Child Welfare Archives - Page 6 of 12 - National Wraparound Initiative (NWI)
Rate of Children in Foster Care Increased in 39 States in 2017
January 3, 2019 | Emily Taylor
A new Child Trends post on the 2017 Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) data shows that in 2017 the number of children and youth in foster care in the U.S. rose for the 5th consecutive year, to 443,000, with 39 states experiencing an increase in the rate of children in foster care.
When low-income families can meet their basic needs, children are healthier
December 12, 2018 | Emily Taylor
Children’s HealthWatch published reports based on survey data of 18,000 low-income families with children under four years old, in five cities (Baltimore, Boston, Minneapolis, Philadelphia and Little Rock). They found that “young children and their parents are healthier when they are able to afford basic needs, such as food, shelter, utilities, medical care, prescription medicines and childcare”. This study, however, examined the differences between children living in hardship-free families versus those in families with any or multiple hardships. The report authors support policies to better support low-income families.
SOAR Online Course Available
December 5, 2018 | Emily Taylor
The SOAR Online Course: Child Curriculum, launched by SAMHSA and Policy Research Associates, Inc., is designed to train case managers to assist children and youth who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness and have a serious mental illness, medical impairment, and/or a co-occurring substance use disorder to apply for the Social Security Administration’s disability program, Supplemental Security Income (SSI).
Research: How Early Head Start Prevents Child Maltreatment
November 1, 2018 | Emily Taylor
Child Trends has published a research-to-practice brief on a study on the role of programs that serve families with infants and toddlers like Early Head Start (EHS) in reducing child abuse and neglect. The study found that participating families had positive short-term outcomes that led to lower risk of child welfare involvement in the future. The brief also includes recommendations for early childhood programs.
New Research on Youth Suicide
October 10, 2018 | Emily Taylor
Research published recently in Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (JAACAP) , found that 71% of youth dying by suicide did so on their first attempt and 85% of those cases involved firearms.
Brief: Homelessness Among Families with Children
October 10, 2018 | Emily Taylor
In September, as part of its Homelessness in America series the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness published a brief on families with children experiencing homelessness. The brief summarizes data and research to help inform the work to end homelessness. According to the brief, “families with children experiencing homelessness represent one-third of all people experiencing homelessness …and 59% of people experiencing homelessness in families are children under the age of 18”. The brief also highlights a correlation between residential mobility during childhood and increased risk for reporting negative health outcomes including depression, smoking, attempted suicide, alcoholism, and teenage pregnancy.
Child Trends: Poverty rate rising among America’s youngest children, particularly infants of color
September 18, 2018 | Emily Taylor
Child Trends recently posted on the latest US Census results which show that one in five infants and toddlers (19.9 percent of children through age two) were living in poverty in 2017. The poverty rate is higher among infants and toddlers of color for the same time period, with nearly one in three (32.7 percent) of black infants and toddlers living in poverty, and more than one in four (27.3 percent) of Hispanic infants and toddlers living in poverty. The authors urge for policy and practice solutions to address this issue.
Child Trends Research: High-Quality Connections Can Protect At-Risk Youth
August 22, 2018 | Emily Taylor
This Child Trends research, funded through a grant from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), focused on youth with dual involvement with child welfare and juvenile justice systems, and the relationship between child maltreatment and later delinquent and criminal behavior, as well as the impact potential protective factors. The results suggest that increasing the quality of these youths’ connections to their families, schools, and communities can reduce their engagement in criminal behavior, and reduce recidivism.
Research: Impact of Parental Incarceration
July 19, 2018 | Emily Taylor
Results of a study recently published in the journal Pediatrics showed that young adults whose parents had been incarcerated are less likely to use health care and more likely to engage in unhealthy behaviors compared to peers whose parents had not been incarcerated. Researchers looked at data of 13,000 young adults aged 24-32 and found that 10 percent had a parent incarcerated during their childhood. According to the researchers, more than 5 million American children have had an incarcerated parent, making this an important area for further research.
Read more about the study on the impact of parental incarceration»
The Atlantic: Children Who Are Cleared to Leave Psychiatric Hospitals – But Can’t
June 7, 2018 | Emily Taylor
This article in The Atlantic by ProPublica Illinois reporter, Duaa Eldeib, investigates the complex factors leading to children staying in psychiatric hospitals long after they are cleared for release because of the challenges the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) has in finding appropriate placements. Although psychiatric hospitals are designed for short-term stays, the reporter found that “Eighty percent of the more than 800 children whose stays became medically unnecessary between 2015 and 2017 were held for 10 days or more beyond when they should have been released. More than 40 percent were confined for a month or longer; 15 percent had to wait two months or longer.”
Read the article»