June 2015Vol. 16, No. 5Print issueSpotlight on Transitioning Youth

In 2010, a group of human services agencies in Duval County, FL, evaluated the services offered to children in the community who were between birth and the age of 3, and were also involved with child welfare. Although there were services available for school-age children and youth in transition (18 to 23 years of age), there were very few coordinated services available for preschool children. With Family Support Services of North Florida (FSSNF) as the lead agency, the group focused on providing services for young children in foster care through a 17-month grant within the Children's Bureau's Child Welfare-Early Education Partnerships to Expand Protective Factors for Children With Child Welfare Involvement grant cluster. The Child Welfare-Early Education Partnership (CW-EEP) was formed, and its primary objective was to improve child care and early education services for young children in foster care, thereby improving educational outcomes for these children, and to increase the number of children in foster care enrolled in high-quality early education programs.

It was determined that the following issues existed and would need to be addressed:

• Caregivers and child welfare caseworkers did not clearly understand the benefits and importance of early childhood education.
• Caregivers and child welfare caseworkers were not aware of the local resources available to help children access high-quality early childhood education programs.
• Agencies mutually serving this population of children had limited interaction and few guidelines for working together.
• Child welfare caseworkers and child care providers had limited interaction or exchange of information about jointly served children.
• Child care subsidy referrals were not consistently processed.

The project implemented several strategies, which are outlined below.

Electronic child care subsidy application process: The CW-EEP developed a process for online completion and submission of the child care subsidy application that allows caseworkers to track the approval process. Project staff indicated that the new process holds both entities accountable for the application and approval process.

Training:

• Foster parents—One night of PRIDE¹ training is dedicated to teaching prospective foster parents about the importance of early childhood education and high-quality child care, why and how to select high-quality child care and early education providers, and the Guiding Stars² program. In addition, a short training video describing the importance and benefits of early education, key indicators of quality child care and early education programs, and local service providers was developed by the project.
• Child welfare caseworkers—The initial training for child welfare caseworkers includes a 2-hour presentation on the benefits of early childhood education.
• Child care center staff—The role of the child welfare caseworker and the child protective service process are described to child care and early education services staff in Child Welfare 101 training. Training on trauma-informed care and Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) were also provided to child care center staff. PBIS is a classroom management technique used with children who have behavioral issues.
• Early education specialists—These specialists participated in a 5-day train-the-trainer course in PBIS.

Foster parent requirement: Prior to being licensed, prospective foster parents are required to explore, select, and contact three child care providers from the Guiding Stars program to discuss using their services if a child under 5 years of age is placed in their home.

CW-EEP Certification program: Child care providers can participate in the certification program and become preferred providers for young children in foster care. The child care directors participate in a 10-hour training course that includes Child Welfare 101, trauma-informed care, and PBIS. The child care director then presents a 2-hour summary training to their staff.

Tracking system for young children in child care: CW-EEP developed a data system to ensure the number of children in foster care enrolled in Early Head Start, Head Start, or other quality child care programs was collected on a regular basis.

The project's goal for increased enrollment of children in quality early childhood programs was 20 percent. The project far exceeded this goal—enrollment in quality early childhood programs increased 52 percent during the 17-month grant period.

For more information on this project, contact Cynthia Harpman at Cynthia.Harpman@fssnf.org. The full site visit report for this project will soon be available on the Child Welfare Information Gateway website at https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/management/funding/funding-sources/federal-funding/cb-funding/cbreports/earlyeducation/.

The North Florida Child Welfare-Early Education Partnership project is funded by the Children's Bureau (Award 90CO1065). This article is part of a series highlighting successful Children's Bureau grant-funded projects around the country, emerging from site visits made on behalf of the Children's Bureau.

¹ PRIDE is the training for prospective foster parents.
² The Guiding Stars program is a voluntary quality rating improvement system of child care providers in Duval County (http://elcofduval.org/gsod.asp).

