National Child Welfare Resource Center for Organizational Improvement: Provides information on a growing trend in child welfare – using managers, supervisors, peers, trainers and others to coach staff. Offers a brief definition of coaching and the coaching process, and a discussion of the seven critical components of coaching programs, all illustrated with real world examples of programs already underway. Highlights the experience of one participant in the Leadership Academy for Middle Managers coaching program, and provide some resources. Link to pdf Description
Category Archives: CA&N Resources
Talking to Children About Disasters
American Academy Of Pediatrics: Children can cope more effectively with a disaster when they feel they understand what is happening and what they can do to help protect themselves, family, and friends. Provide basic information to help them understand, without providing unnecessary details that may only alarm them. For very young children, provide concrete explanations of what happened and how it will affect them (eg, a tree branch fell on electrical wires and that is why the lights don’t work). Let children know there are many people who are working to help them and their community to recover after a disaster (such as repair crews for the electric company, or firefighters, police, paramedics, or other emergency personnel). Share with them all of the steps that are being taken to keep them safe; children will often worry that a disaster will occur again. Link to Article
America’s Children in Brief: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2012
Each year since 1997, the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics has published a report on the well-being of children and families. Pending data availability, the Forum updates all 41 indicators annually on its Web site (http://childstats.gov) and alternates publishing a detailed report, America’s Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, with a summary version that highlights selected indicators. The America’s Children series makes Federal data on children and families available in a nontechnical, easy-to-use format in order to stimulate discussion among data providers, policymakers, and the public. Link to Report on ChildStats Web Site; Link to pdf Report
Economically Disconnected Families and the Child Welfare System.
January 2012, University of Washington. West Coast Poverty Center: Families in the child welfare system often face barriers meeting their basic needs as well as being able to retain or regain custody of their children. While some of these barriers, such as substance abuse, mental health problems, or limited income, could be addressed through employment or social service receipt, emerging research suggests that a substantial share of child welfare-involved families seems to be grappling with these issues without any connection to employment or some of the major social service programs. With support from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services/Administration for Children and Families, researchers from Partners for Our Children and the West Coast Poverty Center examined data from a survey of child welfare-involved parents in Washington State to measure the extent and nature of “economic disconnection” among these families and to explore the relationship between disconnection and engagement in child welfare services.
This brief explores their findings. We begin with a brief overview of what is known about economic disconnection. We then present findings from the Washington State survey about how many child welfare involved families are economically disconnected and how these families’ economic circumstances and their patterns of engagement with the child welfare system compare with those of families who are connected to the labor market or social services. We end with a summary of the reactions of policymakers and practitioners to this research as well as their suggestions for extending the work in the future. Link to Brief
What You Need to Know about Child Well-Being and Serving Children in Family Drug Courts
July 11, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention: Parental substance use disorders are a factor in majority of CWS cases. Research linking the two issues is compelling. Substance use and child maltreatment are often multi-generational problems that can only be addressed through a coordinated approach across multiple systems working in conjunction to address the needs of both the parents and the children. Link to pdf Slides
Securing Legal Ties For Children Living In LGBT Families; A State Strategy and Policy Guide
July 2012, Movement Advancement Project, Family Equality Council, Center for American Progress: This report, “Securing Legal Ties for Children Living in LGBT Families,” is the third in a companion series to the “All Children Matter” report. Focusing specifically on the impact of state marriage and parenting laws on children living in LGBT families, this companion report provides a framework for state policymakers to draft, pass, and enact new laws that protect children living in contemporary family structures. It also includes recommendations for amending, repealing, or overturning archaic and discriminatory laws that leave children without the security of legal ties to their parents, or without the loving, “forever” homes that all children need and deserve. The report is divided into four key areas. In this introduction, we provide an overview of the diversity of LGBT families: who they are, where they live, and the economic realities they face. The next section highlights how the multiple paths to parenthood for LGBT parents intersect with archaic laws and practices that often leave children without legal ties to both parents. The third section focuses on how this lack of legal ties harms children being raised in LGBT families. The report concludes with a series of policy recommendations for designing comprehensive state-level parental recognition laws. Link to Policy Guide