Intended to provide caregivers with the information, skills, support, and services they need to address the developmental needs of their children and prepare them for adulthood, parenting programs play

Parenting Programs Improve Child Outcomes

Intended to provide caregivers with the information, skills, support, and services they need to address the developmental needs of their children and prepare them for adulthood, parenting programs play an important role in child well-being. In fact, according to a recent report from Partnership for America’s Economic Success (PAES), parenting education can potentially break the intergenerational transmission of negative social problems such as poverty, violence, and family instability. Effective parenting education has also shown promise for financial benefits to society by stemming child maltreatment, school failure, and criminal activity. 
 
The PAES report, which seeks to understand the economic benefits to society of investing in effective parenting education programs, reviewed 10 rigorously evaluated programs shown to be effective in improving parenting and/or child outcomes. The programs showed that parenting education programs can affect parenting attitudes, knowledge, skills, and disciplinary practices, as well as children&#39;s health, safety, behavioral, and academic outcomes. Unfortunately, there was insufficient data on longer-term impacts and limited data on cost-effectiveness. However, the report does provide estimates for cost-effectiveness for the two programs that showed reductions in child maltreatment (Nurse Family Partnership and Parent Education Program for Teen Mothers). In the cases of these programs, reducing maltreatment among adolescents could lead to annual crime-related savings between $9.9 million and $16.2 million and an estimated cost savings of between $506 and $1.65 billion in lost future productivity. 
 
The report&#39;s authors make recommendations about future research on parenting programs, focusing on the need to gather long-term impact data and cost savings data. 
 
The PAES report, Developmental and Economic Effects of Parenting Programs for Expectant Parents and Parents of Preschool-age Children, by Sharon M. McGroder and Allison Hyra, is available online: 
 
<a href="http://www.partnershipforsuccess.org/docs/researchproject_mcgroder_200903_paper.pdf " rel="nofollow">www.partnershipforsuccess.org/docs/researchproject_mcgroder_200903_paper.pdf </a>(1,088 KB) 
 
Related Item 
 
Casey Family Programs and the Louisiana Department of Social Services, Office of Community Services, conducted a study to evaluate the effectiveness of Louisiana&#39;s Nurturing Parenting Program, a 16-week group and home-based program that targets parents and other caregivers of infants, toddlers, and preschool children involved in the child welfare system. Researchers assessed the changes in parental attitudes of 564 participants involved in the child welfare system following an allegation of abuse or neglect of one or more children in their care. The study found that the program was successful in retaining clients, improving parental attitudes toward childrearing, and reducing repeat maltreatment. 
 
Evaluation of the Statewide Implementation of a Parent Education Program in Louisiana’s Child Welfare Agency: The Nurturing Parenting Program for Infants, Toddlers, and Pre-School Children, by Rhenda H. Hodnett, Karen Faulk, Amy Dellinger, and Erin Maher, is available on the Casey Family Programs website: 
 
<a href="http://www.casey.org/Resources/Publications/pdf/EvaluationParentEdLA_FR.pdf" rel="nofollow">www.casey.org/Resources/Publications/pdf/EvaluationParentEdLA_FR.pdf</a> (967 KB)

April 2010

The National Quality Improvement Center on Early Childhood (QIC-EC) is hard at work studying how collaborative interventions increase protective factors and decrease risk factors to achieve optimal child

Promoting Optimal Development and Preventing Child Maltreatment: The QIC on Early Childhood

The National Quality Improvement Center on Early Childhood (QIC-EC) is hard at work studying how collaborative interventions increase protective factors and decrease risk factors to achieve optimal child development, increased family strengths, and decreased likelihood of child maltreatment within families of young children at high-risk for child maltreatment. The focus of the QIC-EC underscores the nation&#39;s urgent need to find innovative, effective approaches to maltreatment prevention for children 0-5. Current research indicates that children in this age group are subject to the highest rates of child maltreatment and are at the greatest risk of lifelong harm from trauma. Research also reveals that the early years of life can be a very important period for influencing a child&#39;s developmental trajectory and the parent-child relationship, including parental behavior patterns, before neglectful or abusive patterns are established.
The QIC-EC Projects Following a year of intensive study and deliberations with a distinguished national advisory committee, it was clear that reducing maltreatment was not sufficient. Increasing family strengths and promoting optimal development are equally important to ensuring the best outcomes for very vulnerable young children.
Four research and demonstration (R&amp;D) projects were selected from more than 40 highly competitive proposals from across the country to study effective ways to achieve these goals. The focus of the QIC-EC is primary prevention, so the R&amp;D projects will target infants and young children who are at high risk for abuse and neglect but for whom there is no substantiated child protective services report. Children will be 0-24 months old when they are accepted into the project. The R&amp;D projects will employ randomized control or quasi-experimental designs that implement a range of collaborative interventions with families.
The main activities of the R&amp;D projects illustrate the range of families, communities, service systems, and interventions that will be studied over the next 3 years:  
<ul><li>Denver, CO: This project will study the impact of collaboration among Part C case managers, wraparound services, leveraging the family&#39;s natural supports, and substance abuse treatment for pregnant women.</li><li>Columbia, SC: Stepping Stones Triple P parent education training plus adapted Preventing Child Abuse and Neglect training for Part C early intervention coordinators will be tested for effectiveness with families of children with disabilities in 12 counties.</li><li>Boston, MA: Families in an isolated, high poverty urban neighborhood who seek medical services through a community health center will test a combination of Healthy Steps home visiting, legal assistance, and other family support.</li><li>Salem, OR: This study will measure the impact of a multifaceted neighborhood mobilization, led by residents and including businesses, faith communities, and human services on reductions in child maltreatment and promotion of optimal development.</li></ul>
In addition to the rigorous evaluation conducted by each individual project, the QIC-EC will also conduct a cross-site evaluation that includes both outcomes and processes.
The QIC-EC Learning Network The QIC-EC will provide ongoing information from these creative interventions over the next 3 years via its information-sharing Learning Network. The QIC-EC&#39;s Learning Network (LN) serves as an active mechanism for exchange of information between the QIC-EC and a multidisciplinary group of organizations and individuals who share the commitment to maltreatment prevention in very young children. The QIC-EC has convened quarterly LN webinars, including:
<ul><li>Current Research on the Adult Outcomes of Child Maltreatment</li><li>Promoting Optimal Development in Young Children and Families Affected by Substance Abuse and/or HIV/AIDS</li><li>Prevention: A Dialogue between Research and Practice</li></ul>
Webinar slides can be downloaded from the QIC-EC website: 
<a href="http://www.qic-ec.org" rel="nofollow">www.qic-ec.org</a>
The QIC-EC Award The Children&#39;s Bureau awarded a 5-year cooperative agreement in 2008 to the Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP) to establish the QIC-EC to promote the development, dissemination, and integration of new knowledge about maltreatment prevention among infants and young children (0-5) who are at high risk for abuse, neglect, and abandonment. CSSP&#39;s partner organizations are ZERO to THREE: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families and the National Alliance of Children&#39;s Trust and Prevention Funds. The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation provided matching funds. For more information about the work of the QIC-EC, including detailed grantee profiles and information from previous LN webinars, visit the website:  
<a href="http://www.qic-ec.org" rel="nofollow">www.qic-ec.org</a> For more information, contact: Charlyn Harper Browne, Project Director <a href="mailto:charlyn.harperbrowne&#64;cssp.org" rel="nofollow">charlyn.harperbrowne&#64;cssp.org</a> Contributed by Charlyn Harper Browne

"Strengthening Families and Communities" is the ongoing theme for National Child Abuse Prevention Month. The theme conveys the message that service providers and concerned individuals can help families

April Is National Child Abuse Prevention Month

&#34;Strengthening Families and Communities&#34; is the ongoing theme for National Child Abuse Prevention Month. The theme conveys the message that service providers and concerned individuals can help families and communities identify their strengths and build on those strengths to provide a safe, loving environment for their children.
Strengthening Families and Communities: 2010 Resource Guide is a free resource that supports service providers who work with parents, other caregivers, and their children. The guide highlights strategies to strengthen families by promoting five key protective factors that prevent child abuse and neglect:
<ul><li>Nurturing and attachment</li><li>Knowledge of parenting and of child and youth development</li><li>Parental resilience</li><li>Social connections</li><li>Concrete supports for parents</li></ul>
This year&#39;s guide also includes additional resources for working with families and communities, including:
<ul><li>New information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the &#34;Safe, Stable and Nurturing Relationships Strategies&#34;</li><li>A revision of the &#34;levers&#34; for effecting broad-based community change</li><li>Evidence-based strategies to strengthen families</li><li>Tools to help build community awareness and support the development of community partnerships with specific groups</li><li>A sample press release and public service announcements</li><li>Tip sheets to share with parents and caregivers</li></ul>
The guide was developed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services&#39; Children&#39;s Bureau, Office on Child Abuse and Neglect, its Child Welfare Information Gateway, the FRIENDS National Resource Center for Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention, and numerous national organizations and parents. 
 