Using a Children's Bureau Family Connection grant, Homes for Black Children (HBC) developed and implemented the Nurturing the Resiliency in Wayne County Families: Rethinking the Family Decision-Making Model as Community-Centered Child and Family Work project (Resiliency Project). The focus of the project was to provide family group decision-making (FGDM) and other well-being services to the target population—African-American families at risk of having their children enter the foster care system or who have experienced recent reunification with their children. To develop and implement the project, HBC partnered with the Wayne County Department of Human Services (DHS), which was the primary referral source. DHS referred all Category IV¹ cases to the Resiliency Project.

As a demonstration project, the Resiliency Project established a treatment group and a comparison group. All families referred to the Resiliency Project are assigned to a family resiliency coordinator and a parent advocate/mentor, and are offered the standard services provided by HBC. The treatment group is comprised of those families that chose to participate in the FGDM meeting process in addition to HBC's standard services. The comparison group is made up of those families who received the standard services from HBC but did not choose to participate in the FGDM meeting process.

Through the Resiliency Project, HBC offers a continuum of services and activities developed to assist families in strengthening child protective factors and decreasing stressors. It provides emotional and concrete supports, parent education, and assistance in creating/improving supportive social and familial connections. The project worked to improve child and family well-being through the use of four core strategies that support and build on the family's strengths:

• FGDM—a process that includes a family meeting that brings family members together to build on family strengths in order to resolve issues, help assure child safety, and ultimately improve family well-being
• Solution-based family counseling—individual and family counseling offered through HBC that engages family members in identifying successful coping skills and resources used in the past to help them resolve current challenges
• Parent advocates/mentors—provide daily emotional support to participants and, through extensive research and networking, seek and generally find resources for families
• Family well-being cluster—includes collaborative partners and providers committed to serving the families participating in the project, as well as services and cultural, educational, and recreational activities offered internally by HBC to participants and their families

The project aims to meet families where they are and assist them in improving communication, strengthening relationships, and moving toward self-sufficiency.

For more information, contact Jacquelynn Moffett, Project Director, at moffetj@hotmail.com. The full site visit report for this project will soon be available on the Child Welfare Information Gateway website at https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/management/funding/funding-sources/federal-funding/cb-funding/cbreports/.

The Nurturing the Resiliency in Wayne County Families: Rethinking the Family Decision-Making Model as Community-Centered Child and Family Work project is funded by the Children's Bureau (Award 90CF0029). This article is part of a series highlighting successful Children's Bureau grant-funded projects around the country, emerging from site visits made on behalf of the Children's Bureau.

¹ Category IV cases are the families in which child abuse and/or neglect were unsubstantiated, but DHS found that the families were experiencing issues that would benefit from further intervention.

Using a Children's Bureau Family Connection grant, the Youth and Family Services Division (YFS) of the San Diego YMCA, in partnership with San Diego County Child Welfare Services (CWS), Casey Family Programs, and Harder and Company Community Research, developed and implemented the Families United Family Group Conferencing Program. The project uses a regionalized service delivery model based on the Guidelines for Family Group Decision Making in Child Welfare¹ created by the American Humane Association. This demonstration project is measuring whether the use of Family Group Conferencing (FGC), which supports families in finding their own solutions to problems, will improve child welfare outcomes.

The signed San Diego County Memorandum of Agreement requires that all CWS voluntary² cases be referred to Families United. Initially, the treatment group and the comparison group both consisted of voluntary cases selected at random; however, the referrals that were received did not meet the projected number of cases. Therefore, 2 years into the project, Families United, with the Children's Bureau's approval, expanded the types of cases accepted in the project to include families receiving services from Kinship Support, a kinship program administered by YMCA Families United; CWS court-dependent cases; and cases of youth in long-term residential placements without a permanent family resource or a permanent connection. The evaluation process and methodology was modified to adjust for the changes in case type and case randomization.

During part of the grant period, the FGC coordinators were colocated in two CWS offices in the county, which allowed them to attend and participate in multidisciplinary team meetings with CWS social workers, discuss cases with the assigned social worker, participate in case planning, and promote the project as a beneficial service to families served by CWS.

