Safety Permanency & Well-being

Clearinghouse Approves New Mental Health, Substance Abuse Programs for Family First Act Funding

Last month, the clearinghouse that greenlights foster care prevention services approved several iterations of a mental intervention known as Dialectical Behavior Therapy, as well as a positive reinforcement approach to treating substance abuse. The clearinghouse was established in relation to … Read More

State of Babies Yearbook: 2023

It is with a deep sense of urgency and shared mission that I introduce you to the fifth edition of ZERO TO THREE’s State of Babies Yearbook, providing a comprehensive look into the health and well-being of the 11 million … Read More

Improving Timely Health Care for Children and Youth in Foster Care Driver Diagram and Change Ideas

A driver diagram shows the processes or systems that affect the aim of your quality improvement (QI) project and determine what you need to do to improve outcomes. Use the state Medicaid and CHIP improving timely health care for children … Read More

FROM CHILD WELFARE TO WELL-BEING: A Blueprint for CBOs and Government Agencies

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The US child welfare system incentivizes a reactionary rather than a proactive response, resulting in cases of child abuse and neglect that could have been avoided. Within the system, well-established business models and federal financial incentives are designed … Read More

New Training on Adapting Family Finding and Engagement Practices for LGBTQ+ Youth

A new online training from the National SOGIE Center provides information on supporting young people who identify as LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, or other gender or sexual identity) during family finding and engagement processes. The free, 45-minute training provides information … Read More

How Child Welfare Agencies Can Support Reunification

The American Bar Association’s Center on Children and the Law hosted a webinar, “What Child Welfare Agencies Can Do to Support Reunification,” on resource and foster caregivers’ roles in the reunification process. The session focused on how child welfare agencies can facilitate … Read More

ORR Influx Care Facilities for Unaccompanied Children Fact Sheet

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is working diligently with its interagency partners to ensure that unaccompanied migrant children are placed with vetted family members or other sponsors in the U.S. as quickly and safely as possible. … Read More

Co-designing a Kin-first Culture Approach in Child Welfare – Public Service Design Conference 2023

Bloom Works and the Washington state Department of Children, Youth and Families share how they used service design and co-design to help children in the foster care system stay connected to their extended families, and overcome systemic barriers to kin … Read More

On the Threshold of Change Forces that Could Transform Future Conditions for Youth in Extended Foster Care (EFC)

Introduction Prior to 2010, youth in foster care “aged out” of the system at the age of 18, which left them to navigate adulthood on their own. Many had been deeply traumatized by their experiences before foster care, the loss … Read More

Psychotropic Polypharmacy Trends Rise Among Child, Adolescent Medicaid Beneficiaries

The results of a study examining trends in psychotropic polypharmacy among youths enrolled in Medicaid indicated that there has been a rise in the concomitant use of multiple psychotropic medications in this patient population. According to the study’s investigators, psychotropic … Read More