Much of child welfare practice involves families who may have low income or be economically insecure. While most of these families do not engage in child maltreatment, they often lack sufficient resources—an issue that long has plagued families who are … Read More
Fostercare
The Well-Being of LGBTQ+ Youth in Foster Care: The Youth Acceptance Project
This presentation will first dive into sexual orientations and gender identities outside the binary to ensure that participants understand the many identities LGBTQ+ youth embody, as well as their unique needs. LGBTQ+ children and youth are among the most vulnerable, … Read More
Ensuring Educational Stability and Success for Students in Foster Care
Introduction Students in foster care represent one of the nation’s most vulnerable student groups. In addition to the social-emotional challenges and trauma that students in foster care experience, studies find that students in foster care are much more likely than … Read More
2024 Research and Evaluation Conference on Self-Sufficiency (RECS)
Videos from this year’s Research and Evaluation Conference on Self-Sufficiency (RECS) have been posted online! The videos cover topics such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families flexibilities to provide concrete and economic supports for primary prevention in child welfare; racial bias … Read More
November Is National Adoption Month
The 2024 National Adoption Month campaign website has launched on Child Welfare Information Gateway. This year’s theme, “Honoring Youth: Strengthening Pathways for Lasting Bonds,” emphasizes the importance of uplifting and genuinely listening to the voices of children and youth who are adopted and … Read More
Cultivating Connections: A Message From Commissioner Rebecca Jones Gaston
Each November, we celebrate National Adoption Month by raising awareness of the many children in foster care awaiting loving, permanent homes. This month is also a time to celebrate the professionals who support these young people on their paths to … Read More
Characteristics of Transition-Age Youth Engaging In Suicidal Behavior
Youth with foster care experience attempt suicide at three times the rate of their peers in the general population. Research suggests that Transition-Age Youth (TAY), youth ages 16 to 24 who are or were in foster care, may be especially … Read More
Updated State-by-State Resources Help Families Understand Permanency Options
Kinship foster families who are thinking about taking the next steps to legal permanency have many options to consider and decisions to make for their child and family’s well-being. These include selecting the most appropriate permanency option based on the … Read More
The Critical Role of Parent Partner Programs: Policy and Practice Considerations
INTRODUCTION Maintaining a secure relationship with a trusted caregiver is critical for the health and well-being of infants and toddlers. When very young children are placed in out-of-home care, including foster and kinship care, problems can be compounded if the … Read More
KIDS IN CARE: Unaccompanied Children in Federal Government Custody
When established in 2003, the Office of Refugee Resettlement’s (ORR) Division of Unaccompanied Children’s Services cared for roughly 6,000 children in thirteen facilities. Twenty years later, ORR’s program has grown to over 240 facilities and programs spread across 23 states. … Read More