Project staff, under the direction of Casey Family Programs, conducted Permanency Roundtables³ for 10 youth in long-term residential placements who did not have a permanent family resource or a permanent connection. In addition to the Permanency Roundtable, Family Finding⁴ was used to locate family members who may be a resource for the youth. Family members, once located, were invited to participate with the youth in an FGC meeting with the goal of establishing permanency for the youth with a family member.

The project evaluators, in conjunction with the Advisory Team, developed a toolkit that will provide other grantees, as well as entities considering applying for a demonstration grant, with guidance on how to work with community partners on a grant and how to sustain effective collaboration in a research-based project.

The project evaluation uses both process and outcome evaluations. The process evaluation assesses the implementation of the project, fidelity to the model, integration of FGC into the CWS process, and the achievement of project goals. The outcome evaluation uses the randomized controlled trial design to assess the effectiveness of the FGC compared with the typical CWS processes. The outcomes evaluation examines improvements in child and family well-being and the capacity to resolve the issues that led to CWS involvement.

For more information on this project, contact Danielle Zuniga at dzuniga@ymca.org. The full site visit report will soon be available on the Child Welfare Information Gateway website at https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/management/funding/funding-sources/federal-funding/cb-funding/cbreports/.

The Families United Family Group Conferencing Program is funded by the Children's Bureau (Award 90CF0027). This article is part of a series highlighting successful Children's Bureau grant-funded projects around the country, emerging from site visits made on behalf of the Children's Bureau.

¹ To review the Guidelines for Family Group Decision Making in Child Welfare, please visit http://www.americanhumane.org/assets/pdfs/children/fgdm/guidelines.pdf (1 MB).
² Voluntary cases are cases in which a substantiated incident of child maltreatment occurred, but the incident did not meet the standard for court involvement or removal of the child from the home.
³ A permanency roundtable is a structured, professional case consultation that examines the barriers to establishing permanency for a child in out-of-home placement and results in a plan to expedite permanency for the child.
⁴ Family Finding uses various methods and strategies to locate and engage relatives of children currently living in out-of-home care with the goal of connecting children with a family member.
 

In fiscal year 2011, the Children's Bureau awarded a Family Connection Grant to the Children's Home Society of New Jersey (CHSofNJ) for a 3-year project to use family group decision-making (FGDM) to build and/or enhance protective factors for kinship families that are not actively involved in the child welfare system but are caring for relative children and youth at risk of entering or reentering the State's care. Project staff recognized that kinship families, many of whom live on low and/or fixed incomes, often experience challenges, including the inability to meet the basic needs of the children in their care, assist school-age children with homework, and manage difficult adolescent behavior. However, unlike foster families served by the child welfare system, kinship caregivers have access to and receive fewer support services. So, project staff posited, if kinship caregivers are provided with the necessary services and supports they need, then children can be safely maintained in their homes and families will experience less stress, thereby reducing the likelihood of placement disruption and child welfare involvement.

The CHSofNJ's Kinship Connections Program (KCP) of Mercer County addresses the daily needs of grandparents and other family members voluntarily raising their kin children by providing support services, family activities, and referrals to resources and services in the community. Relative caregivers are also given the opportunity to participate in Family Success Conferences (FGDM meetings) with KCP staff to informally discuss the issues and needs of the family. CHSofNJ also maintains other interrelated grandparent/kinship caregivers programs, including the following:

• GrandFamily Success Center—a community-based center for kinship caregivers that provides information, support in group settings and one-on-one, referrals, and services aimed at supporting the physical and behavioral health of caregivers and children
• Kinship Navigator program—helps kinship caregivers explore government assistance programs, benefits, and eligibility; Kinship Navigator benefits and eligibility; and guides families through the Kinship Legal Guardianship process

The KCP, the highlight of the project and subsequent site visit and resulting report, includes three service phases, and families are free to choose whether they participate in each graduated phase or participate in only Phase 1 or 2. They include:

