numerous medical, legal, and ethical decision points when treating a patient for substance use during pregnancy, and when providing care to a neonate with drug … Read More
NDAA Juvenile Prosecution Principles and Guidelines
Purpose These policy positions were developed to strengthen and support the work of juvenile prosecution. They are designed to be read in conjunction with NDAA’s National Prosecution Standards, Fourth Edition (2023), Section V, Juvenile Justice. While every state has its … 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
Exploring the Contours of Expert Testimony Regarding Child Sexual Abuse Accommodation Syndrome
The term “child sexual abuse accommodation syndrome” (CSAAS) was initially coined by psychiatrist Roland Summit in 1983 in an effort to understand the various ways children react to sexual abuse. From an evidentiary perspective, not all states recognize CSAAS as … Read More
Caddo Juvenile Services’ Trauma-Informed Care Used as Statewide Model for LDH Youth, Families Initiative
The Louisiana Department of Health announced that it will adopt a statewide approach to preventing and addressing trauma across all child-serving agencies. Whole Health Louisiana is the state’s first attempt at addressing childhood adversity and trauma through the integration of … Read More