View or order the free resource guide on the Child Welfare Information Gateway website: 
<a href="http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/res_guide_2010" rel="nofollow">www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/res_guide_2010</a> 
 
Just in time for National Child Abuse Prevention Month, Child Welfare Information Gateway has enhanced the selection of child abuse prevention resources on its website to support child welfare and related professionals this month and throughout the year. Enhancements to the website include:
<ul><li>An Activities Calendar that promotes the protective factors and highlights 30 ways to strengthen families during National Child Abuse Prevention Month: <a href="http://www.childwelfare.gov/preventing/preventionmonth/calendar_eng.cfm " rel="nofollow">www.childwelfare.gov/preventing/preventionmonth/calendar_eng.cfm </a></li><li>Updated resources throughout the Preventing Child Abuse &amp; Neglect section, including new webpages on early childhood and child care services and evaluating prevention programs</li><li>A new look for the National Child Abuse Prevention Month website</li><li>A 30-second multimedia animation for marketing outreach that was launched last year in April to promote online prevention resources</li></ul>
Visit the Child Welfare Information Gateway website to find these resources and more: 
<a href="http://www.childwelfare.gov/preventing" rel="nofollow">www.childwelfare.gov/preventing</a>

For home visiting interventions to have the greatest effects possible, the systems in which home visiting programs operate must be integrated, supportive, and conducive to service delivery. Knowledge is

Supporting Evidence-Based Home Visiting (EBHV) Grantees: Lessons Learned From Planning Year 1

For home visiting interventions to have the greatest effects possible, the systems in which home visiting programs operate must be integrated, supportive, and conducive to service delivery. Knowledge is needed about how to build the infrastructure and service systems necessary to implement and sustain EBVH programs with fidelity to their models and whether and how to scale up these programs and adapt them for new target populations.
In 2008, the Children’s Bureau (CB) funded 17 grants, through 5-year cooperative agreements, to address this knowledge gap and prevent child maltreatment. Grantees are to leverage their grant funding with other funding sources to support the implementation of, scaling up, and sustaining home visiting programs with high fidelity to their evidence-based models. In addition, grantees will contribute to the knowledge base about large-scale implementation with fidelity by conducting local implementation and outcome evaluations, along with analysis of program costs. The first year (fiscal year [FY] 2008-2009) was a planning year; grantees are to implement their plans during the remaining 4 years (FY 2009-2010 through FY 2012-2013 subject to the availability of Federal funding). The grantees, spread across 15 States, are supporting five different home visiting models:
<ul><li>Healthy Families America</li><li>Nurse Family Partnership</li><li>Parents as Teachers</li><li>Positive Parenting Program</li><li>SafeCare</li></ul>
The cross-site evaluation is being conducted by Mathematica Policy Research and Chapin Hall.  The following are the lessons learned from the first year of this initiative:
<ul><li>The importance of contextual change on EBHV initiative implementation and local evaluation. All grantees have seen significant funding cuts at the Federal, State, and local levels, which will impact their ability to serve as many families as planned or in some cases may jeopardize the future of the grant. Grantees are adjusting their implementation and local evaluation plans to coincide with their current funding realities.</li><li>The complexity of integrating home visiting models into local service networks. Implementing home visitation models into existing local service networks requires grantees to engage with multiple partners and build capacity in key resources and functions, including planning, operations, workforce development, funding, collaboration, communication, political support, and quality assurance or program evaluation. To build infrastructure, the grantees may need to engage in even a wider array of activities than initially anticipated.  </li><li>The importance of establishing rigorous evaluation standards and implications for technical assistance (TA) needs and related resources. By setting high expectations, the cross-site evaluation served as a catalyst for a change process that elevated the threshold for what constituted rigorous research and identified specific areas in which greater investments in research would result in higher quality, more policy-relevant data. Although still evolving in light of the current funding situation, the process has underscored the importance of both raising expectations and articulating the types of TA and financial support required to ensure achievement of these higher standards.</li><li>The importance of identifying and directly addressing data ownership issues and lines of communication when implementing home visiting models. States that are implementing multiple EBHV programs, such as Illinois, New Jersey and, more recently, Utah, are already engaged in ways to integrate the various model-specific management information systems into a tool that can be used by State administrators and policymakers to better assess the combined coverage and level of effort achieved across all of the models being implemented. Creating ways in which data can be shared among State administrators, the various national models, and local researchers in a manner that addresses the diverse needs of all users will be essential.</li><li>The importance of creating opportunities for grantees to teach, as well as learn, from each other. The Peer Learning Network (PLN) serves as a venue for knowledge exchange among grantees. The Mathematica-Chapin Hall and FRIENDS National Resource Center team members are facilitators of the PLN and are engaging grantees and helping to identify commonalities across grantees and potential opportunities for learning.</li><li>Opportunities for identifying commonalities and shared learning opportunities across evidence-based models. The EBHV grant initiative offers a unique opportunity to engage multiple models around a common goal—the success of the EBHV grantees.  The Mathematica-Chapin Hall team conducted calls with the national model developers and created a forum for the national model developers to discuss the different strategies they have used to ensure high quality replication of their efforts.</li><li>Opportunities for identifying commonalities and shared learning opportunities across diverse Federal initiatives. There is the potential to collaborate with cross-site evaluators of other Federal initiatives, namely ECCS and Project LAUNCH, which also focus efforts on systems development and change. The effort to collaborate across Federal initiatives may produce lessons that go beyond any one initiative and can speak more broadly to the issues of infrastructure development and systems change to support high quality service provision for families and children.    </li><li>The importance of maintaining open and transparent communication among all partners engaged in complex initiatives. This initiative embraces a number of goals that have implications at the program, State, and Federal levels, and it addresses an array of planning and implementation concerns that impact both practice and research. Over the past year, a key implementation challenge for all of those involved has been resisting this tendency to focus on their own priorities and to embrace the need to remain fully informed of the interests, concerns, and limitations of the other partners. By requiring regular communication among all of the partners, the CB/ACF developed an environment that maximized exposure to diverse viewpoints and competing priorities.</li></ul>
Information about each of the 17 programs, the cross-site evaluation design, and resources on home visiting is now available through the Supporting EBHV website. The website was developed and is maintained by the FRIENDS National Resource Center for Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention:
<a href="http://www.supportingebhv.org" rel="nofollow">www.supportingebhv.org</a>
The project has also produced an online newsletter, the EBHV Connector, which can be accessed through the website and includes articles on each grantee&#39;s work:
<a href="http://www.supportingebhv.org/newsletter " rel="nofollow">www.supportingebhv.org/newsletter </a>
Reference:
DelGrosso, P., &amp; Daro, D. (2009). Cross-site evaluation of the supporting Evidence-Based Home Visiting grantees: Summary of the planning year. Children’s Bureau, Administration for Children and Families, US Department of Health and Human Services. Contract No. GS10F-0050L/HHSP233200800065W. Available from Mathematica Policy Research, Princeton, NJ.
Contributed by Melissa Brodowski, the Children&#39;s Bureau, Office on Child Abuse and Neglect

A new report from the Center for the Study of Social Policy takes a broad look at the impact of the Strengthening Families initiative across the country as reflected in States' efforts to implement new

Family Strengthening Programs Around the Country

A new report from the Center for the Study of Social Policy takes a broad look at the impact of the Strengthening Families initiative across the country as reflected in States&#39; efforts to implement new strategies for the prevention of child abuse and neglect. In particular, A Look at Strengthening Families in the States examines the evolution of the family strengthening approach—from the establishment of an advisory committee and introduction of seven State pilot projects to the launch of the Strengthening Families National Network (SFNN), a forum for sharing and disseminating information among States, territories, and Tribes.
Based on the results of a 2009 structured study of Strengthening Families work, the report describes the progress of the initiative and its responsiveness to the needs of the child welfare field. Some of the key elements to successful implementation include:
<ul><li>Use of cross-systems planning for comprehensive early childhood services</li><li>Enhanced prevention approaches in many States</li><li>Dissemination of new knowledge and tools</li><li>Parents&#39; engagement around protective factors and family strengthening</li></ul>
To support the continued improvement and expansion of the Strengthening Families initiative, the authors identify three critical approaches that need further growth and attention. They include:
<ul><li>Enhancing State-level implementation</li><li>Establishing more effective methods for evaluating impact</li><li>Working on a deeper implementation of programs and practices</li></ul>
Appendices offer detailed looks at the Strengthening Families efforts in Minnesota, Kansas, Georgia, and Washington. 
 