• Phase 1—Recruitment/Engagement: Caregivers and children are invited to visit the GrandFamily Success Center; participate in support groups, educational activities, programs, and events; receive information and referral to a variety of services, including those related to parent education, housing, employment, mental health and counseling, Early Head Start, respite care, youth mentoring, tutoring, life skills training, Kinship Legal Guardianship assistance, and more; and discuss the KCP project with staff and whether or not the caregiver wishes to proceed to Phase 2.
• Phase 2—Trust Building/Service Provision: A KCP Family Service Worker is assigned to each kinship family to serve as case manager and FGDM meeting facilitator. At the beginning and end of this phase, families are asked to complete several assessments to determine their needs, the results of which, in conjunction with other information and interviews, informs the Family Service Plan. The plan, developed by the KCP Family Service Worker and caregiver, includes a list of goals that KCP staff will help the family achieve.
• Phase 3—Family Success Conferencing (FGDM): If, after discussion about FGDM, the caregiver wishes to proceed with a Family Success Conference, the KCP Family Service Worker will work with the caregiver to identify and invite family, friends, and other supports and identify the issues that should be addressed in the meeting. At a location selected by the family, the meeting begins with introductions and a facilitator-led general discussion about the meeting and its purpose and agenda. This is followed by information sharing between staff and family of the issues and concerns, after which the KCP staffer leaves the meeting. During the family private time, a plan is developed, which includes goals and action items. The KCP Family Service Worker returns to the meeting to discuss and finalize the plan and, once the meeting is over, he or she monitors the plan's progress and assists the family in reaching goals.

To determine project outcomes, data from assessments administered at the beginning of Phase 2 and at case closure were used to measure the results of project activities and services to participating families. Comparison data from the State child welfare agency was also analyzed to determine if project participants had child welfare involvement in the months following case closure. At the completion of the program, client satisfaction surveys and follow-up phone interviews were also conducted with program participant.

Pretest and posttest data and surveys completed by KCP facilitators and program participants show:¹

• Families who participated in Phase 2 experienced improvements, showed an increase in family functioning and a decrease in parent stressors, but improvements in all measured areas increased more for families who also participated in Phase 3.
• Families who completed Phase 3 were able to address 70 percent of Family Service Plan goals; this percentage decreased for families not participating in Phase 3.
• Family Success Conferences were well received, closely followed the FGDM model, and successfully focused the kinship family on the needs of caregivers and children.
• Program participants were able to list the best things about Family Success Conferences as well as areas that could be improved upon.
• Overall, caregivers were very satisfied with the KCP program, felt that the project and Family Success Conferences were effective at addressing and resolving family issues, and believe that other families would benefit from KCP services.

For more information on this project, contact Dolores Bryant at dbryant@chsofnj.org. The full site visit report for this project will soon be available on the Child Welfare Information Gateway website at https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/management/funding/funding-sources/federal-funding/cb-funding/cbreports/.

The Children's Home Society of New Jersey Kinship Connections Program project is funded by the Children's Bureau (Award 90CF0030). This article is part of a series highlighting successful Children's Bureau grant-funded projects around the country, emerging from site visits made on behalf of the Children's Bureau.

¹ This is based on the results/data available in July 2014 when the site visit was conducted.

A recent article in the Journal of Family Strengths examines a study on the challenges child welfare workers have in engaging fathers in case planning. The article discusses agency workers' feelings and opinions regarding working with fathers, the possible barriers to fathers' involvement with their children and engagement with child welfare, and ways for agency workers to work effectively with fathers. Many of the barriers highlighted indicate that a lack of father involvement is often rooted within family dynamics, socioeconomic issues, and absenteeism. The study provides recommendations to child welfare workers on how to actively engage fathers within four broad approaches:

• Use diligent efforts to ensure fathers are present to contribute
• Provide equitable services, support, and policies for fathers
• Address father-specific needs
• Promote a positive worker-father relationship

Access the complete article "Exploring Child Welfare Workers' Attitudes and Practice With Fathers," by T. Coakley, A. Kelley, and R. Bartlett, Journal of Family Strengths,14(1), 2015, at http://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1231&context=jfs (PDF - 263 KB).
 

