This brief summarizes the knowledge base and research needs related to LGBT people and child welfare programs. The brief address four topics: (1) the risk of child maltreatment for LGBT people, (2) the experiences of LGBT youth in child welfare programs, (3) the effectiveness of child welfare services for LGBT youth in foster care, and (4) the participation of LGBT adults in child welfare servi...

Though innovative approaches to working with substance-abusing parents of maltreated children have emerged within the last few years, child welfare agencies continue to be challenged by the chronic nature of addictive diseases. This article discusses the often ignored element of spirituality as a critical component of recovery for parents. It also highlights how the regulation of spirituality b...

This commentary argues that the Multiethnic Placement Act, designed to combat common cultural stereotypes, provides clear guidance to state child welfare agencies and the mental health professionals that serve them, eliminating any regular consideration of race in the foster and adoptive placement of children. Given recent enforcement action by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, ...

With the growing awareness of the nature and scope of the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) in the United States, a few state child welfare agencies have started to develop and implement training on CSEC for their social service staff. Since other state child welfare agencies may adopt a similar training model, it is important to evaluate the effectiveness of these CSEC training...

In recent years, there has been increasing interest in using administrative data collected by state child welfare agencies as a source of information for research and evaluation. The challenges of obtaining access to and using these data, however, have not been well documented. This study describes the processes used to access child welfare records in six different states and the approach to co...

This article describes the efforts and special initiatives of New York City's Administration for Children's Services to improve services to immigrant and English language learner populations. Children's Services convened an immigration issues advisory subcommittee, created special tools for child welfare staff, collaborated with legal agencies to assist foster children with immigration status a...

A mong the strategies that are critical for increasing the safety, permanency, and well-being of children and families involved with child welfare is tailoring services to unique needs by building upon strengths. As child welfare agency administrators and policy-makers continually strive to improve services and outcomes for children and families, establishing child welfare policies and practice...

Children in foster care comprise a population of students at great risk for school failure. The child welfare agency, schools, and home must all work together to provide the services and supports required to achieve better results. The purpose of this study was to conduct focus groups with participants from each sector to discuss their views on the educational problems and needs of students in ...

Approximately 80% of children served by child welfare agencies have parents who abuse or are dependent on alcohol or illicit drugs. Despite the devastating effects on children from living in substance abusing families, child protective service practitioners have limited options available to assist these families. The Parenting in Recovery program was created to address the needs of substance-ab...