A Look at Strengthening Families in the States is available on the Strengthening Families&#39; website: 
<a href="http://strengtheningfamilies.net/images/uploads/pdf_uploads/%282.1_.1%29_A_Look_at_Strengthening_Families_in_the_States_.pdf" rel="nofollow">http://strengtheningfamilies.net/images/uploads/pdf_uploads/(2.1_.1)_A_Look_at_Strengthening_Families_in_the_States_.pdf</a> (584 KB)

Tribal and Migrant Prevention Programs The Children's Bureau is committed to supporting programs and activities that prevent the occurrence and reoccurrence of child abuse and neglect within Tribal and

<h2>Tribal and Migrant Prevention Programs</h2>
The Children&#39;s Bureau is committed to supporting programs and activities that prevent the occurrence and reoccurrence of child abuse and neglect within Tribal and migrant populations. Title II of The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (Community Based Child Abuse Prevention Program) specifies that 1 percent of the available funding from Title II is reserved to fund Tribes, Tribal Organizations, and Migrant Programs for child abuse and neglect prevention efforts. In 2007, the Children&#39;s Bureau funded two Tribal programs and one migrant program to carry out their proposed child abuse prevention activities. These activities are consistent with the goals outlined in the legislation. Funded projects include:
<ul style="list-style-type: disc; list-style-position: inside;"><li style="list-style-type: none">
<ul style="list-style-type: disc; list-style-position: inside;"><li>Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic Location: Toppenish, Washington This grantee is implementing the &#34;Spanish-Language Parenting Education Program,&#34; using the Los Ninos Bien Educados curriculum to target low-income, Spanish-speaking migrant families in east Yakima. In addition, the program builds community capacity to provide parent-led support groups. The parenting education is culturally specific to meet the needs of Spanish-speaking migrant families. </li></ul>
</li></ul>
 
<ul style="list-style-type: disc; list-style-position: inside;"><li style="list-style-type: none">
<ul style="list-style-type: disc; list-style-position: inside;"><li>Grand Traverse Band (GTB) of Ottawa &amp; Chippewa Indians Location:  Suttons Bay, Michigan This grantee is implementing the GTB Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention and Intervention Program, creating a parent skills education and father-mentoring program for GTB parents and fathers at risk for abuse or neglect. The goals and objectives of the program are to (1) hire a parent educator to make home visits to instruct parents/fathers in the Common Sense Parenting skills program and (2) engage community members from the Native Men&#39;s Group to mentor fathers in the roles of Native American fathers and men.</li></ul>
</li></ul>
 
<ul style="list-style-type: disc; list-style-position: inside;"><li>Indian Child Welfare Consortium Location:  Temecula, California This grantee is expanding the work of Indian Child and Family Services (ICFS), whose overall aim is to strengthen and preserve American Indian children and families through the implementation of culturally adapted, evidence-based family strengthening programs. The project has established a Tribal Child Abuse Prevention (TCAP) program that will support a multilevel preventive intervention for native families. </li></ul>
These grantees have developed unique approaches to address child abuse and neglect prevention efforts in their communities. Each grantee has chosen a different evaluation approach, but they all share similar program outcomes. Some of these outcomes include increased knowledge of parenting skills, access to support services within the community, implementation fidelity, cultural competence, parental empowerment and development, and improvements in children’s behavior in response to positive parenting. Dissemination efforts include a focus at the community, State, and national levels, providing information directly to service agencies and researchers through conference and workshop presentations. 
For additional information on this cluster of grants, please contact the Federal Project Officer, Rosie Gomez, at <a href="mailto:rosie.gomez&#64;acf.hhs.gov" rel="nofollow">rosie.gomez&#64;acf.hhs.gov</a>.
To read about a site visit to the Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic, visit the Child Welfare Information Gateway website: <a href="http://www.childwelfare.gov/management/funding/funding_sources/sitevisits/yakima.cfm" rel="nofollow">http://www.childwelfare.gov/management/funding/funding_sources/sitevisits/yakima.cfm</a>
Contributed by Rosie Gomez, the Children&#39;s Bureau, Office on Child Abuse and Neglect

A new report from the FrameWorks Institute presents the Institute's latest research on effectively communicating with the public about child abuse prevention. With the support of Prevent Child Abuse America

Framing Effective Child Abuse Prevention Messages

A new report from the FrameWorks Institute presents the Institute&#39;s latest research on effectively communicating with the public about child abuse prevention. With the support of Prevent Child Abuse America and the Doris Duke Foundation, The Frameworks Institute compared different &#34;frames&#34; for talking about child abuse and early childhood development and how those frames impact public support for policies that improve children&#39;s development and prevent child abuse and neglect. 
 
In the study, 4,200 registered voters read 1 of 17 different narratives (or frames) that presented different ways of thinking about early childhood development. The participants then answered questions that measured their support for certain child-related policies. The research found participants were particularly sensitive to issues involving the physical and emotional welfare of children, and the following frames were most effective for increasing support for child-related policies:
<ul><li>Prosperity—The skills and capacities that begin developing in early childhood become the basis of a prosperous and sustainable society.</li><li>Ingenuity—Society can invent and replicate more effective policies and programs for young children.</li><li>Toxic Stress—Serious early stress can lead to lifelong problems in learning, behavior, and both physical and mental health.</li><li>Pay Now or Pay Later—Devoting societal resources to children early in life is less costly than treating adults affected by poor outcomes.</li><li>Return on Investment—We can support the most effective early childhood programs by comparing the benefit of the investment to the cost.</li></ul>
Although participants&#39; concern for child well-being was already high, the study found that exposure to these frames increased support for child-related policies by an additional 5-10 percent. Combining the Prosperity or Ingenuity frames alongside other messages proved to be particularly effective. The FrameWorks Institute suggests that programs and advocates should use these different frames to meet their communication needs for increasing public support for policies that promote early childhood development and child abuse prevention. 
 
Framing Child Abuse and Neglect: Effects of Early Childhood Development Experimental Research, by Tiffany Manuel, is available on the Prevent Child Abuse America website:
<a href="http://www.preventchildabuse.org/canp/resources/pdf/FramingChildAbuseandNeglect_researchreport_2009.pdf" rel="nofollow">www.preventchildabuse.org/canp/resources/pdf/FramingChildAbuseandNeglect_researchreport_2009.pdf</a> (4,320 KB) 
 
Related Item 
 
Visit the FrameWorks Institute Toolkit on &#34;Talking About Child Abuse Prevention&#34; for more research and communication tools to increase public support for child abuse prevention policies:
<a href="http://www.preventchildabuse.org/canp" rel="nofollow">www.preventchildabuse.org/canp</a>

The Children's Bureau website carries information on child welfare programs, funding, monitoring, training and technical assistance, laws, statistics, research, Federal reporting, and much more. The "New

The Children&#39;s Bureau website carries information on child welfare programs, funding, monitoring, training and technical assistance, laws, statistics, research, Federal reporting, and much more. The &#34;New on Site&#34; section includes grant announcements, policy announcements, agency information, and recently released publications.
Recent additions to the site include:
<ul><li>Program Instruction (PI) 10-1, which provides interested State title IV-E agencies and Tribes with revised instructions on how to implement and operate the Guardianship Assistance Program (GAP) title IV-E plan option as authorized by the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008, Public Law (P.L.) 110-351 (<a href="http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/laws_policies/policy/pi/2010/pi1001.htm" rel="nofollow">www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/laws_policies/policy/pi/2010/pi1001.htm</a>) </li></ul>
Visit the Children&#39;s Bureau website often to see what&#39;s new!
<a href="http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb" rel="nofollow">www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb</a>