A new report from the Congressional Research Service provides a detailed picture of the current levels of Federal funding for fiscal year (FY) 2015 for a wide array of child welfare programs. These programs are primarily administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Children's Bureau. There are also three competitive grant programs, authorized by the Victims of Child Abuse Act, administered by the Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs. The report discusses the effect of sequestration on FY 2015 funding and includes an appendix listing child welfare programs by funding authority type (mandatory or discretionary) and detailing whether they may be subject to sequestration.

Specific funding levels are provided for programs funded under titles IV-B and IV-E of the Social Security Act. Programs funded under title IV-B include:

• Stephanie Tubbs Jones Child Welfare Services
• Promoting Safe and Stable Families Program
• Family Connection Grants
• Child Welfare Research, Training, or Demonstration Projects

Programs funded under title IV-E include:

• Foster Care, Adoption Assistance, and Kinship Guardianship Assistance
• Tribal Title IV-E Plan Development and Technical Assistance
• Chafee Foster Care Independence Program and Chafee Educational and Training Vouchers
• Adoption and Legal Guardianship Incentive Payments

Other funded programs include the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) program, including CAPTA State Grants, CAPTA Discretionary Activities, Community-Based Grants to Prevent Child Abuse and Neglect, Children's Justice Act Grants, Victims of Child Abuse Act, Improving Investigation and Prosecution of Child Abuse Cases, Court-Appointed Special Advocates, Child Abuse Training for Judicial Personnel and Practitioners, and Adoption Opportunities and Abandoned Infants Assistance.

Access Child Welfare: An Overview of Federal Programs and Their Current Funding, by E. Stoltzfus, at http://greenbook.waysandmeans.house.gov/sites/greenbook.waysandmeans.house.gov/files/R43458_gb_1.pdf (540 KB).
 

An article in Children and Youth Services Review describes the first study to use national data to estimate the proportion of Latino children with noncitizen parents who are involved with child welfare. Using data from the second round of the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being, the study showed that 5 percent of all children involved with child welfare and 19 percent of Latino children involved with child welfare had parents who were unauthorized immigrants. Most of the Latino children were citizens, but 20 percent were unauthorized immigrants.

The study also found that foreign-born Latino parents, including those who are undocumented immigrants, were no more likely than Latino parents born in the United States to have substantiated cases of child maltreatment. This is especially interesting given the particular risk factors that immigrant parents face, such as higher rates of poverty and stress caused by migration, acculturation, and legal status. The article also describes protective factors that buffer these families against maltreatment, such as two-parent families and having lower rates of alcohol and drug abuse.

To view the abstract or order the article, visit http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740914002199.

Cardoso, J. B., Dettlaff, A. J., Finno-Velasquez, M., Scott, J., & Faulkner, M. (2014). Nativity and immigration status among Latino families involved in the child welfare system: Characteristics, risk, and maltreatment. Children and Youth Services Review, 44, 189–200. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2014.06.008
 

A recent study examines the connection between adverse childhood experiences (ACE) and food insecurity among adult caregivers. The Childhood Stress study interviewed 31 mothers of young children (less than 4 years old) in Philadelphia, PA, who reported levels of food insecurity in the U.S. Household Food Security Survey Module. According to the study, children whose families are of lower socioeconomic status often have reduced access to nutritious foods. Children facing low food security are also likely to experience anxiety, emotional abuse, social isolation, and clinical depression. The impact of ACE and related food insecurity can have long-term effects lasting into adulthood.

Parents and caregivers who experience these adversities as children often find it difficult to improve the overall health and well-being of their family as adults. The lasting effects of ACE and food insecurity may include depression and emotional problems that can affect people's education, employment, and financial stability. The study advocates for increased research and policy initiatives to reduce food insecurity and to enhance the social and emotional wellness of children and families. This includes the improved integration of nutrition assistance programs with other assistance programs to help ensure that families receiving nutrition assistance also have access to opportunities such as behavioral health support and housing and child care assistance.

