The Family Treatment Court Best Practice Standards (BPS) provide local jurisdictions, states, tribes, and funders with clear practice guidance; the goal is to improve outcomes for children, parents, and families affected by SUDs and involved in child welfare. While all … Read More
Child Welfare
Judge’s Action Alert: Supporting Early Legal Advocacy Before Court Involvement in Child Welfare Cases
This Judge’s Action Alert highlights: the reasons for providing legal advocacy early in a child welfare case before court involvement, roles legal advocates play when appointed before court involvement in a case, benefits of early, precourt legal advocacy, how early, precourt legal … Read More
Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) Courts: A Tool for Improving Outcomes for American Indian Children and Families
The St. Louis County Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) Court in Duluth, Minnesota, currently led by Judge Sally Tarnowski, is a dedicated docket of child welfare hearings involving Indian children as confirmed or presumed by the definitions outlined in the … Read More
Louisiana CINC Benchbook
The Court Improvement Program of the Louisiana Supreme Court, Louisiana Judicial College, and Pelican Center for Children and Families is delighted to announce the publication of the Louisiana Child in Need of Care Benchbook for Juvenile Judges. The Benchbook project is a … Read More
The Long-Term Distributional and Welfare Effects of Covid-19 School Closures.
Using a structural life-cycle model, we quantify the long-term impact of school closures during the Corona crisis on children affected at different ages and coming from households with different parental characteristics. In the model, public investment through schooling is combined … Read More
A Five-Year Analysis of Child Trafficking in the United States: Exploring Case Characteristics and Outcomes to Inform Child Welfare System Response.
Child trafficking is prevalent and poses a serious problem in Kentucky and throughout the United States. Though Kentucky successfully passed the Safe Harbor law in 2013, no residential treatment programs exist in Kentucky specifically for children who have been trafficked, … Read More
Examining the Link: Foster Care Runaway Episodes and Human Trafficking
Children and youth who run from foster care placements are a growing concern among policymakers andpractitioners.1,2 A large number of youth in foster care run away from their placement at least once, and manydo multiple times. Running from care is … Read More
Every Kid Needs a Family: Safely Reducing Reliance on Institutional Care Placements for Children in the Child Welfare System
Since the codification of the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 and the earlier passage of the Indian Child Welfare Act in 1978, federal law and child welfare values support placing children in the least restrictive settings with … Read More
Trauma-Informed Strategies for Supporting Children and Youth in the Child Welfare System during COVID-19
Children and youth who become involved in the child welfare (CW) system often experience trauma as a result of maltreatment and other adversities while in the CW system, including removal from home and multiple out-of-home placements. Children and youth of … Read More
COVID-19 Workforce Needs Assessment (WNA): Cross-Site Report for Workforce Excellence Public Child Welfare Sites
U.S. public child welfare agencies are charged with ensuring the safety, permanency, and wellbeing of children, including the more than 400,000 children and youth in out-of-home placements at any given time. In 2018, the child welfare system responded to an … Read More