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has released Child Maltreatment 2008, an annual report of data collected from the States' child protective services (CPS) agencies via the National Child

HHS Releases 2008 Statistics on Child Abuse and Neglect

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has released Child Maltreatment 2008, an annual report of data collected from the States&#39; child protective services (CPS) agencies via the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System. The report provides national and State statistics on topics that include reports of abuse and neglect, child characteristics, fatalities, perpetrators, and services provided to children and families.
According to the new report:
<ul><li>An estimated 772,000 children were found to be victims of abuse or neglect during 2008, representing a rate of 10.3 per 1,000 children in the population. This number shows a continued decline from 2006, when 905,000 children were found to be victims of maltreatment.</li><li>An estimated 3.3 million referrals were made to CPS agencies in 2008, involving the alleged maltreatment of approximately 6.0 million children.</li><li>Agencies screened in 62.5 percent of the referrals for investigation or assessment; as a result, at least one child was found to be a victim of abuse or neglect in 23.7 percent of those investigations or assessments.</li><li>Of the children who were abused or neglected in 2008, 71.1 percent experienced neglect, 16.1 percent were physically abused, 9.1 percent were sexually abused, and 7.3 percent were emotionally or psychologically maltreated. A child may have suffered from multiple forms of maltreatment and was counted once for each maltreatment type.</li><li>Children in the age group of birth to 1 year had the highest rate of victimization at 21.7 per 1,000 for children of the same age group in the national population.</li><li>An estimated 1,740 children died from abuse or neglect, reflecting a rate of 2.33 deaths per 100,000 children.</li><li>Approximately 80.1 percent of perpetrators were parents, and another 6.5 percent were other relatives.</li><li>An estimated 63.3 percent of victims and 28.5 percent of nonvictims received postinvestigation services, and 20.9 percent of victims and 3.6 percent of nonvictims were placed in foster care.</li><li>Court-appointed representatives were assigned to 14.7 percent of victims.</li></ul>
To download the full report on national and State statistics, visit the Children&#39;s Bureau website: 
<a href="http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/pubs/cm08" rel="nofollow">www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/pubs/cm08</a> 
 
To read the Administration for Children and Families&#39; press release, visit: 
<a href="http://www.acf.hhs.gov/news/press/2010/child_maltreatment_2008.html" rel="nofollow">www.acf.hhs.gov/news/press/2010/child_maltreatment_2008.html</a>

The Children's Bureau's first discretionary grant announcement of FY 2010, released on March 23, 2010, announced the availability of funds for Tribal Title IV-E Plan Development Grants. The deadline for

Children's Bureau Discretionary Funding Available

The Children&#39;s Bureau&#39;s first discretionary grant announcement of FY 2010, released on March 23, 2010, announced the availability of funds for Tribal Title IV-E Plan Development Grants. The deadline for submission of applications is June 21, 2010. Find the full announcement here: 
<a href="http://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/open/foa/view/hhs-2010-acf-acyf-cs-0048" rel="nofollow">www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/open/foa/view/hhs-2010-acf-acyf-cs-0048</a>
The Children’s Bureau is publishing several separate funding opportunity announcements (FOAs) this year, rather than one consolidated announcement, and is currently forecasting a total of five FOAs in FY 2010. Information about planned FY 2010 FOAs is now available on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Grants Forecast website (select &#34;Advanced Search,&#34; then select &#34;Administration on Children and Families&#34;): <a href="https://extranet.acf.hhs.gov/hhsgrantsforecast " rel="nofollow">https://extranet.acf.hhs.gov/hhsgrantsforecast </a>
For general information about Children&#39;s Bureau discretionary grants, visit the Programs and Funding Section of the Children&#39;s Bureau website: <a href="http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/programs_fund/index.htm#disc" rel="nofollow">www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/programs_fund/index.htm#disc</a> 
 
For information on specific grants, visit the following websites:
<ul><li>Grants.gov (<a href="http://www.grants.gov" rel="nofollow">www.grants.gov</a>). Search for Children&#39;s Bureau grant opportunities under the Agency Category &#34;Department of Health and Human Services&#34; or under the Funding Activity Category &#34;Social Services and Income Security or Income Security and Social Services.&#34; Users also can apply for Children&#39;s Bureau discretionary grants online, only through Grants.gov.</li><li>ACF Grant Opportunities (<a href="http://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/index.html" rel="nofollow">www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/index.html</a>). Children&#39;s Bureau and other Administration for Children and Families (ACF) funding announcements are posted here.</li></ul>
Print copies of funding announcements will not be routinely mailed out but will be sent upon request. To receive print announcements or learn more about the grants process, call the CB Operations Center at 866.796.1591.

The Children's Bureau's Office on Child Abuse and Neglect leads the Federal Interagency Work Group on Child Abuse and Neglect (FEDIAWG), a committee of more than 40 Federal agencies that work together

The Children&#39;s Bureau&#39;s Office on Child Abuse and Neglect leads the Federal Interagency Work Group on Child Abuse and Neglect (FEDIAWG), a committee of more than 40 Federal agencies that work together to coordinate their child maltreatment prevention activities. Since 2008, FEDIAWG has conducted webinars on prevention programs, and these archived presentations are available on the Children&#39;s Bureau website as video files and as PDF transcripts. Topics have included positive parenting, the Safe Start initiative, the perspective of children&#39;s hospitals, and more. 
 
Visit the FEDIAWG webinar webpage to access the archived webinars and to find information on upcoming webinars:
<a href="http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/fediawg/index.htm#webinars" rel="nofollow">www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/fediawg/index.htm#webinars</a>

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has released Child Welfare Outcomes 2003-2006: Report to Congress, the eighth in a series of reports designed to inform Congress, the States, and the public

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has released Child Welfare Outcomes 2003-2006: Report to Congress, the eighth in a series of reports designed to inform Congress, the States, and the public about State performance on delivering child welfare services. Child Welfare Outcomes provides information about State performance on seven national child welfare outcomes related to the safety, permanency, and well-being of children involved in the child welfare system. The outcomes reflect widely accepted performance objectives for child welfare practice. 
 
Data come from the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) and the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS), and the report includes some data analyses across States. 
 
Highlights of the recent report show:
<ul><li>In 2006, 885,245 children were confirmed to be victims of abuse or neglect.1</li><li>Nationally, approximately 512,000 children were in foster care on September 29, 2006.</li><li>From 2003 to 2006, 64 percent of States showed improved performance for the percentage of adoptions occurring in less than 24 months.</li><li>There was a significant improvement from 2003 to 2006 toward fewer placements of young children in group homes or institutions.</li></ul>
The full report is available on the Children&#39;s Bureau website:
<a href="http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/pubs/cwo03-06/" rel="nofollow">www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/pubs/cwo03-06/</a> 
 
1 The methodology for calculating the total number of child maltreatment victims differs between the Child Welfare Outcomes Report and Child Maltreatment 2006. In Child Maltreatment 2006, a victimization rate is computed by dividing the total number of victims (885,245) by the child population for the 51 States that reported this data to NCANDS (73,393,682) and multiplying by 1,000. A national estimate of 905,000 child victims was then calculated by multiplying the victimization rate by the national population for all 52 States (74,754,213), dividing by 1,000, and rounding to the nearest 1,000. The Child Welfare Outcomes Report uses the sum of the total number of child maltreatment victims (885,245).

The 2010 online edition of the Children's Bureau's Training and Technical Assistance (T&TA) Network Directory is now available. The updated webpages and directory contain brief information on the 30 network

Updated T&TA Network Webpages and Online Directory Now Available!

The 2010 online edition of the Children&#39;s Bureau&#39;s Training and Technical Assistance (T&amp;TA) Network Directory is now available. The updated webpages and directory contain brief information on the 30 network members. 
 
The T&amp;TA Network helps States, territories, Tribes, courts, and grantees meet Federal requirements related to child welfare. Network members also can provide assistance in improving outcomes for children and families as identified in States&#39; Child and Family Services Reviews. 
 
New additions to the directory are the National Resource Center for In-Home Services, the National Resource Center for Tribes, and the National Quality Improvement Center on the Representation of Children in the Child Welfare System. 
 
