State legislators are the targets of a national project to promote community-based child protection.

The National Conference of State Legislatures, with funding from the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, is implementing a 2-year project to help State legislators learn about community-based approaches to child protection. The Clark foundation currently is funding Community Partnerships for Child Protection projects in four cities: St. Louis, Missouri; Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Louisville, Kentucky; and Jacksonville, Florida.

NCSL's project will include the following activities:

• Site visits by legislators to each of the McConnell Clark Community Partnership sites
• Publications on the role of state legislators in community child protection
• Technical assistance to a limited number of States over the next 2 years
• A new website focused on community child protection.

Other activities also are planned. To read about the project online, visit http://www.ncsl.org/programs/cyf/ClarkCCPP.htm (Editor's note: this link is no longer available). To learn more about the site visits, visit http://www.ncsl.org/programs/cyf/CFPCCP.htm.

For more information about NCSL's Community Child Protection Project, contact:

Nina Williams-Mbengue
National Conference of State Legislatures
1560 Broadway
Suite 700
Denver, CO 80202
Tel.: 303-830-2200
Fax: 303-863-8003
Email: nina.mbengue@ncsl.org
Website: http://www.ncsl.org

Following are short summaries of current congressional bills of interest to professionals working in child abuse and neglect, child welfare, and adoption. To learn more about any of these bills, visit Thomas, a service of the Library of Congress, at http://thomas.loc.gov.

HHS Appropriations. H.R.4577; S.2553. FY 2001 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education appropriations bill. These bills allocate funds for these agencies for fiscal year 2001. Among the HHS services funded through these bills are protection and treatment programs for abused and neglected children, child welfare services, child abuse prevention programs, abandoned infants assistance, programs that support implementation of the Adoption and Safe Families Act, and community-based resource centers.

Status: H.R.4577 was taken up by the full House on 6/8/00. The Senate Appropriations Committee passed S.2553 on 5/12/00. Action by the full Senate is expected this month.

Social Services Block Grants. S. 2585, H.R.4481. These bills seek to restore proposed cuts made to Social Services Block Grants by the Senate Appropriations Committee. Among other things, States use SSBG funds for child welfare services including child protective services, foster care, and adoption services. States also use these funds for child care and services to at-risk youths.

Status, Both bills were introduced 5/17/00 and referred to committee.

Substance Abuse and Child Welfare. S.2435. This bill, the Child Protection/Alcohol and Drug (AOD) Partnership Act of 2000 would promote and support collaboration between public child welfare systems and alcohol and drug abuse prevention and treatment systems.

Status: Referred to the Senate Committee on Finance, 4/13/00

Violence Against Women. H.R.1248; S.51. The Violence Against Women Act of 1999 would reauthorize programs enacted under the Violence Against Women Act of 1994. is bill would reauthorize the 1994 Violence Against Women Act for 5 years. The Act would reauthorize funding for such programs as shelters for battered women, a National Domestic Violence Hotline, training for judges and court personnel, and prevention initiatives. The bill also would reauthorize funding for certain child abuse-related programs, including Court Appointed Special Advocates and child abuse training for judicial personnel and practitioners.

Status: H.R.1248 was marked up by the House Subcommittee on Crime, 5/11/00. S.51 was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee 1/19/99. Work on a compromise Senate bill also has been taking place.

Hispanic Health Issues. H.Con.Res.325. This concurrent resolution expresses the sense of Congress regarding the need to more appropriately address the health and well being of Hispanic adolescent girls and endorsing the findings and recommendations of the National Coalition of Hispanic Health and Human Services Organizations (COSSMHO) now known as The National Alliance for Hispanic Health.

Status: Referred to House Commerce Committee, 5/15/00

Volunteer Screening. H.R.4244, National Child Protection Volunteer Screening Assistance Act of 2000, would establish a national center on volunteer screening to reduce sexual and other abuse of children.

