Tag Archives: child welfare

YouthThrive

August 14, 2012CA&N Resourceschild welfare, child well-being, Foster Care, policy, program, youthMiPSAC

Center for the Study of Social Policy: This multi-year initiative examines ways to support foster youth that advance healthy development and well-being and reduce the impact of negative life experiences.

Youth Thrive has two goals:

To give child welfare agencies and their partners a way to translate the federal mandate for child well-being into actions that will secure the healthy development of youth in foster care. CSSP has examined the research knowledge-base to identify protective and promotive factors that build healthy development and well-being for youth as they move through adolescence into adulthood. The synthesis of the research and the Youth Thrive Protective and Promotive Factors Framework will be shared with the field, and used to fashion policies, programs and interventions that promote health and well-being. CSSP anticipates creating tools and trainings for practitioners working with at-risk youth, parents, foster parents and relatives caring for youth, group homes and other facilities and child welfare agencies.
To disseminate this information to parents, caregivers, families and communities so that they will better understand how they – in their respective roles – can prioritize healthy development for young people to grow into successful, productive and caring members of society.

Link to Youthrive Web Page

Refugee Portal: Bridging Refugee Youth and Children’s Services (BRYCS)

August 14, 2012CA&N Resourcesbooks, child welfare, children’s services, early childhood, Education, family life, family strengthening, health, mental health, refugees, school system, schools, youth developmentMiPSAC

Refugee Portal: Bridging Refugee Youth and Children’s Services: BRYCS created this portal to ensure that refugees have easy access to multilingual resources. The languages include: Arabic, Burmese, Karen, Nepali, Somali and Spanish. Refugees may click on their language for resources on the topics of family life and parenting, early childhood, the U.S. school system (K-12), children’s books, and health/mental health. English versions of the materials are also available. Link to Portal

Realistic Job Previews (RJPs)

August 14, 2012CA&N ResourcesApplicants, child welfare, employment, recruiting, screening, selection, turnover reductionMiPSAC

Links to RJP videos from different States (including Michigan). Supplemental materials to describe and enhance the information in the videos include: A one page summary explaining the development, use, and effectiveness of RJP videos on the recruitment, selection, and retention of child welfare workers and a resource list of projects, tools, and training on recruitment, screening, and selection of child welfare workers. RJPs are designed to present a balanced view of both the rewards and demands of child welfare positions in order to align the goals and expectations of applicants with the requirements of child welfare work. The goal of an RJP is to improve the fit between the applicant and the job, increasing job satisfaction and reducing the number of new staff who quit because their job roles and demands were not what they had envisioned. Link to Videos Page

New Policy Brief: Court-Based Child Welfare Reforms: Improved Child/Family Outcomes and Potential Cost Savings

August 14, 2012CA&N Resourceschild welfare, court process, improvement, legalMiPSAC

This policy brief describes court-based child welfare reforms that resulted in improved outcomes for children and families, and potential state/local agency cost savings. The reforms fall into several categories. Some focus on improving family engagement, access to services, and judicial decision-making. Others improve outcomes by operating as a quality-control mechanism for the child welfare system. All successful reforms share common traits: strong judicial leadership and vision about how the child welfare system should serve families, dedicated professionals, and cross-system collaboration. Includes a piece on an Expedited Reunification Docket in Wayne County MI. Link to Downloadable Policy Brief

Preparing Children for Court

August 14, 2012CA&N Resourceschild welfare, children, court proceedings, preparationMiPSAC

Participating in court proceedings may be particularly stressful for children. The Office of Court Improvement, a division of the Office of the State Courts Administrator within the Supreme Court of Florida, released an activity book specifically for children attending dependency hearings. What’s Happening In Dependency Court? aims to familiarize children with the judicial system by providing information related to the court process, legal terms, and the role of court personnel. Information is divided into easy-to-read topical areas, including the following:

Coloring activities and crossword puzzles help children develop proper expectations, understand the importance of the rules and how to behave in court. Not specific to Florida.

What’s Happening In Dependency Court? is available on the Florida State Courts website:

http://flcourts.org/gen_public/family/bin/dependbook.pdf

Immigration and Child Welfare

August 14, 2012CA&N Resourceschild welfare, Deportation, detention, Foster Care, immigrationMiPSAC

The Applied Research Center (ARC) recently published a report on the obstacles that families encounter when they concurrently deal with immigration enforcement and the child welfare system. ARC’s national investigation centered on the extent to which children living in foster care are prevented from reuniting with their parents who are detained or have been deported due to alleged immigration violations.

The executive summary and full report, Shattered Families: The Perilous Intersection of Immigration Enforcement and the Child Welfare System, are available on the Applied Research Center website: http://arc.org/shatteredfamilies