The entry for each network member describes the organization&#39;s mission and goals and supplies website addresses and contact information. States can request help from the T&amp;TA Network by contacting their Regional Office. 
 
Download the directory from the Children&#39;s Bureau website: 
 
<a href="http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/tta/index.htm" rel="nofollow">www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/tta/index.htm</a>

The Children's Bureau's Training and Technical Assistance (T&TA) Network continues to produce resources that can help States and Tribes in their work with children and families. Some recent resources are

The Children&#39;s Bureau&#39;s Training and Technical Assistance (T&amp;TA) Network continues to produce resources that can help States and Tribes in their work with children and families. Some recent resources are listed below:
<ul><li>Child Welfare Information Gateway has a new web section entitled How to Adopt, which includes resources for families interested in adoption: <a href="http://www.childwelfare.gov/adoption/adoptive" rel="nofollow">www.childwelfare.gov/adoption/adoptive</a></li><li>The National Abandoned Infants Assistance Resource Center recently published its Spring 2010 issue of The Source, which focuses on peer mentors. Articles include:
 <ul><li>&#34;Parent Mentors in Child Welfare: A Paradigm Shift From Traditional Services&#34;</li><li>&#34;START Family Mentors: Changing the Workplace and Community Culture and Achieving Results&#34;</li><li>&#34;Harnessing the Power of Experiential Knowledge: Specialized Treatment and Recovery Services (STARS)&#34;</li><li>&#34;Using the Peer Recovery Model With Mothers of Substance-Exposed Newborns Identified Through CAPTA Requirements&#34;</li><li>&#34;In Their Own Voices: Why Peer-to-Peer Mentoring Works&#34;</li><li>&#34;The Teen Peer Academy: Providing Relevant Peer Services for HIV Positive Youth&#34;</li><li>&#34;A Supportive Approach to Supervision for Peers Living With HIV&#34; </li></ul>
 <a href="http://aia.berkeley.edu/media/pdf/TheSourceSpring2010.pdf " rel="nofollow">http://aia.berkeley.edu/media/pdf/TheSourceSpring2010.pdf </a></li><li>The National Quality Improvement Center on Early Childhood (QIC-EC) has released a Request for Applications (RFA) for doctoral dissertation research support. The QIC-EC will award funding for doctoral students conducting research on preventing child maltreatment and promoting child and family well-being in families with young children. The deadline for applications is June 9, 2010. To read the full RFA and find an online application, visit the QIC-EC website: <a href="http://www.qic-ec.org/index.php/dissertation/rfp" rel="nofollow">www.qic-ec.org/index.php/dissertation/rfp</a></li><li>The National Quality Improvement Center on Non-Resident Fathers and the Child Welfare System has posted its Winter 2010 issue of QIC News, which includes articles on how the Fostering Connections Act may help fathers and paternal relatives become more involved with their children: <a href="http://www.fatherhoodqic.org/qicwint10.pdf" rel="nofollow">www.fatherhoodqic.org/qicwint10.pdf</a></li><li>The National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare has published Child Welfare, Substance Use Disorders, and Dependency Courts: A Cross-System Annotated Bibliography, which is available on the website: <a href="http://www.ncsacw.samhsa.gov/resources/AnnotatedBiblio.aspx" rel="nofollow">www.ncsacw.samhsa.gov/resources/AnnotatedBiblio.aspx</a></li><li>The National Resource Center for Child Protective Services is producing Citizen Connections, an online newsletter for and about State Citizen Review Panels (CRPs). The newsletter focuses on the activities, plans, and products of various States&#39; CRPs. The newsletter can be accessed through the National CRP webpage, which also includes information on the upcoming CRP May conference: <a href="http://www.uky.edu/SocialWork/crp/" rel="nofollow">www.uky.edu/SocialWork/crp/</a></li><li>The National Resource Center for Child Welfare Data and Technology has posted a webpage on mapping race elements between the National Youth in Transition Database (NYTD) and the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) to help States track information between the two reporting systems: <a href="http://www.nrccwdt.org/resources/nytd/NYTD_races.html" rel="nofollow">www.nrccwdt.org/resources/nytd/NYTD_races.html</a></li><li>The National Resource Center for Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention (FRIENDS) has added a webpage of Stories of Parent Leadership with examples of parent leaders who help support child abuse prevention: <a href="http://www.friendsnrc.org/CBCAP/priority/storycorp.htm" rel="nofollow">www.friendsnrc.org/CBCAP/priority/storycorp.htm</a></li><li>The National Resource Center for In-Home Services, one of the newest NRCs, has launched its website. Visit the website to find out about the NRC&#39;s 5-year plan of activities, accomplishments to date, and the types of T&amp;TA and expertise the NRC provides: <a href="http://www.nrcinhome.socialwork.uiowa.edu" rel="nofollow">www.nrcinhome.socialwork.uiowa.edu</a></li><li>The National Resource Center for Recruitment and Retention of Foster and Adoptive Parents at AdoptUsKids publishes Training and Technical Assistance E-Notes that include short articles about promising practices, tools, and the NRC&#39;s experiences with providing T&amp;TA on recruitment and retention of resource families. Read past editions of E-Notes or sign up for a free online subscription: <a href="http://www.adoptuskids.org/professionalResourceCenter/TTA_Activities.aspx#ENotes" rel="nofollow">www.adoptuskids.org/professionalResourceCenter/TTA_Activities.aspx#ENotes</a></li><li>The National Technical Assistance Center for Children’s Mental Health offers a new monograph on its website, A Public Health Approach to Children&#39;s Mental Health: A Conceptual Document: <a href="http://gucchdtacenter.georgetown.edu/public_health.html#Mono" rel="nofollow">http://gucchdtacenter.georgetown.edu/public_health.html#Mono</a></li></ul>

A leadership training program for midlevel managers in public and Tribal child welfare agencies has contributed to the success of a collaborative system in Connecticut serving families affected by substance

Site Visit: Supporting Leaders to Improve Collaboration in Connecticut

A leadership training program for midlevel managers in public and Tribal child welfare agencies has contributed to the success of a collaborative system in Connecticut serving families affected by substance abuse. A Connecticut child welfare agency manager helped lead the collaborative efforts after participating in the National Child Welfare Leadership Institute (NCWLI), a project funded by the Children&#39;s Bureau to help local child welfare professionals understand and implement systems change projects in their communities through a series of trainings and ongoing technical assistance. 
 
The goal of the Connecticut project was to support and improve upon the redesign of a collaborative system for substance abuse treatment and child welfare work in one area of the State. Although a system had been in place since 1995, evaluations indicated it was less effective than desired in providing services to substance-abusing parents involved with the child welfare system. Elements of the redesign included:
<ul><li>A new managed service system for cases involving both systems</li><li>Weekly joint case discussion meetings for open cases in both systems</li><li>A voluntary program offering recovery case managers and, as part of a subsequent pilot program, a recovery specialist to support substance abuse treatment and reunification efforts for parents whose children were removed</li><li>Improved use of office and in-home evaluations, drug testing, and drop-in drug screens</li></ul>
In order to promote the long-term success of the redesigned collaborative system, one of the NCWLI participants helped plan and implement several strategies based on the systems change principles she learned during the training. Focusing on the importance of staff commitment to and understanding of systems change, she organized several events, such as:
<ul><li>Group discussions to explain the benefits of the redesign</li><li>Extensive joint trainings to improve staff knowledge of processes and protocol in the child welfare and substance abuse systems</li><li>A day-long event to build consensus and develop a shared vision for collaboration between systems</li><li>Regularly scheduled meetings to revisit the purpose of the redesign, reevaluate the collaborative system, and establish next steps when needed</li></ul>
Staff members report several indications that the redesign is having the desired impact. The system has seen a significant increase in the rate at which parents engage in substance abuse treatment. Service providers from both systems appear committed to the redesign and feel the project is sustainable in the long term. Staff members have also been contacted by other regions of Connecticut interested in replicating the redesigned system. 
 
