Child Welfare

All Children – All Families: The State of LGBTQ+ Inclusion in Child Welfare – 2023 Report

All Children – All Families and the child welfare leaders participating in the program are driving the field forward to reshape the delivery of services to LGBTQ+ youth and families. Since 2007, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s All Children – All … Read More

Effectiveness of Family-Involved Interventions in Reducing Co-Occurring Alcohol Use and Mental Health Problems in Young People Aged 12–17: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

1. Introduction Mental health and substance use disorders are the 6th leading contributors to the global burden of disease in young people below the age of 24 [1], measured as disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). Alcohol is the most widely used … Read More

Why Youth Incarceration Fails: An Updated Review of the Evidence

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Though the number of youth confined nationwide has declined significantly over the past two decades, our country still incarcerates far too many young people. It does so despite overwhelming evidence showing that incarceration is an ineffective strategy for … Read More

Take Action For Adolescents: A Call To Action For Adolescent Health And Well-Being

FRAMING THE CALL TO ACTION Take Action for Adolescents ‒ A Call to Action for Adolescent Health and Development (Take Action for Adolescents or “the Call to Action”) advances the vision that all adolescents in the United States (U.S.) should … Read More

Take Action Toolkit

A Guide To Implementing Take Action For Adolescents- A Call To Action For Adolescent Health And Well-Being I.The Call to Action The Office of Population Affairs (OPA) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) worked with federal … Read More

Advancing Child Trauma Screening Practices: An Evidence-Informed Framework for a Pictorial Child Trauma Screening Tool

Child trauma exposure has been identified as a public health crisis, with lifetime victimization/exposure rates for children ages birth to 18 years ranging from 9% to over 50%, depending on the type of victimization (Finkelhor et al., 2013). The Substance … Read More

Sexual Post-traumatic Stress Among Investigators Of Child Sexual Abuse Material

Statement of relevance to a police audience The findings of this study have important implications for law enforcement officers who are exposed to child sexual abuse material (CSAM) as part of their investigative work. The study identified several factors associated … Read More

Kids and Teens Need Resilience

They can learn it—and we can help December 8, 2023 By: Mary K. Alvord, Ph.D. Read time: 8 min A few decades ago, I met a 6-year-old girl from Russia. For her privacy, I’ll call her K. I saw many Russian-born … Read More

Parents and Caregivers

Children do best in their families. Child welfare professionals’ authentic engagement and partnership with parents should be based on meeting them where they are and recognizing their strengths and resilience. Parents should be involved in case planning and decision-making, including … Read More

Expectant and Parenting Youth in Child Welfare

Navigating the child welfare system while expecting or raising a child can be challenging. Expectant and parenting youth in care have unique needs related to their physical, emotional, social, and financial health that require individualized support. Because of their involvement … Read More