Public Policy Archives - National Wraparound Initiative (NWI)
The Opportunities and Effects of Climate Action on Adolescents
May 30, 2025 | NWI
In recent years, the issue of climate change has mobilized young people across the globe to participate in climate justice protests, campaigns, and marches, and even to lead some of the world’s largest climate action organizations. Research shows that young people are particularly concerned about and conscious of climate change and uniquely inspired to find solutions, make a difference, and participate in climate action.
Education Department Halts Funding for School Mental Health
May 30, 2025 | NWI
The Trump administration says it will stop paying out $1 billion in federal grants that school districts across the country have been using to hire mental health professionals, including counselors and social workers.
Not-For-Profit Foster Care Agencies Are Being Forced to Close Due to a Lack of Liability Insurance
April 27, 2025 | NWI
Lawsuits, regulations, social inflation and policy failure have made it more difficult for not-for-profit agencies to obtain liability insurance, leading to closures and placing further stress on the child welfare system. This report describes the problem, and offers policy solutions.
New Study of Pediatric Mental Health Boarding
March 22, 2025 | NWI
A new study examines pre- and post-COVID trends in mental health (MH) boarding for pediatric patients seen at US children’s hospitals and to identify demographic and other features associated with prolonged boarding. MH boarding is when a child or youth comes to an emergency room in crisis and needs inpatient psychiatric care, but no beds are available. They may need to await care either in the ER itself or in a medical inpatient unit.
Access to Medicaid and Healthcare Promotes Child Safety
March 22, 2025 | NWI
The central role of economic hardship as a driver of child welfare system involvement underscores the importance of addressing the concrete needs of families and promoting economic stability. In addition to income poverty, material hardship is a consistent predictor of child protective services contact, above and beyond family characteristics. Access to Medicaid and healthcare for children and their families, specifically, is associated with reduced risk for child welfare system involvement.
A New Chapter in America’s Child Welfare System
February 23, 2025 | NWI
At the end of last year, Congress passed the largest overhaul of the nation’s child welfare system in more than 15 years. The reform includes more support for kinship care, aging out youth and efforts to prevent the separation of families due to poverty. This panel discussion looks at how these reforms will make a difference for children and families in the U.S.
Foster Care’s Downward Trend
February 23, 2025 | NWI
Data from various sources shows a steady decline in the number of children and youth in foster care. This article highlights reports on legislative, policy and advocacy efforts aimed at preventing the use of foster care in as many child welfare cases as possible.
What Happened When America Emptied Its Youth Prisons?
February 23, 2025 | NWI
Between 2000 and 2020, the number of young people incarcerated in the United States declined by an astonishing 77 percent. Over the same time period, arrest rates and serious violent crimes by juveniles fell equally dramatically. What lessons can be drawn from this 20-year experiment and quiet triumph of public policy?
Parental Consent Rules May Hinder Teen Mental Health Treatment
January 13, 2025 | NWI
Teens living in states requiring parent consent for mental health treatment may be less likely to access care, according to a Northwestern Medicine-led study published in JAMA Pediatrics.
Preventing Infant and Toddler Maltreatment: A Toolkit
December 7, 2024 | NWI
This toolkit aims to facilitate collaboration among state-level policymakers, agency leaders, administrators, and other partners to pinpoint the connections between policies that promote family well-being and those that prevent child maltreatment. The resources in this toolkit are intended to inform and encourage dialogue, collaboration, and action among state leaders responsible for promoting positive outcomes among children, families, and communities in their states.