Status: Referred to the House Judiciary Committee/Subcommittee, 4/11/00; referred to the House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Youth, and Families, 5/23/00

An article published in the May issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine indicates that pediatricians often fail to detect domestic violence among parents of their patients. Given the link between domestic violence and child abuse, the authors suggest, pediatricians should take a closer look.

The researchers interviewed pediatricians, pediatric nurse practitioners, and mothers drawn from a random sample of pediatric practices in the New Haven, Connecticut, area. The researchers interviewed the mothers and the health care providers of the same children.

The researchers found that mothers reported having been physically abused by a spouse or partner at higher rates than pediatricians reported detecting family violence. The study also found that 20 percent of mothers reported hitting their child hard enough to leave a mark, while 0.5 percent of pediatricians identified physical abuse of children among their patients. Mothers who reported domestic violence were significantly more likely to report hitting hard enough to leave a mark.

Because domestic violence is a risk factor for child abuse, the authors suggest that pediatricians should be prepared to discuss all aspects of family violence with patients and parents in routine pediatric assessments.

"Identifying spousal abuse might be an important means of identifying both physical and emotional abuse of children," the authors write, noting that child abuse occurs disproportionately in homes in which domestic violence occurs.

Pediatricians might have an advantage in opening discussions with parents about domestic violence because of the rapport they develop with parents, and they are in a unique position to recognize abuse, the authors note.

Also, the authors write, battered women might be more likely to disclose to a pediatrician rather than a physician specializing in adult medicine, because mothers might avoid obtaining health care for themselves but seek care for their children.

The complete article is available online to paid subscribers of the Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine and to all American Medical Association members by registering at http://pubs.ama-assn.org/register.html.

For information about obtaining reprints, contact:

Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine
Author Reprints
515 North State St.
Chicago, IL 60610
Tel.: 312-464-4594
Fax: 312-464-4849

Related Items

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has revised its guidelines for preventive pediatric health care to address violence prevention. See "Pediatricians Sharpen Focus on Violence Prevention" in the April 2000 edition of CB Express.

For an article about a statistical analysis of violence against women, see "Justice Bureau Examines Rates of Violence Against Women" in this issue of the CB Express.

For other related CB Express articles, search our archives for "domestic violence."

The National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information provides information on the link between domestic violence and child abuse. To view or download a resource listing on family violence, visit http://nccanch.acf.hhs.gov/pubs/reslist/rl_dsp.cfm?subjID=28&rate_chno=11-11133.

To request hard copies of Clearinghouse products, contact:
National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information
330 C St., SW
Washington, DC 20447
Tel.: 800-FYI-3366 or 703-385-7565
Fax: 703-385-3206
Email: nccanch@caliber.com
Website: http://nccanch.acf.hhs.gov

The U.S. Supreme Court refused May 30 to block an Oregon law allowing adult adoptees age 21 and older to obtain their original birth certificates. The High Court's decision allowed the law to take effect on May 31.

Implementation of the Oregon law has been on hold while a legal challenge wound its way through the courts. A group of birth mothers argued that the law infringed on assurances of anonymity they had been given when they relinquished children for adoption.

An Oregon appeals court in December found the law constitutional, and the State Supreme Court upheld that ruling in March. On May 16, the State Supreme Court voted 5-2 not to reconsider its March decision.

Only 5 other States--Tennessee, Alaska, Delaware, Kansas, and Alabama--give adult adoptees access to their original birth records.

Oregon was the first, and is still the only, State in which citizens rather than legislators voted to open adoption records to adoptees. Oregon voters approved Measure 58 by referendum in 1998.

The women who challenged the law filed an emergency request with the U.S. Supreme Court to stay the law after the Oregon Court of Appeals refused to do so. The High Court rejected the request.

Last July, Governor John Kitzhaber signed into law an amendment to Measure 58 intended to protect individuals' privacy by allowing for a voluntary "Contact Preference Form" to be attached to the original birth certificate. Both supporters and opponents of Measure 58 supported the amendment.

