Often, foster kids have come into care specifically because they have experienced loss, abuse, or neglect. Those experiences and other kinds of trauma that may have occurred in their home, including being removed from their birth family, can and often … Read More
Child Well-Being
Relative Foster Care Is Increasing Among American Indian and Alaska Native Children in Foster Care
A new analysis from Child Trends finds that, from federal fiscal year (FFY) 2018 to FFY 2021, the use of relative foster care placements for American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) children in foster care grew in seven of the … Read More
Trauma-Focused Practice Supplement for the Crossover Youth Practice Model
THE CROSSOVER YOUTH PRACTICE MODEL (CYPM) The Center for Juvenile Justice Reform (CJJR) designed the CYPM to improve multi-system collaboration on behalf of crossover youth and their families and inspire practice and policy changes aimed at better meeting their needs. … Read More
Predisposing, Enabling, and Need Factors Associated with Psychotropic Medication and Mental Health Service Use among Children in Out-of-Home Care in the United States: A Scoping Review
Introduction 1.1. Background In the United States, more than 600,000 children were placed in out-of-home care in 2021, including non-kinship foster, kinship, treatment foster, residential, and group care. Children in out-of-home care have higher rates of mental health disorders. For … Read More
Sexual Health Facilitators’ Guide to Responding to Youths’ Questions About Sex
For years, researchers have sought to identify the most common sex ed-related questions that students are asking in school and online. Students’ questions largely fall into topics related to the body, identity and relationships, sexual behavior, contraception/protection, and pregnancy. Some questions may prompt teachers or facilitators of sex … Read More
Many Hispanic Households With Low Income Access No-Cost or Low-Cost Care, Yet Nearly One in Four Face High Out-of-Pocket Costs
Introduction Child care—especially that which is of high quality—serves a critical dual purpose for families, supporting both parental employment and children’s development. As recognized in a recent White House Executive Order, the costs of providing and obtaining such care are significant, making … Read More
Dismantling Systemic and Structural Racism to Improve the Mental Health and Well-Being of Children and Youth
Systemic racism across various systems, including child welfare, has historically perpetuated inequities experienced by marginalized groups. A May 2023 article in the Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology explores these inequities specifically related to the mental health needs of marginalized and … Read More
QIC-WD Announces Key Findings From Eight Child Welfare Workforce Interventions
The September issue of the Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development (QIC-WD) newsletter highlights the findings from eight multi-year projects conducted to address workforce challenges and improve worker performance, well-being, and retention. QIC-WD project team members worked closely with local staff from public child … Read More
A Change Framework for Engaging Fathers and Paternal Relatives and Promoting Racial Justice
A recent brief from the Fathers and Continuous Learning in Child Welfare (FCL) project explains how participants in a Breakthrough Series Collaborative (BSC) used a guiding framework to strengthen the engagement of fathers and paternal relatives with children involved in … Read More
Among Latino Children, Nearly Half Live in Households That Own Their Homes
Forty-nine percent of Latino children live in housing units that are owned by someone in their household, according to our new analysis of the American Community Survey (ACS) 2017–2021 5-year data. This includes 36 percent of Latino children who live in … Read More