Safety Permanency & Wellbeing

New Insights on State Kinship Diversion Policies

FAMILY TIES: ANALYSIS FROM A STATE-BY-STATE SURVEY OF KINSHIP CARE POLICIES DEFINING KINSHIP DIVERSION Many families rely on kin — relatives and close family friends — to provide support in times of crisis or when a parent may need extra … Read More

Feds Clarify Rules on Family First Act, Background Checks, Tribal Child Welfare

The White House used a four-hour public convening on child welfare last week to announce some clarifications to federal policy for the field. Those were made by updating the Child Welfare Policy Manual (CWPM), an online reference presented in a “Q&A” fashion. … Read More

2024 The State of Mental Health in America

Mental Health America (MHA) is the nation’s leading national nonprofit dedicated to the promotion of mental health, well-being, and illness prevention. Our work is informed, designed, and led by the lived experience of those most affected. Mental Health America advances … Read More

What’s Working (or Not) in State Policies for Substance Use During Pregnancy

Substance use during pregnancy (or “prenatal substance use”) is becoming more common. Overdose and substance-related suicide are the leading preventable causes of maternal mortality, and prenatal substance use can increase the risk of miscarriage, birth defects, developmental disabilities, preterm birth, low birth weight, and decreased … Read More

Human Trafficking Response Guide for School Resource Officers

ABOUT THIS GUIDE As a school resource officer (SRO), you are in a unique position to reach students considered vulnerable to exploitation and human trafficking. You play an important role because you may regularly interact with different students as part … Read More

Global Report on Early Childhood Care and Education

The Right to A Strong Foundation Executive summary The world is not on track to achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 and ensure inclusive and quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all. Education, starting with early childhood education, is … Read More

Navigating Foster Care: How Parental Drug Use and Caregiver Attitudes Shape Children’s Mentalization Processes—an Exploratory Longitudinal Follow-up Study

Introduction Foster care is government-subsidized and -regulated temporary care for children who have been removed from their families for reasons of abuse and neglect. Children can be placed either in family or residential care. While family foster care includes arrangements … Read More

Instability in Foster Care: How Transitions Into and Out of Foster Care Relate to School Discipline

The goal of the foster care system is to protect children from maltreatment, neglect, and abuse by removing them from unsafe home environments to temporarily place them in family-like settings until a safe, permanent home is found (U.S. Department of … Read More

Building Family Inclusive Youth Services

Family Involvement: Supporting Young People’s Circle of Care For many of us, our family is an important source of emotional support and feelings of belonging and safety. This can be especially true for young people as they manage the transition … Read More

A Snapshot of States’ Child Welfare Data Systems of Record

What is the status of states’ systems of record? We asked states to describe the child welfare information system that staff use to report to the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS). We refer to this system as … Read More