As of May 30, more than 2,200 adoptees in Oregon had paid a fee and filed an application to obtain their records.

The U.S. Supreme Court has already refused to review a similar law in Tennessee.

Related Item

Alabama Governor Don Siegleman on May 25 signed HB 690, which gives adult adoptees in Alabama the right to gain access to their birth records. The law was passed by the Alabama legislature with little opposition.

Three renowned scholars discussed the nature and policy implications of the latest academic research on early childhood intervention programs at the U.S. Capitol on May 10th.

Co-sponsored by the Subcommittee on Human Resources of the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means and the Joint Center for Poverty Research, the briefing centered on new brain research. These findings suggest that early childhood, especially between the ages of birth to 3 years, provides a unique window of opportunity to enhance development. Presenters debated the benefits and costs associated with early intervention programs targeted to at-risk children, such as Head Start and experimental preschool programs.

The researchers and their topics of presentation were as follows:

• Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, Columbia University Developmental Psychologist, explained the structure of early childhood programs, the nature of their short-term impacts on child development, and provided an assessment of early childhood as the optimal point of intervention.
• Janet Currie, UCLA Economist, focused on the long-term impacts of early interventions, such as academic attainments as well as program costs and benefits.
• Douglas J. Besharov, Professor at University of Maryland School of Public Affairs and Resident Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, addressed policy conclusions drawn from the research literature.

To download a briefing packet, visit the website of the Joint Center for Policy Research at: http://www.jcpr.org/conferences/oldbriefings/childhoodbriefing.html.

To request a hard copy of the materials, email JCPR at: jcpr-info@uchicago.edu.

Related Item

For a related article about a new glossary and website on brain development, see "New Glossary Defines Brain Development" in the April issue of the Children's Bureau Express.

Violent acts against women committed by their spouses or other intimate partners declined from 1993 to 1998. In 1998, intimate partners committed about 876,340 violent crimes against women (excluding murder), down from 1.1 million in 1993. In 1998, about 1,320 women were murdered by intimate partners.

These were among the findings of a report released in May by the Bureau of Justice Statistics. "Intimate Partner Violence" was prepared by BJS statisticians Callie Marie Rennison and Sarah Welchans. The authors analyzed data from the National Crime Victimization Survey administered by the Bureau of Justice Statistics and data about homicides from the FBI.

Other findings include the following:

• Women were five times more likely than men to be victims of intimate partner violence in 1998. Men were victims of about 160,000 violent crimes by an intimate partner in 1998.
• Younger women are more likely to be victims. Between 1993 and 1998, women ages 16 to 24 experienced the highest per capita rates of intimate violence, 19.6 per 1,000 women.
• About 4 out of 10 female victims in 1998 lived in households with children under age 12. (This study did not assess the extent to which children witnessed intimate partner violence.)

To read the report online visit http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/ascii/ipv.txt. For single copies of the report, call the BJS fax-on-demand system at 301-519-5550, listen to the complete menu and select document number 201. Or, call the BJS Clearinghouse at 800-732-3277. Fax orders to 410-792-4358.

Related Items

APBNews features a special section on intimate violence, including articles, discussion forums, and resources. Visit http://www.apbnews.com/safetycenter/family/ 2000/05/17/dv_law0517_01.html. (Editor's note: this link is no longer active.)

HandsNet.com, a human services-focused website, is sponsoring an online discussion about family violence. Log on to http://www.HandsNet.com and follow the links within the site to Working Families Online Roundtables.

For related CB Express articles, search our archives for "domestic violence."

For information about Federal programs related to domestic violence, visit the Office of Violence Against Women website, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice (http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/vawo/).