For more information on Connecticut&#39;s collaborative project, contact Christine Lau, Regional Director: <a href="mailto:christine.lau&#64;ct.gov" rel="nofollow">christine.lau&#64;ct.gov</a>.
The full site visit report will be posted on the Child Welfare Information Gateway website: 
<a href="http://www.childwelfare.gov/management/funding/funding_sources/leadership.cfm" rel="nofollow">http://www.childwelfare.gov/management/funding/funding_sources/leadership.cfm</a>
For more information on NCWLI, visit the NCWLI website: <a href="http://www.ncwli.org" rel="nofollow">www.ncwli.org</a>
The National Child Welfare Leadership Institute is funded by the Children&#39;s Bureau, CFDA #93.648.This article is part of a series highlighting successful Children&#39;s Bureau grant-funded projects around the country, emerging from Children&#39;s Bureau site visits.

Research on adolescents' transition to adulthood confirms the importance of "social capital" in the form of support from parents and others in order for youth to become independent adults. According to

Providing Social Capital in Permanency Planning

Research on adolescents&#39; transition to adulthood confirms the importance of &#34;social capital&#34; in the form of support from parents and others in order for youth to become independent adults. According to a recent article in the Children and Youth Services Review, a lack of social capital is the problem with many programs that promote Independent Living for youth aging out of the foster care system with no permanent connections to adults. 
 
The article goes on to describe a promising practice model established through a Children&#39;s Bureau Grant with the You Gotta Believe! program. Located in New York City, this program used a &#34;social capital-building approach&#34; to establish the Permanent Parents for Teens Program and find families who would adopt teens from foster care. Permanency Action Recruitment Teams were used to engage teens and all those involved in their lives, including social workers, staff, and relatives in setting goals for permanency prior to their exit. Teens without potential permanency options were invited to participate in a variety of activities with prospective families. 
 
Other components of the program included:
<ul><li>Staff trainings emphasizing the importance of permanency and empowering staff to seek out potential permanency options for youth</li><li>Parent trainings provided in a flexible structure</li><li>Postplacement services using experienced adoptive parents</li></ul>
Results show that almost 50 percent of referred teens were permanently placed, and 63 percent of the 120 adults who completed the parent training had teens placed with them. Adults already known to particular youth had the highest completion rate for trainings and placement. 
 
The article, &#34;An Examination of Theory and Promising Practice for Achieving Permanency for Teens Before They Age Out of Foster Care,&#34; by Rosemary Avery, was published in Children and Youth Services Review, Vol. 32, and is available for download from the You Gotta Believe! website: 
 
<a href="http://www.yougottabelieve.org/articles/Children%20and%20Youth%20Services%20Review%20Article%20-%20YGB%20Promising%20Practice.pdf" rel="nofollow">www.yougottabelieve.org/articles/Children%20and%20Youth%20Services%20Review%20Article%20-%20YGB%20Promising%20Practice.pdf</a> (256 KB)

The Strengthening At Risk and Homeless Young Mothers and Children Initiative focuses on addressing the health, housing, and developmental needs of at-risk, homeless mothers and children. The initiative

Strengthening At-Risk and Homeless Young Mothers and Children

The Strengthening At Risk and Homeless Young Mothers and Children Initiative focuses on addressing the health, housing, and developmental needs of at-risk, homeless mothers and children. The initiative bridges the child welfare, child development, and housing and homelessness fields by supporting locally based partnerships that include representatives from these different types of local agencies. 
 
Currently, there are four pilot communities and grantees:
<ul><li>Strengthening Young Families (Antelope Valley, CA), which is based on a home-visiting model for strengthening the parent-child relationship</li><li>Hope &amp; Home (Pomona/Pasadena, CA), which focuses on parent and child reunification for families involved with the child welfare system</li><li>STRong: Strengthening Our New Generation (Minneapolis, MN), which works on housing issues</li><li>Family Assertive Community Treatment, (Chicago, IL), which targets services to families identified as having the &#34;greatest need,&#34; such as families who cannot maintain stable housing and young mothers aging out of the foster care system</li></ul>
While these pilot programs are currently undergoing an evaluation, data collected thus far indicate that the programs share some important similarities, for example:
<ul><li>Many participants have a history of child welfare involvement—some were involved with the foster care system when they were young or were separated from their children, and others fell into both of these categories.</li><li>Many participants have a traumatic history, such as exposure to abuse and neglect in their homes and in foster care settings.</li><li>Many participants are aging out or have aged out of the foster care system.</li></ul>
The ongoing evaluations will focus on outcomes and program effectiveness for improving the services for at-risk, homeless young mothers and children. The results may provide guidance on what type of program design is optimal for serving homeless populations that have a history of child welfare and foster care system involvement. 
 
The Strengthening At Risk and Homeless Young Mothers and Children Initiative is supported by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, the National Center on Family Homelessness (NCFH), the National Alliance to End Homelessness, and ZERO TO THREE. The full report is available on the NCFH website: 
 
<a href="http://www.familyhomelessness.org/?q&#61;node/46" rel="nofollow">www.familyhomelessness.org/?q&#61;node/46</a> 
 
The initiative has two recent publications that address family unification and home visiting: 
 
<a href="http://www.familyhomelessness.org/node/61" rel="nofollow">www.familyhomelessness.org/node/61</a>

In an effort to address the disproportionate number of African-American children entering the child welfare system in Texas, the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) embarked on a project

Engaging the Community to Address Disproportionality

In an effort to address the disproportionate number of African-American children entering the child welfare system in Texas, the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) embarked on a project to engage community members in understanding this issue and proposing solutions. These efforts are documented in a recently published article in The Journal of Community Practice. 
 
In the article, authors Joan Rycraft and Alan Dettlaff indicate that the project came about as a result of (1) DFPS working with the Casey Family Programs&#39; Breakthrough Series Collaborative on Reducing Racial Disproportionality in the Child Welfare System and (2) State legislation requiring child welfare reform. Researchers chose two communities with high numbers of African-American children involved in the child welfare system, and they conducted eight focus groups with community members (including parents, community leaders, kinship caregivers, and others). Additional focus groups were conducted with legal and child welfare professionals. 
 
The focus groups identified four barriers to collaboration between child protective services (CPS) and the community:
<ul><li>The community&#39;s perception of CPS as unhelpful and only interested in removing children</li><li>Lack of outreach to the community by CPS</li><li>Caseworkers&#39; lack of familiarity with the community and its resources</li><li>Lack of collaboration between CPS and existing community agencies</li></ul>
A number of solutions to these barriers came out of the focus groups, including:
<ul><li>Image building</li><li>Creating a community presence</li><li>Learning about the community and its resources</li><li>Collaborating with other service providers.</li></ul>
The authors also suggest that CPS agencies need a strategic plan for community engagement and that schools of social work and professional social work organizations can play a role in promoting the involvement of community stakeholders. Community engagement and involvement can then lead to a collaborative approach to addressing disproportionality and other issues. 
 
The complete article, &#34;Hurdling the Artificial Fence Between Child Welfare and the Community: Engaging Community Partners to Address Disproportionality,&#34; appeared in The Journal of Community Practice, Volume 17, and is available for purchase online from the publisher: 
 
<a href="http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~db&#61;all?content&#61;10.1080/10705420903300025 " rel="nofollow">www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~db&#61;all?content&#61;10.1080/10705420903300025 </a>

Current research suggests that children and youth of incarcerated parents often experience trauma that may have long-term effects on their mental health and may put them at risk for experiencing other

A Toolkit for Working With Children of Incarcerated Parents

Current research suggests that children and youth of incarcerated parents often experience trauma that may have long-term effects on their mental health and may put them at risk for experiencing other traumas, such as child maltreatment. Accordingly, to promote understanding among social service practitioners, the Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery (DBHR) within the State of Washington Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS), Health and Recovery Services Administration, teamed with DSHS&#39; Office of Planning, Performance and Accountability to create an online toolkit, which includes tools for professionals, information for youth and caregivers, and research on interventions. 
 
