There is limited research assessing the effectiveness of family engagement for improving permanency for children. An important challenge is that randomized designs are not feasible for evaluating these practices because effective implementation of family engagement requires systemic change. Findings from a national evaluation are presented to…

This paper describes an innovative service delivery model to reduce the number of children entering the child welfare system. Point of Engagement (POE) is a collaborative family- and community-centered approach initiated in Compton, a regional office in Los Angeles County that serves south Los Angeles, a predominantly African American and…

Contrasts a group of informal kinship care providers in Philadelphia (KIDS'n'KIN Program) with two "formal" kinship care groups in Baltimore and California, examining similarities and differences in child and caregiver demographies and service needs. Presents the program's response to the needs of informal kinship care providers.…

Proposed a conceptual framework for analyzing kinship care policy that uses five new permanency outcomes. Concluded that, in formulating their own policies, states must separate a caregiver's need for support (money and services) from a child's need for supervision (casework oversight). Concludes that states must proceed cautiously in altering…