The National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information provides information on the link between domestic violence and child abuse. To view or download a resource listing on family violence, visit http://nccanch.acf.hhs.gov/pubs/reslist/rl_dsp.cfm?subjID=28&rate_chno=11-11133. To view or download a selected bibliography on The Link Between Child Abuse and Family Violence visit http://www.calib.com/nccanch/pubs/bibs/cadv.cfm. (Editor's note: this link is no longer available.)

To request hard copies of Clearinghouse products, contact:

National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information
330 C St., SW
Washington, DC 20447
Tel.: 800-FYI-3366 or 703-385-7565
Fax: 703-385-3206
Email: nccanch@caliber.com
Website: http://nccanch.acf.hhs.gov

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will address the urgent public health problem of intimate partner and sexual violence by funding new demonstration projects. Since minority women, children, and families appear at higher risk, these grants will focus on projects serving particular racial and ethnic populations. Special emphasis will be on children who witness these acts.

This initiative will advance the injury and violence focus area of Healthy People 2010. Qualified applicants include public and private community-based organizations and governments and their agencies. They must have experience serving one or more racial or ethnic minority communities. Three to four awards, which will average around $400,000 each, will be used to conduct the following prevention and early intervention activities:

• parenting or child development classes
• support groups for children who have witnessed sexual violence and intimate partner violence or in conjunction with child abuse
• perpetrator re-education programs
• school or community-based programs to promote healthy relationships and prevent dating violence
• school or community-based programs designed to identify and assist children and adolescents who witness sexual violence and intimate partner violence or in conjunction with child abuse
• advocacy programs/strategies that link the population community's health care system, criminal justice system, child protection service system, sexual violence and intimate partner violence prevention and intervention programs, and other appropriate sectors of the community.

Grantees will partner with other organizations involved in similar activities, incorporate cultural competency, develop a research protocol, and compile and disseminate lessons learned from the project. The CDC will provide grantees with current topical information and technical assistance in developing a research protocol.

The application deadline is July 10, 2000. For a full description of the cooperative agreement program, look in the April 27, 2000 Federal Register online at: http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/ getdoc.cgi?dbname=2000_register&docid=00-10487-filed.

To request an application kit, call 1-888-472-6874.

Related Item:

See "Justice Bureau Examines Rates of Violence Against Women" in this issue of the Children's Bureau Express for an article about the findings by the Bureau of Justice Statistics on intimate partner violence.

For a special six-part report focusing on the toll that domestic violence takes, as well as the attempts to prevent it, visit: http://www.apbnews.com/safetycenter/family/ 2000/05/17/index.html?s=syn.emil_marciaclark0517. (Editor's note: this link is no longer active.)

HHS has developed a new, innovative tool to help fatherhood programs manage and assess their programs. This free software, which can be downloaded as a self-executing Microsoft Access 97 file, can detail the progress of individual fathers or report on aggregate data on all program participants. Known as the Responsible Fatherhood Management Information System (RFMIS), it can be used as a paper and pencil tracking system or as an electronic database.

The software can help start-up projects assess their performance in delivering services to fathers and their families. "Often overlooked, effective management tools are critical to evaluating program performance," said Olivia A. Golden, HHS assistant secretary for children and families. "Without timely data, we cannot answer critical questions about how well a project has done in helping people and in reaching its goals." The system can be used by any project, including ones not funded by HHS. It can also be tailored to a project's own needs.

Data forms, included with the program, are used to collect information on participant characteristics. The automated data system calculates services received, outcomes, and costs. Developers designed the software based on telephone and in-person interviews with HHS Responsible Fatherhood Project staff in 8 States and project evaluators. Two conferences, another management information system, and existing tracking documents provided further input.

The RFMIS manual and software can be obtained through the HHS Fatherhood Initiative Web page at: http://fatherhood.hhs.gov/guidebook99/intro.htm.