This web-based training toolkit provides practitioners with the skills required to respond to the needs of children of parents who are in prison or have an incarceration history.  Information includes:
<ul><li>Helpful Hints for Practitioners</li><li>The Children and Families of Incarcerated Parents Initiative in Washington State: Central Points</li><li>Free Online Training Video for Social Service Practitioners: Summary</li><li>Handouts for Practitioners, Families, and Caregivers</li><li>Reading Lists and Videos for Children, Caregivers, and Providers</li><li>Research and Information for Providers</li><li>Children of Incarcerated Parents: Bill of Rights</li><li>Beyond the Walls: A Guide to Services for Families Affected by Incarceration</li><li>Visitation Procedures and Inmate Locators for Prisons and Jails</li></ul>
A Behavioral Health Toolkit for Providers Working With Children of the Incarcerated and Their Families is available on the Washington State DSHS website: 
 
<a href="http://www.dshs.wa.gov/pdf/dbhr/youthtxtoolkit.pdf" rel="nofollow">www.dshs.wa.gov/pdf/dbhr/youthtxtoolkit.pdf</a> (534 KB)

High worker turnover in the child welfare system is expensive in terms of both dollars and the impact on services for children and families. In a recent study conducted by Kathleen Coulborn Faller et al.,

The Impact of Realistic Job Previews in Child Welfare

High worker turnover in the child welfare system is expensive in terms of both dollars and the impact on services for children and families. In a recent study conducted by Kathleen Coulborn Faller et al., &#34;Realistic Job Previews in Child Welfare: State of Innovation and Practice,&#34; the use and effectiveness of videos that provide realistic job previews (RJPs) as tools for recruitment, selection, and retention for child welfare employees was reviewed. The article, published in Child Welfare, explores the development of RJPs, the content of RJPs used with child welfare, and the impact RJPs have on the industry. 
 
RJPs have been present in businesses for 40 years, with the goal of providing potential employees an accurate picture of what the new position will entail. A lower turnover rate and higher job satisfaction are expected if employees have a realistic view of their job. 
 
The authors analyzed the content of 10 States&#39; RJPs and identified seven child welfare task areas they found in common:
<ul><li>Working with children</li><li>Working with families</li><li>Removal of children</li><li>Neglect</li><li>Physical abuse</li><li>Sexual abuse</li><li>Court work</li><li>Working with others</li></ul>
The emphasis of each RJP varied, although there seemed to be a greater emphasis on working with families versus working with children. All RJPs viewed by the authors also addressed the job-related stress that child welfare workers often feel. 
 
The study&#39;s authors interviewed human resources personnel associated with seven of the RJPs. Each participant in the study considered the use of RJPs to be beneficial when used for recruitment, retention, and selection in the child welfare field. However, outcome data had been collected for only one State. In that case, the employees who had viewed the RJP before being hired were more likely to still be at their jobs than those employees who had not viewed the RJP. 
 
&#34;Realistic Job Previews in Child Welfare: State of Innovation and Practice,&#34; by Kathleen Coulborn Faller, Michael Masternak, Claudette Grinnell-Davis, Marguerite Grabarek, Judy Sieffert, and Freda Bernatovicz, was published in Child Welfare, Vol. 88(5), and is available for purchase online: 
 
<a href="http://www.cwla.org/articles/cwjabstracts.htm#0905" rel="nofollow"> www.cwla.org/articles/cwjabstracts.htm#0905</a>

When a child is removed from home and placed in out-of-home care, a change in school placement is often necessary. For many children in foster care, such interruptions to their education result in their

Improving Educational Outcomes for Children in Out-of-Home Care

When a child is removed from home and placed in out-of-home care, a change in school placement is often necessary. For many children in foster care, such interruptions to their education result in their falling behind both academically and socially. Thus, children in foster care have higher dropout rates, are less likely to complete high school, and are less likely to complete postsecondary education. Several new resources present guidelines to help both the child welfare and education systems collaborate to provide educational stability for these children.
<ul><li>A new report from the Casey Family Programs Breakthrough Series Collaborative (BSC), Improving Educational Continuity and School Stability for Children in Out-of-Home Care, presents the lessons learned from a project that brought together nine public child welfare agencies and their associated school systems to test practice changes that would ultimately improve educational continuity and school stability for children in out-of home care. The nine participating jurisdictions tested practice strategies and tools on a small scale, shared lessons learned, and implemented the most successful of those strategies throughout their systems. Strategies fell into three categories: 
 <ul><li>Cross-systems strategies, such as co-locating agency personnel in the school system and including education information in court reports</li><li>School stability and mobility-focused strategies, such as increasing transportation options to allow children to stay in their home schools</li><li>Advocacy strategies, such as using data collection to improve education outcomes</li></ul>
 Read the full report on the Casey website: 
 <a href="http://www.casey.org/Resources/Publications/BreakthroughSeries_ImprovingEducationalContinuity.htm" rel="nofollow">www.casey.org/Resources/Publications/BreakthroughSeries_ImprovingEducationalContinuity.htm</a></li><li> 
 </li><li>A new factsheet, How Fostering Connections and McKinney-Vento Can Support School Success for All Children in Out-of-Home Care, looks at how Federal education and child welfare law can provide educational stability for children in out-of-home care. Each law provides a different set of rights and protections for eligible children, based on their circumstances and needs. This factsheet summarizes the education rights available under each law, who is eligible, and the overlap between the two laws. The factsheet was produced by the Legal Center for Foster Care &amp; Education, a project of the American Bar Association and Casey Family Programs. 
 <a href="http://www.abanet.org/child/education/publications/qa_fc_and_mv_overlap_final.pdf" rel="nofollow">www.abanet.org/child/education/publications/qa_fc_and_mv_overlap_final.pdf</a> (67 KB)</li></ul>
<ul><li>The impact of Federal law on State education policy in Pennsylvania is the focus of Keeping a Child in Foster Care in the Same School in Pennsylvania: A Guide for Caseworkers, Advocates &amp; Others, a factsheet from the Pennsylvania Council of Children, Youth and Family Services. The factsheet provides step-by-step guidance on how to keep a child in the same school after an out-of-home placement. 
 <a href="http://www.pccyfs.org/dpw_ocyfs/Children&#39;s_Policy_Days%2812&#39;2009%29/PA_Caseworker_SchoolStabilityTool2009.pdf" rel="nofollow">www.pccyfs.org/dpw_ocyfs/Children&#39;s_Policy_Days(12&#39;2009)/PA_Caseworker_SchoolStabilityTool2009.pdf</a> (45 KB)</li></ul>

The connection between caseworker visits and improved outcomes for children, as indicated by findings from the Federal Child and Family Services Reviews (CFSRs), is the focus of the December 2009 issue

Focusing on Caseworker Visits to Improve Outcomes for Children

The connection between caseworker visits and improved outcomes for children, as indicated by findings from the Federal Child and Family Services Reviews (CFSRs), is the focus of the December 2009 issue of Practice Notes, produced by the North Carolina Division of Social Services and the Family and Children&#39;s Resource Program. This issue addresses the following topics to help child welfare workers and agencies increase their focus on visits: 

<ul><li>What the CFSRs tell us about visits</li><li>Child welfare worker visits with children in out-of-home care</li><li>Questions workers can ask themselves to enhance visits with families</li><li>Ways supervisors and agencies can improve and monitor performance on worker visits</li><li>Parental visits and infants with prenatal substance exposure</li><li>Practice update: Using data to engage new partners</li><li>What to do and say when a child asks an unanswerable question 
 </li></ul>
The December 2009 issue of Practice Notes is available online: 

<a href="http://www.practicenotes.org/v15n1.htm" rel="nofollow">www.practicenotes.org/v15n1.htm</a>

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has launched Parent Portal, an encyclopedic website with links to information from all areas of CDC. "The portal is a source for credible, accurate

CDC Hosts Parent Portal for Healthy, Safe Children

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has launched Parent Portal, an encyclopedic website with links to information from all areas of CDC. &#34;The portal is a source for credible, accurate information in helping parents raise healthy kids and provide a safe home and community,&#34; according to the CDC. 
 
Some of the many sections hold information about pregnancy, children&#39;s topics by age range, and issues of concern to parents arranged in alphabetical order. The widely varied topics include autism signs, body piercing, lice, school violence, and travel vaccinations. 
 
Another section has information on topics targeted to health-care professionals and researchers, including subjects such as child abuse prevention, a brain injury toolkit for physicians, a parent training guide, and information on the effects of childhood stress. 
 
Quick links go to developmental milestones and safety in the home, among other subjects. Other resources list product recalls, market withdrawals, and safety alerts. 
 
Users can subscribe to receive email updates and RSS feeds. Podcasts are also accessible. Visit the portal on the CDC site:
<a href="http://www.cdc.gov/parents" rel="nofollow">www.cdc.gov/parents</a> 
 
 
Related Item 
 
The Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University offers an interactive web feature that explains key concepts in the science of early childhood development. Readers can view a series of slides that illustrate and describe how early experiences, such as toxic stress, affect the developing brain. 
 