The Childhood Stress study was supported by a grant from the University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research, made possible through funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, and was reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board at Drexel University.

For more information, access "The Relationship Between Childhood Adversity and Food Insecurity: 'It's Like a Bird Nesting in Your Head'," by M. Chilton, M. Knowles, J. Rabinowich, and K. Arnold, Public Health Nutrition, 2015, at http://journals.cambridge.org/download.php?file=%2FPHN%2FS1368980014003036a.pdf&code=e494007e0c20197bf111c69b82140018 (692 KB).
 

The Institute for Research on Poverty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison published a factsheet that summarizes the plight of children with incarcerated parents and provides suggestions for ways that public policy may help this vulnerable population. The factsheet highlights the unintended negative consequences of a parent's incarceration on his or her children—consequences that affect children both during their parent's incarceration as well as throughout the children's lifetimes.

Long-term effects on children with incarcerated parents are deep and lasting. This loss of parental presence, coupled with the loss of financial support that the parent may have provided, takes an emotional toll. Children may need to move in with other relatives or friends, adding exponentially to their stress. Their parents are more likely to employ harsh parenting practices, suffer from mental illness, or struggle with substance abuse issues. In addition, the incarceration itself can cause children to experience feelings of guilt, anger, or confusion. Visiting the parent in a correctional facility can further exacerbate these feelings.

The factsheet proposes several ways that policy might help these children:

• Creating positive prison visitation experiences for children
• Deferring the parent's child support payments
• Training the children's teachers about the effects of these emotional stressors
• Shortening mandatory sentences and reform "truth-in-sentencing" laws for low-risk, nonviolent offenders
• Talking with children about their parent's incarceration and encouraging them to talk about their feelings

Access the factsheet Beyond Bars: Children With an Incarcerated Parent at http://www.irp.wisc.edu/publications/factsheets/pdfs/Factsheet7-Incarceration.pdf (551 KB).
 

The National Family Preservation Network (NFPN) created an assessment tool, as a companion to the North Carolina Family Assessment Scale family of tools, which examines a family's functionality in the domain areas of trauma and posttrauma well-being. This tool is designed to help professionals and programs supporting families with children and youth who have experienced maltreatment identify symptoms and indicators of child trauma or posttrauma and assess parents and caregivers.

The trauma and posttrauma domains each provide six subscales that address areas such as traumatic sexual and physical abuse of children, traumatic neglect, and emotional/psychological abuse, as well as posttraumatic cognitive/physical and emotional/psychological well-being of children and child social functioning.

The NFPN Trauma and Well-Being assessment tool is available to purchase—in English and Spanish—as part of a training package on the NFPN website at http://www.nfpn.org/assessment-tools/trauma-assessment-tool.
 

Children and families at risk for child maltreatment often have a complex array of needs that one program or organization may not be able to address on its own. There is a need for a multisector approach that addresses these needs together, utilizes increased collaboration across programs and systems, and blends funding to support broad program goals across categories. FRIENDS National Resource Center for Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention (CBCAP) published Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention: Exemplary Practices, a guide highlighting CBCAP programs from 16 States that achieved exemplary innovation and leadership in eight key categories:

• Advocating for systems change
• Coordinating and collaborating
• Strategic program funding and assessment of needs
• Reaching special populations
• Promoting parent leadership and involvement
• Training and supporting professional development and program quality
• Evaluating programs
• Fostering public awareness

In addition to these eight key areas, three additional areas are highlighted showcasing other CBCAP achievements by States: contextual factors that influence prevention of child abuse and neglect, strategies for grant development, and an ambitious prevention goal and plan to achieve it.

Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention: Exemplary Practices is available on the FRIENDS website at http://friendsnrc.org/cbcap-annual-report-summaries/2010-summaries-archive/doc_download/1966-2014-cbcap-exemplary-practices (PDF - 2 MB).
 