For technical assistance on using the RFMIS, please contact:

John Trutko, Consultant to The Lewin Group
Capital Research Corporation
1910 N. Stafford Street
Arlington, VA 22207
Tel.: 703-522-6270
Fax: 703-522-0885
Email: jtrutko@aol.com

Erica Chan
The Lewin Group
3130 Fairview Park Drive, Suite 800
Falls Church, VA 22042
Tel.: 703-269-5784
Fax: 703-269-5503
Email: echan@lewin.com

Related Item

For a related article about new HHS child support waiver demonstration projects for responsible fatherhood, see "HHS Promotes Responsible Fatherhood" in the May issue of the of the Children's Bureau Express.

The Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth and Families has forged an unusual partnership with the Providence (RI) Children's Museum to provide services to families whose children have been placed in custody because of child abuse and neglect.

In 1991, the museum approached DCYF with the idea that families in trauma might respond well to structured visits in the museum, a hands-on environment that encourages play and creativity. From that premise grew Families Together, a therapeutic visitation program operated by the museum and funded under a contract with DCYF. The State pays for the services with Federal IV-B funds for family support and preservation services. Private donations also help support the program.

Now in its eighth year, the program serves 20 families at any one time and between 60 and 75 families each year. The museum-based program is designed specifically for families working toward reunification and aims to rebuild weakened family bonds and strengthen parenting skills. Families are guided during their biweekly visits by the program's family therapists.

The museum's interest in visitation proved prescient with the passage of the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997. ASFA's new requirements regarding permanency planning for children in foster care ASFA "require taking a more thoughtful approach to family visitation," notes Families Together Director Heidi Brinig. "Visitation is being viewed more as a tool for planned interventions, parent education, and family assessment" rather than simply a task to complete as part of a court order.

While the families served by Families Together receive services from other quarters as well, depending on their particular needs, "we are one of the only groups that sees the whole family together. We can learn a lot that can contribute to permanency planning requirements," Brinig explains.

Last fall, Families Together launched a pilot program aimed at reaching more families by hiring and training clinical consultants in Families Together methods and deploying them to the State's regional child welfare offices.

The consultants help regional child welfare workers develop visitation plans for families and locate appropriate community settings for visits, such as libraries, recreation centers, playgrounds, and beaches. The consultants help caseworkers in numerous ways, such as devising activities and set goals for visitation plans; preparing plans for court review; coordinating with other service providers; and developing interventions to use with families durings visits. The consultants also provide training on visitation.

"Functioning as a visitations coordinator is a very different role" for many child protection specialists, Brinig says.

The stakes for parents are high--their rights to their children could eventually be terminated. All the more reason, Brinig notes, to craft visitation plans carefully--plunking a troubled family in a public place with thoughtful planning only would set parents up to fail.

Families Together staff have expertise in mental health and child welfare. Brinig brings a background in early childhood education, social work, and clinical therapy to the mix. She and Executive Director Janice O'Donnell created the program after conferring extensively with DCYF.

Informal evaluations and anecdotal evidence illustrate that child welfare administrators and staff highly value the program. Families Together plans to have a more formal evaluation conducted, perhaps with assistance from a local college or university.

For more information, contact
Heidi Brinig
Program Coordinator, Families Together
Providence Children's Museum
100 South Street, Providence, RI 02903
Tel.: (401) 273-KIDS, ext. 131
Fax: (401) 273-1004
Email: provcm@childrenmuseum.org
Website: http://www.childrenmuseum.org

Group therapy for sexually abused children has proven to be an effective, cost-efficient, highly rewarding, and creative treatment model. This manual has been designed as a resource for facilitators of both therapy groups and support groups. The opening chapters cover theory and literature of group work with children, setting up groups, format of group sessions, and screening group members. Suggested exercises are divided into 7 topic areas indicating treatment goals:

• Building feelings of safety and trust
• Building self esteem
• Setting internal and external boundaries
• Understanding the dynamics of abuse
• Managing trigger responses
• Creating healthy body image and building self-protection skills
• Providing closure

Each session contains hints for making the exercise successful and some include sample materials written by group members. The guide concludes with sample outlines for conducting therapy and support groups for preschoolers, girls, boys, and adolescents, ranging from 8 to 15 weeks. A bibliography and contact information for each of the authors are also included.