To see that and other interactive features, visit:
<a href="http://developingchild.harvard.edu/library/multimedia/interactive_features/coreconcepts" rel="nofollow">http://developingchild.harvard.edu/library/multimedia/interactive_features/coreconcepts</a>

In celebration of the 20th anniversary of the United Nations (U.N.) Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), Elsevier has published a special issue of Child Abuse & Neglect: The International Journal

Free Journal Issue on the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child

In celebration of the 20th anniversary of the United Nations (U.N.) Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), Elsevier has published a special issue of Child Abuse &amp; Neglect: The International Journal that is freely available to the public for 1 year. Articles in the issue address a variety of topics related to the CRC, which sets standards designed to protect the economic, social, cultural, civil, and political rights of children. The treaty was unanimously adopted by the U.N. General Assembly in November 1989 and has been ratified by almost every country. 
 
Child rights and protection experts from around the world contributed to the special issue. The introduction offers a retrospective look at international progress in the areas of research, data collection, and reporting over the last two decades. Other topics addressed in the journal include:
<ul><li>Implementation guidelines for child protection programs</li><li>Promising practices from national child maltreatment surveillance systems</li><li>Cross-cultural and cross-national child abuse screening instruments</li><li>Potential implications of the United States&#39; ratification of the CRC</li><li>Child maltreatment and child protection systems in Canada, Korea, Saudi Arabia, and sub-Saharan Africa</li><li>A comparative study of countries&#39; effectiveness in implementing child protection measures</li><li>Methodological challenges in measuring child maltreatment</li></ul>
The guest editors of the special issue are Yanghee Lee and Kimberly Svevo-Cianci. Find parts 1 and 2 of the issue on the Elsevier website: 
 
Part 1, November 2009, 33(11): 
<a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/issue/5847-2009-999669988-1554191" rel="nofollow">www.sciencedirect.com/science/issue/5847-2009-999669988-1554191</a> 
 
Part 2, January 2010, 34(1): 
<a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/issue/5847-2010-999659998-1648104" rel="nofollow">www.sciencedirect.com/science/issue/5847-2010-999659998-1648104</a> 
 
A press release is available on the Elsevier website: 
<a href="http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/authored_newsitem.cws_home/companynews05_01365" rel="nofollow">www.elsevier.com/wps/find/authored_newsitem.cws_home/companynews05_01365</a>

The Frameworks Institute offers an online training designed to help organizations tell the right kinds of stories in order to bring about social change. The training promotes the use of Strategic Frame

Training on Frame Analysis and Changing Public Perceptions

The Frameworks Institute offers an online training designed to help organizations tell the right kinds of stories in order to bring about social change. The training promotes the use of Strategic Frame Analysis (SFA) to help the public understand social issues in a broader context and look to community-based solutions for social problems. The training is composed of four parts:
<ul><li>Effective Storytelling for Social Change</li><li>Telling a Public Story: Strategic Frame Analysis</li><li>SFA in Action: Or the Science and Art of Reframing</li><li>Evaluating Impact: How SFA Effects Change</li></ul>
An &#34;extra credit&#34; section describes how one organization used SFA to support legislation for a graduated driver&#39;s license in Kansas. 
 
Visit the Frameworks Institute website to access the training:
<a href="http://sfa.frameworksinstitute.org" rel="nofollow">http://sfa.frameworksinstitute.org</a>

The University of Minnesota's Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare offers online learning modules developed by affiliated faculty on a number of child welfare topics. Each module incorporates evaluation

University of Minnesota's Online Learning Modules

The University of Minnesota&#39;s Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare offers online learning modules developed by affiliated faculty on a number of child welfare topics. Each module incorporates evaluation findings and includes discussion questions, selected references, additional resources, suggested guest speakers, and a PowerPoint presentation. The most recent topics added to the collection include:
<ul><li>Child Sexual Abuse: Assessment, Intervention &amp; Prevention</li><li>Factors Associated With Good Outcomes for At-Risk Children Who Receive Social Services</li><li>White Privilege &amp; Racism in Child Welfare</li><li>Prevalence of Children With Disabilities in the Child Welfare System: An Analysis of State Administrative Data</li></ul>
Access these learning modules and many others from the Center&#39;s website:
<a href="http://cascw.umn.edu/portfolio_category/online-modules/" rel="nofollow">http://cascw.umn.edu/portfolio_category/online-modules/</a>

Upcoming national conferences on adoption and child welfare through July 2010 include: May 2010 Daniel Memorial Institute 17th Annual National Foster Care Conference Footsteps to the Future May 12–14,

Upcoming national conferences on adoption and child welfare through July 2010 include:
May 2010
<ul><li>Daniel Memorial Institute 17th Annual National Foster Care Conference 
 Footsteps to the Future 
 May 12–14, Clearwater Beach, FL<a href="http://www.danielkids.org/sites/web/content.cfm?id&#61;275" rel="nofollow"> 
 </a></li><li>Prevent Child Abuse America National Conference 
 Changing the Way We Think About Prevention: Making Children Our Priority 
 May 17–19, Jacksonville, FL 
 <a href="http://www.childwelfare.gov/calendar/index.cfm" rel="nofollow">http://w</a><a href="http://www.preventchildabuse.org/index.shtml" rel="nofollow">ww.preventchildabuse.org/index.shtml</a></li><li>Ninth Annual National Citizen Review Panel Conference 
 University of Kentucky School of Social Work 
 May 26–28, Lexington, KY<a href="http://www.uky.edu/SocialWork/crp" rel="nofollow"> 
 </a></li></ul>
June 2010
<ul><li>2010 Family Group Decision Making and Other Family Engagement Approaches Conference 
 Fostering All the Connections 
 American Humane 
 June 22–25, Burlington, VT<a href="http://www.americanhumane.org/protecting-children/conferences-trainings/family-group-decision-making-conference.html" rel="nofollow"> 
 </a></li><li>Substance Exposed Newborns: Collaborative Approaches to a Complex Issue 
 National Abandoned Infants Assistance Resource Center/University of California, Berkeley 
 June 23–24, Alexandria, VA 
 <a href="http://aia.berkeley.edu/training/SEN2010/" rel="nofollow">http://aia.berkeley.edu/training/SEN2010</a></li><li>APSAC&#39;s 18th Annual National Colloquium 
 American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children 
 June 23–26, New Orleans, LA 
 <a href="http://www.childwelfare.gov/calendar/index.cfm" rel="nofollow">http://w</a><a href="http://www.apsac.org/mc/community/eventdetails.do?eventId&#61;231148" rel="nofollow">ww.apsac.org/mc/community/eventdetails.do?eventId&#61;231148</a></li></ul>
July 2010
<ul><li>2010 National Adoption Conference 
 The Age to Engage in Adoption 
 National Council for Adoption 
 July 6–9, National Harbor, MD<a href="https://www.adoptioncouncil.org/events/national-adoption-conference.html" rel="nofollow"> 
 </a></li><li>International Family Violence and Child Victimization Research Conference 
 The Family Research Laboratory and the Crimes Against Children Research Center 
 July 11–13, Portsmouth, NH 
 <a href="http://www.childwelfare.gov/calendar/index.cfm" rel="nofollow">http://w</a><a href="http://www.unh.edu/frl/conferences/index.html" rel="nofollow">ww.unh.edu/frl/conferences/index.html</a></li><li>Training Institutes 2010 
 New Horizons for Systems of Care: Effective Practice and Performance for Children and Youth With Mental Health Challenges and Their Families 
 National Technical Assistance Center for Children&#39;s Mental Health 
 July 14–18, Washington, DC</li><li>The 13th National Child Welfare Data and Technology Conference 
 The Children&#39;s Bureau&#39;s National Resource Center for Child Welfare Data and Technology 
 July 19–21, Bethesda, MD</li></ul>
Further details about national and regional adoption and child welfare conferences can be found through the Conference Calendar Search feature on the Child Welfare Information Gateway website: 
<a href="http://www.childwelfare.gov/calendar/index.cfm" rel="nofollow">http://www.childwelfare.gov/calendar/index.cfm</a>

April 2010Vol. 11, No. 3Focusing on Caseworker Visits to Improve Outcomes for Children