Blog

Lyra Walsh Fuchs | DissentMagazine.org Over 630,000 children, who are disproportionately Black and Indigenous, were “served by the foster care system” in 2020, according to the federal Department of Health and Human Services. That number doesn’t account for the many families placed under informal supervisory plans, or who received surprise knocks on their doors from caseworkers, often accompanied by police. Dorothy Roberts and a growing number of activists across the country have another...

A new child welfare journal, Family Integrity & Justice Quarterly , recently released its inaugural issue , which focused on harms created by the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA). The journal's editors and writers point out problems with ASFA's passage and implementation, including the lack of American Indian and Alaska Native leaders in drafting the law, the preference for adoption over other forms of permanence, and built-in biases that continue to perpetuate systemic racism. "We...

Child Trends , in partnership with Chapin Hall and Healthy Teen Network , will develop and disseminate research-based practice resources for professionals who work with youth through Activate: The Collective to Bring Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health Research to Youth-Supporting Professionals (Activate). Activate is funded through a grant from the Office of Population Affairs (OPA) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services . Activate aims to bridge the gap between research...

In this webinar the new PACES Connection CEO, Ingrid Cockhren, will explore the connection between adverse childhood experiences, trauma, attachment styles and various types of abuse in dating and romantic relationships. She will examine the systemic nature of trauma and adversity and how early adversity is a root cause of poor relationship outcomes in adolescence and early adulthood. This webinar will also outline systemic solutions for populations that have experienced historical trauma...

Note: A CDC update provided a link to a new page on the CDC website on Creating Positive Childhood Experiences. It includes sections on "What are ACEs" and "Everyone has a role to play" (parents and caregivers, coworkers, and everyone) in creating safe and healthy conditions for all children, including community programs and policies. It includes a 3-minute video and Resources section. Healthy and happy childhoods start now. Learn how you can help! Children and families thrive when they have...

The 2021/2022 Prevention Resource Guide from the Children's Bureau recognizes that there are actions we can take as a society and within communities, organizations, and families to address the root causes of child abuse and neglect. The child abuse prevention guide seeks to highlight the innovative ways that communities around the country are doing purposeful prevention work to help children and families thrive. The protective factors have always been central to the Resource Guide. A...

A new publication from the American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law describes the different placement options available to kinship care families and the factors that should be considered when pursuing kin caregiving arrangements. Kinship Caregiving Options: Considerations for Caregivers is a 14-page guide developed primarily for relatives caring for or planning to care for their kin, but it is also a useful tool for professionals working with these families. It begins with a...

An updated version of the Casey Life Skills (CLS) toolkit is now available with recent revisions made using a diversity and equity lens. The updated toolkit includes two new skill areas—civic engagement and navigating the child welfare system—and a supplemental assessment that evaluates youth access to formal and informal supports. The CLS toolkit also contains a series of free, youth-centered, self-reporting instruments developed to empower youth ages 14 to 21, regardless of social strata...

It's free to join, so sign up at this link today! You’re invited to participate in Building the Movement in Activating and Equipping Community Coalitions , the seventh of eight remarkable workshops featured in the series, “Building a National Movement to Prevent Trauma and Foster Resilience”. This half-day workshop will occur virtually on Friday, April 1 from 1 p.m. - 5 p.m. ET. The half-day convening comprises presentations made up of educators and experts from across the country who will...

By Farrah Mina, Photo: Darlene and Curtis Bell, The Imprint, March 29, 2022 W hen longtime foster parents Darlene and Curtis Bell welcomed four kids into their home in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, they took a crash-course in preparing pepper soup and fufu. And within 24 hours of arriving at the Bells’ place, the siblings were served their favorite dishes. Learning about the foods they loved from the children’s Nigerian mother provided critical information to help the siblings feel welcomed and...

By Richard Wexler, Youth Today, March 3, 2022 In the beginning, the builders of what would become a system of massive intrusion into families , and, ultimately, the separation of millions of children from their parents, all in the name of “child welfare,” insisted that poverty had nothing at all to do with what they labeled “child abuse” and “child neglect.” “Child abuse crosses class lines” was the mantra in the 1970s and 1980s. In the effort to pass the federal Child Abuse Prevention and...

The Capacity Building Center for Tribes' Tribal Information Exchange released a series of tip sheets on trauma-informed practice in tribal child welfare. One of the tip sheets, Trauma-Informed Youth Transitions in Tribal Child Welfare , focuses on helping tribal child welfare professionals understand the trauma that tribal children may have faced, respond appropriately, and prevent future traumatic experiences as they support them throughout the transitions they may experience during their...