To purchase a copy, contact:
Sage Publications, Inc.
2455 Teller Road
Thousand Oaks, California 91320
Email: order@sagepub.com

Related item

Children with Sexual Behavior Problems: Assessment and Treatment and three companion treatment manuals provide a resource for professionals who assess and treat children with sexual behavior problems. For more information, see "HHS-Funded Research on Children With Sexual Behavior Problems" in the March 2000 issue of the Children's Bureau Express.

A new report by Save the Children, ranks U.S. mothers and their children 4th worldwide on key indicators of well-being.

State of the World's Mothers 2000 is based on published statistics from governments, international agencies, and research institutions. The survey of 106 countries--20 industrialized and 86 developing nations--measures women's health, educational, and political status; children's status; and GDP to calculate the first-ever "Mother's Index Rank." The U.S. rank ties with Switzerland and falls behind Norway, Canada, and Australia. In measuring child well-being alone, the United States falls to 15th in relation to other countries surveyed.

Regarding the United States, the report notes:

• One child in five in the United States lives in poverty
• Black and Hispanic children are twice as likely as white children to be poor
• Race, ethnicity, and geography correlate with pronounced disparities in U.S. infant mortality figures. The report cites Washington, DC, as an example of a U.S. locality in which the infant mortality rate is comparable to the rate in developing countries, such as Panama and Uruguay.
• The maternal mortality rate for African American women is three times higher than the rate for white women ages 18 to 22.

The report also cites the nation's high rate of teen pregnancy as detrimental to children's and mother's well-being.

The report acknowledges that more research is needed to fully understand the reasons for the relationships and trends observed.

All the indicators collected for the Mothers' Index are displayed in the first Appendix. A second appendix outlines the methodology and research notes.

State of the World's Mothers 2000 is available online at: http://www.savethechildren.org/mothers/learn/sowm2001.htm. (Editor's note: this link is no longer available.)

For a free, print copy, contact:

Save the Children
Department of Public Affairs and Communications
54 Wilton Road
Westport, CT 06880
Tel.: 203-221-4000
Fax: 203-226-6709
Email: savemothers@savechildren.org

Related Item

For a related article about Latino children living in poverty, see "Census Data Shows Latino Children Living in Poverty" in the April issue of the Children's Bureau Express.

Updated and expanded, this workbook is tailored to the interests of those concerned with children's issues. The publications includes basic information about the Federal budget and appropriations process; explains how a bill becomes a law; lists relevant House and Senate committees and subcommittees, suggests helpful websites, and provides other useful information.

For ordering information, contact:
Children's Defense Fund
25 E St., NW
Washington, DC 20001
Tel.: 202-662-3576
Fax: 202-628-8333
Email: cdfinfo@childrensdefense.org
Website: http://www.childrensdefense.org

Part handbook and part workbook, this publication walks parents through each step of the legal process that begins when their child is removed from their home and placed in foster care. The document focuses on details such as finding the courtroom, preparing for a court hearing, working with a lawyer and caseworker, and understanding the roles played by different people in the court. The book covers parents rights and responsibilities at each step in the process and offers tips to parents on how to get their children returned to them. Although the handbook is specific to Cook County, Illinois, it could serve as a model to public child welfare agencies interested in producing a similar product tailored to their own jurisdictions.

To obtain a hard copy and a disk of the publication, contact:
Parent Education Program
Child Protection Division
Cook County Circuit Court
2245 West Ogden Ave.
Chicago, IL 60612
Tel. 312-433-6832

This handbook is a useful tool and reference book for professionals involved in child protection. It provides insights into related disciplines, including social work, mental health, medicine, public health, nursing, law enforcement, law, and education. Practical guidance is offered on all aspects of child abuse and neglect cases, from the initial reporting and screening for child maltreatment to assessments, interventions, and case closure. A special section prepares the practitioner for legal, ethical, personal safety, and emotional issues that may arise.