The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), a bipartisan organization offering information, tools, and support for State legislatures, developed a webpage addressing teen pregnancy and pregnancy prevention. The website discusses topics such as the impact of teen pregnancy on the educational achievement and economic well-being of youth, and it includes information specifically on pregnancy among youth in foster care.

While teen pregnancy rates have declined across the nation, statistics confirm that youth in foster care have higher rates of pregnancy than youth in the general population. In fact, girls in foster care at age 19 have pregnancy rates more than two times higher than youth who are not in care. The webpage discusses how teen pregnancy creates significant barriers for youth across many realms. For youth in foster care, pregnancy generates challenges and additional costs for the system as a whole.

The webpage also addresses Federal funding of teen pregnancy education and prevention programs, such as the following:

• The Personal Responsibility Education Program, administered by the Administration on Children, Youth, and Families
• Title V State Abstinence Education Grant Program
• Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program, administered by the Office of Adolescent Health

To read more about teen pregnancy, statistical data, and State-specific information, visit NCSL's Teen Pregnancy Prevention webpage at http://www.ncsl.org/research/health/teen-pregnancy-prevention.aspx.

Federal and State laws require agencies to make reasonable efforts to prevent a child's out-of-home placement and provide necessary preventative services. The identification, assessment, and impact of domestic violence and the presence of protective factors are key elements in child protective services' (CPS's) response to child maltreatment and efforts toward child well-being. The Washington State Coalition against Domestic Violence developed a guide to assist victims of domestic violence at different stages of a CPS investigation.

Based on the Washington Department of Social and Health Services Children's Administration policies and practices guidelines, the guide focuses on the rights of domestic violence victims throughout the course of a CPS investigation. The guide discusses what happens when a report of child abuse and neglect is made, from the initial screening to the resulting CPS involvement, with child and victim safety as paramount concerns.

Other relevant topics examined by the authors include:

• Working collaboratively with caseworkers around a safety plan
• Ensuring that domestic violence perpetrators are held accountable for their actions
• Engaging in family team decision-making meetings
• Seeking the assistance of domestic violence advocates

The guide also provides a glossary of terms and additional information about parents' rights.

Know Your Rights When CPS Comes Knocking is available on the Washington State Coalition against Domestic Violence website at http://wscadv2.org/docs/Know%20your%20rights%20when%20CPS%20comes%20knocking.pdf (324 KB).
 

Social media can be an effective tool for growing youth programs, if used appropriately. Many programs can benefit from using social media to increase exposure to their resources and services. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) developed a series of tutorials to help programs share their services and successes more effectively. The Promote Your Youth Program courses are short, online tutorial videos on how to use blogs, videos, and social media to reach target audiences.

A recently added tutorial focuses on helping youth programs develop a social media presence in the field. Topics discussed include how to budget time used for social media and maintaining a consistent professional voice.

Access the social media module at http://ncfy.acf.hhs.gov/promote-your-youth-program/social-media. For more information on this and other modules, read "Use Social Media to Promote Your Youth Program—New NCFY Course," and access all the modules at http://ncfy.acf.hhs.gov/promote-your-youth-program.
 

Upcoming national conferences on child welfare and adoption through September 2015 include:

