Child Welfare Archives - Page 5 of 12 - National Wraparound Initiative (NWI)
FosterStrong, Media Platform For and By Foster Youth, To Launch This Week
May 28, 2020 | Maria Hermsen-Kritz
A new nonprofit led by those with lived experience in the foster care system, designed to share stories of those currently in foster care as well as alums, launched this week.
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As Pandemic Batters Economy, Foster Youth Bear the Brunt
May 28, 2020 | Maria Hermsen-Kritz
This article, from the Chronicle of Social Change, details how the unemployment crisis resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic could hit foster youth harder than other employment-eligible young adults.
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Older Foster Youth Can Feel Unprepared to Navigate Mental Health Care, Study Finds
April 23, 2020 | Maria Hermsen-Kritz
A new study published by the Journal of Adolescent Health found that a high percentage of foster teens do not feel prepared to manage their own mental health upon entering adulthood, despite high rates of medication and mental health service use.
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California Rolls Out Plan to Prevent Youth from Aging Out of Foster Care During Pandemic
April 22, 2020 | Maria Hermsen-Kritz
California’s Gov. Newsom joined Illinois and Rhode Island in laying out a plan to prevent young people currently on extended foster care services from aging out during the pandemic.
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Thousands of Foster Children Were Sent Out of State to Mental Health Facilities Where Some Faced Abuse and Neglect
March 13, 2020 | Maria Hermsen-Kritz
ProPublica, in collaboration with the Chicago Tribune, takes a deep dive into the practice of sending foster children out of state for foster care, and the unchecked abuse and neglect these young people often faced hundreds of miles away from their homes and supports.
Three Better Ways to Support Foster Youth than Extending Care to 26
March 9, 2020 | Maria Hermsen-Kritz
An alumni of the foster care system discusses his changing views on a California bill which would extend the state’s optional foster care system for young adults through age 25.
Child Trends Brief: Applying the Research and Evaluation Provisions of the Family First Prevention Services Act
November 19, 2019 | Emily Taylor
Child Trends has published a brief with information for state agencies, legislators, and researchers on the Family First Act. The brief outlines research and evaluation requirements for prevention and kinship services currently eligible for federal reimbursement under the Family First Act.
Lessons Learned When Building the Evidence for a Child Welfare Practice Model
August 21, 2019 | Emily Taylor
Child Trends recently issued this brief for the child welfare field to highlight lessons learned from the evaluation of Success Coach, a post-reunification program developed by Catawba County, North Carolina. The authors also discuss the implications for other jurisdictions who may want to implement and evaluate similar post-reunification services. According to the authors, the new Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) “offers an opportunity for agency leaders and practitioners to begin to build evidence of success.”
CHDI IMPACT Report: Helping Young Children Exposed to Trauma
June 6, 2019 | Emily Taylor
A new IMPACT report from the Child Health and Development Institute of Connecticut, Inc. (CHDI), provides a summary of the research on the effects of early trauma exposure and outlines Connecticut’s approach to early intervention, which can be useful for other programs. The report notes there are unique challenges in identifying the effects of trauma in very young children. Many young children not enrolled in early education programs and trauma symptoms are often misinterpreted as developmental delays or behavior problems. The report includes case studies on interventions in different settings and outlines key elements of trauma-informed systems.
More Research on Pervasive Effects of Childhood Trauma
June 6, 2019 | Emily Taylor
A research study published recently provided further evidence of the long-term negative impact caused by growing up in poverty and experiencing traumatic events as a child. The study’s senior author Ruben C. Gur, Ph.D., a professor of Psychiatry, Radiology, and Neurology, and director of the Brain Behavior Laboratory, said “Parents and educators should become more aware of the special needs of children who are exposed to either adversity. Additionally, mental health professionals should be particularly on notice that traumatic events are associated not only with PTSD, but with elevations across domains including mood, anxiety, and psychosis.”