At the conclusion of most chapters, further reading selections are noted. The appendices include: a list of advisory group members on chapter topics, a test to screen for alcoholism in Michigan, information on sexually transmitted diseases, developmental milestones for ages 0 to 3, schedule of preventive health care, sample genogram, parenting resources, family assessment tools, court process and court-related caseworker activities, resources on child welfare competencies, and national organizations concerned with child protection.

To purchase a copy, contact:
Sage Publications, Inc.
2455 Teller Road
Thousand Oaks, California 91320
Email: order@sagepub.com

States at Work provides a snapshot of what States are doing to speed up the process of moving children out of foster care and into permanent homes to comply with the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) of 1997. This series reflects survey responses from 39 States and the District of Columbia conducted by the American Public Human Services Association to determine how States are implementing the act. Part I features successful adoption practices. Some of the best practice methods highlighted in the report are:

• Recruitment, especially using the Internet to publicize adoptable children
• Moving more quickly to terminate parental rights with diligent searches for birth parents
• Partnering with private agencies
• Concurrent permanency planning
• Dual approval process for foster care and adoption
• Subsidies and incentives

Part II focuses on innovative practices in child protection. Under ASFA, CPS workers are charged with pursuing reasonable efforts to preserve or reunite a family, termination of parental rights, and early case review when a child is removed from his or her home. Some important practices identified by respondents to the State survey were:

• A comprehensive, structured decision-making model
• Neighborhood-based multiple service delivery teams or child advocacy centers
• Multidisciplinary teams to guide CPS workers
• Intensive family preservation and reunification programs
• Family group decision making in permanency planning
• Mediation in dependency and neglect cases

Part III, in press, will showcase effective foster care practices. It will be published by mid-July.

To purchase the three-volume set of States at Work, contact:

American Public Human Services Association
810 First Street NE
Suite 500
Washington, DC 20002-4267
Tel: 202-682-0100
Fax: 202-289-6555
Email: pubs@aphsa.org
Website: http://www.aphsa.org

This book examines how States are responding to the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 and its emphasis on quickly achieving permanency for children who enter the child welfare system.. The authors examine how several States are overcoming barriers to achieving permanency for children through such strategies as adoption subsidies, subsidized guardianship, kinship care, and post-adoption support. The authors also consider the challenges States face as they continue to implement ASFA.

To order, contact:
National Conference of State Legislatures
Book Order Department
1560 Broadway, Suite 700
Denver, CO 80202
Tel.: 303-830-2054
Fax: 303-863-8003
Email: books@ncsl.org
Website: http://www.ncsl.org/public/catalog/pubform.htm

Related item

An executive summary of A Place to Call Home: Adoption and Guardianship for Children in Foster Care is available on the NCSL website at http://www.ncsl.org/programs/pubs/BKFSTR2.HTM.

Child welfare professionals might want to bookmark the new website of the National Center on Family Group Decision Making (http://www.fgdm.org).

The Center and its site are operated by the American Humane Association's (AHA's) Children's Division. AHA established the Center in 1999 and launched the site this Spring. AHA has been active in the area of Family Group Decision Making (FGDM) since 1995.

Among its features, the site offers a summary of current and past research and evaluation projects in FGDM, practice tips, information on policy and protocols, and an explanation of the history and key principles of FGDM.

The Center itself provides training and technical assistance; sponsors yearly roundtables; and publishes curricula, research studies, and practice and policy manuals. FGDM, which developed first in New Zealand, offers an alternative to traditional child welfare case planning. FGDM provides a nonadversarial process through which families, communities, and agencies collaborate on behalf of children who have been abused or neglected.

