Tag Archives: supports

The Texas Blueprint: Transforming Education Outcomes for Children and Youth in Foster Care.

In 2010, the Supreme Court of Texas issued an Order Establishing the Education Committee of the Permanent Judicial Commission for Children, Youth and Families (Children’s Commission). This order was the Texas response to mandates in the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008. The Education Committee collaborated to create recommendations to improve educational outcomes of children and youth in foster care. The recommendations fell into eight categories:

  • Judicial Practices
  • Data and Information Sharing
  • Multi-Disciplinary Training
  • School Readiness
  • School Stability and Transitions
  • School Experience, Supports, and Advocacy
  • Post-Secondary Education
  • Future Collaboration

Link to Recommendations

Supporting Children of Parents with Co-occurring Mental Illness and Substance Abuse

June 2012, Research To Practice Brief, National Abandoned Infants Assistance Resource Center:

It is well documented in the literature that children growing up in homes headed by a parent with co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders are at an increased risk for a multitude of psychosocial complications. These children are commonly exposed to ongoing stressors that can have a cumulative impact on their behavior and development. In a three-year longitudinal study, researchers found that the risk of child behavior problems increased with the number of areas in which the mother reported difficulties. Unfortunately, in families with parental co-occurring disorders, multiple difficulties are commonplace. This brief suggests a number of services and supports for such families. Link to pdf Practice Brief

Enhanced Services to Children and Youth Exposed to Domestic Violence

January 2012: Family and Youth Services Bureau, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

This Guide captures the promising practices and lessons learned from nine demonstration projects funded by the Family Violence Prevention and Services Program of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services during 2005 through 2008. These Demonstration of Enhanced Services to Children and Youth Exposed to Domestic Violence sites expanded the fields’ understanding of the varied ways in which children, youth and families experiencing domestic violence can be identified and provided essential services and supports. The Guide showcases these nine demonstration projects, focusing on their goals, collaborative partnerships, experiences, challenges, and successes. The voices of domestic violence victim

advocates at the local and state level, as well as therapists and researchers, are threaded throughout showcase narratives. Their accounts of the promising practices developed and the lessons learned along the way offer the reader a unique opportunity to share in and learn from their experiences. Link to pdf Guide; See also:  Violence Against Women Websitecontains details of studies including two commentaries on Michigan studies.