July 2015

• "Growing Positive Community Norms: Innovations in Research, Practice, and Leadership"
  Montana Summer Institute
  July 7–10, Big Sky, MT
  http://www.montanainstitute.com/montana-summer-institute/
• Fostering Strategies for Change: Children, Family, and Their Communities
  Cornerstones of Care, University of Missouri - Kansas City School of Social Work, Missouri Children's Division, and Midwest Foster Care and Adoption Association
  July 22–23, Kansas City, MO
  http://www.fosteringstrategiesforchange.org/
• 4th ABA National Parent Attorney Conference
  American Bar Association (ABA) Center on Children and the Law
  July 22–23, Washington, DC
  http://www.ambar.org/CCLconf2015
• APSAC's 23rd Annual Colloquium
  American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children (APSAC)
  July 22–25, Boston, MA
  http://www.apsac.org/index.php?option=com_mc&view=mc&mcid=72&eventId=437180&orgId=apsac
• 16th ABA National Conference on Children and the Law
  ABA Center on Children and the Law
  July 24–25, Washington, DC
  http://www.ambar.org/CCLconf2015
• NCJFCJ 78th Annual Conference
  National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ)
  July 26–29, Austin, TX
  http://www.ncjfcj.org/78th-annual-conference
• Prevention and the Child Protection Professional: Implementing Effective Child Abuse Prevention Programs
  Gundersen National Child Protection Training Center
  July 29–30, St. Paul, MN
  http://www.gundersenhealth.org/ncptc/trainings-2015/prevention-conference
• 2015 NACAC Conference
  North American Council on Adoptable Children (NACAC)
  July 30–August 1, Long Beach, CA
  http://www.nacac.org/conference/conference.html

August 2015

• FFTA 29th Annual Conference on Treatment Foster Care
  Foster Family-Based Treatment Association (FFTA)
  August 2–5, Denver, CO
  http://www.imis100us2.com/ffta/FFTA/Learn/Annual_Conference/New_FFTA_Content/Conference/Conference.aspx?hkey=784e6a3b-ec5f-4822-8630-7261cbf2b01f
• 27th Annual Crimes Against Children Conference
  Dallas Children's Advocacy Center/Dallas Police Department
  August 10–13, Dallas, TX
  http://cacconference.org/
• First Responder Training: When the Call Comes for Mandated Reporters
  Gundersen National Child Protection Training Center
  August 18, St. Paul, MN
  http://www.gundersenhealth.org/ncptc/trainings-2015/first-responder-minnesota
• 32nd Annual 2015 NOFSW Conference
  "Forensic Practice: Promoting Social Justice for All Through Policy and Practice Reform"
  National Organization of Forensic Social Work (NOFSW)
  August 21–23, Arlington, VA
  http://www.nofsw.org

September 2015

• Victim Assistance in Child Abuse Cases
  Gundersen National Child Protection Training Center
  September 21–23, La Crosse, WI
  http://www.gundersenhealth.org/ncptc/trainings-2015/victim-assistance
• 29th Annual Children's Network Conference
  Children's Network
  September 23–24, Ontario, CA
  http://hs.sbcounty.gov/CN/Pages/Conference.aspx
• ICAN Nexus XX Training Conference
  "Violence Within the Home and Its Effects on Children"
  Inter-Agency Council on Child Abuse and Neglect (ICAN) & ICAN Associates
  September 25, Universal City, CA
  http://www.cvent.com/d/Sip6BnhSkEyslsFnWaHuiA/0m30/P1/1Q?

Further details about national and regional child welfare and adoption conferences can be found through the Conference Calendar Search feature on the Child Welfare Information Gateway website at http://www.childwelfare.gov/calendar/index.cfm.
 

 

The National Child Traumatic Stress Network developed a training video for professionals on how to create a welcoming environment for traumatized lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth. The video features interviews with LGBTQ youth who have experienced trauma, how trauma has impacted their lives both mentally and physically, and what factors they consider when seeking support services. The video also consults professionals specialized in working with traumatized LGBTQ youth.

Professionals are encouraged to use the supplementary video resource guide to facilitate discussion on how professionals and organizations can become more LGBTQ friendly. The resource guide breaks the video into four sections: basic concepts, assessing program capacity, creating a safe and affirming environment, and taking action. Each section provides a list of questions professionals and organizations can discuss to reach their goal of fostering a safe space for LGBTQ youth.

Access the video Safe Spaces. Safe Places: Creating Welcoming and Inclusive Environments for Traumatized LGBTQ Youth at http://www.nctsn.org/products/nctsn-safe-places-video and the resource guide at http://www.nctsn.org/sites/default/files/assets/pdfs/spss_resource_guide.pdf (531 KB).