For more information, contact:
National Center on Family Group Decision Making
63 Iverness Drive East
Englewood, CO 80112-5117
Tel.: 800-227-4645 or 303-792-9900
Fax: 303-792-5333
Website: www.fgdm.org

For 12 years, researcher Catherine Cameron followed the lives of 51 adult female survivors of sexual abuse and recorded their healing processes. In Resolving Childhood Trauma: A Long-Term Study of Abuse Survivors, she shows how research into one form of trauma can benefit another by drawing parallels between incest, natural disasters, and other human atrocities.

Cameron's study focused on female survivors affected by varying degress of amnesia. She explores such questions as:

• What was it about the childhood sexual abuse that led to amnesia?
• What impact did the amnesia have on long-term consequences and recovery?

The stories chronicled encompass all aspects of trauma, including remembering the abuse and confronting their abusers.

To order, contact:
Sage Publications, Inc.
2455 Teller Road
Thousand Oaks, CA 91320
Email: order@sagepub.com

This issue of Protecting Children explores issues affecting very young children in foster care. Articles include:

• Infants and Toddlers in Foster Care
• Integrating Advances in Infant Research with Child Welfare Policy and Practice;
• Providing Positive Stable Placements for infants and toddlers in Foster Care
• Effects of Foster Care Placement on young children's Mental Health
• Using the Courts to Enhance the healthy Development of Foster Children.

To order a copy ($11, including shipping and handling), contact:
American Humane Association, Children's Division
63 Inverness Drive East
Englewood, CO 80112-5117
Tel: 800-227-4645
Fax: 303-792-5333
Website: http://www.americanhumane.org

Professionals concerned with preventing child maltreatment get a guided tour through cyberspace with a new online workshop available at the website of the National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information.

The workshop is designed to help professionals:

• Locate pertinent information online
• Develop a strategy for managing online resources
• Think strategically when searching for specific information
• Share resources electronically.

The 77-slides illustrate how to use technology more efficiently and effectively. "Building Your Technology Power Pack" gives examples and strategies for using search engines, listserves and discussion groups, electronic periodicals, and websites. "Building Your Search Strategy" covers the uses of specialized databases and specialized thesauri; this section includes an in-depth demonstration of the databases of the National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information.

The workshop includes supplementary handouts on such topics as search strategies, basic resources, and a glossary.

To view Channel the Power of the Internet to Support Prevention Activities or to print out the Microsoft PowerPoint presentation, visit: http://www.calib.com/nccanch/prevmnth/index.cfm. (Editor's note: this link is no longer available.)

Funding for a new training institute to improve the mental health response to children who are victims of or witnesses to violence is now available.

The Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) of the Department of Justice is soliciting applications from institutions of higher education to develop this project as part of its FY2000 discretionary grant application kit. Under a cooperative agreement, the selected grantee will develop a graduate-level training program to improve trauma-focused interventions for children who have been victims of abuse or who have witnessed violent crime. It will be geared towards mental health practitioners serving this client population, including psychologists, social workers, school counselors, family counselors, and psychiatrists.

Project tasks will include:

• Conducting literature and curriculum reviews and developing course materials that address child development, victimization, and trauma-focused assessment and intervention;
• Developing or expanding an internship or fellowship program for trainees specializing in services for child victims/witnesses;
• Creating opportunities for supervised direct practice with child victims/witnesses;
• Conducting ongoing seminars and specialized training;
• Writing one or more OVC Bulletins describing project and field developments;
• Making presentations on the project at one or more national or regional forums;
• Accessing the equipment, materials, and training necessary to upgrade the program; and
• Evaluating the effectiveness of the project.

Applications are due by July 14, 2000. To request an application kit or form, contact:
Office for Victims of Crime
810 Seventh Street, NW
Washington, DC 20531-0001
OVC Resource Center, 800-627-6872
OVC Reply Line , 202-616-1926 (TTY 202-514-7863)

An online version of the application kit is available at: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc/fund/dakit.htm.