Foster care provides round-the-clock substitute care for nearly 700,000 U.S. children who are temporarily or permanently separated from their family of origin each year. Each state manages its own foster care system according to federal regulations. Despite numerous large-scale federal policy reforms over the past several decades, substantial…

The retention and persistence of students who come from the foster care system and are enrolled in four-year college institutions was the focus of this qualitative study. Former foster care youth resided in out-of-home care with state approved guardians who received funding and monitoring of services. When enrolled in college, foster care youth…

The birth of a child can be a simultaneously joyous and challenging time for families. Virtually all parents will struggle with the enormous physical and emotional demands of parenting a very young child, but for too many California families those challenges are additionally compounded by poverty, housing instability, lack of social support, or…

The 2011 U.S. Government Evidence Summit on Protecting Children Outside of Family Care brought together leading researchers and technical experts to assess the available evidence to inform policies, strategies, and programs relevant to protecting children outside of family care in lower and middle income countries. While child vulnerabilities are…

Early childhood is a critical time for cognitive, social, and behavioral development. Many states have invested in comprehensive early childhood care and education systems that offer a wide range of supports and services to families from the prenatal period through school entry. Home visiting programs are an important component of state early…

Research Findings: Research suggests that early care and education programs are most effective when they include strong components of family involvement. The Center for the Study of Social Policy recommended that early care and education programs build family-centered practices to strengthen families and reduce the incidence of child abuse and…

New federal legislation requires states to develop policies to refer children younger than age 3 with substantiated cases of abuse or neglect to state Early Intervention (EI) systems. This article presents state-by-state estimates of potential referral and enrollment increases for EI. Many states could experience a significant increase in…

This document presents descriptions of how state child abuse and neglect prevention projects are working to prevent child maltreatment through the use of Children's Trust Funds. Three common elements of Children's Trust funds are explained: (1) financing is through a distinct state fund and those funds are collected through surcharges on state…

"Kids Count in Colorado!" is an annual publication of the Colorado Children's Campaign, which provides the best available state- and county-level data to measure and track the education, health and general well-being of the state's children. "Kids Count in Colorado!" informs policy debates and community discussions, serving as…

At the request of Congressman Ted Weiss, the General Accounting Office (GAO) reviewed discretionary grant funding practices by the Office of Human Development Services (OHDS) for National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect projects. The GAO investigation focused on the extent to which OHDS selected and rejected full grant applications and…

Describes the Protective Services Program of the New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Services, which was instrumental in making available a statewide emergency fund for use in protective services casework. The development of the emergency fund and its effect on the reduction of child abuse or neglect is discussed. (CM)

This article examines a national applied theatre programme coordinated through the Department of Child, Youth and Family in New Zealand. The programme uses dramatic processes to create opportunities for communities to discuss and find their own answers to the issues of child abuse and family violence. The programme utilises a sophisticated in-role…

Analyzes the challenges, pressures, and uncertainties facing the public child protection systems with recommendations for strengthening child protective services agencies and expanding prevention and treatment resources. Articles in this special issue place typical agency practices in a historical context as they consider dimensions of the child…

Continuing the practice of conducting an annual national survey to monitor trends in the number and characteristics of child abuse reports nationwide and in the funding and scope of child welfare services, this report summarizes results of the January, 1990 survey. Specific information of interest was: (1) the actual number of reports filed during…

Listed are approximately 160 federally supported projects (completed or current) directly related to child abuse and neglect. Provided for each listing are grant number, name of the project, a brief description of the project, a contact name and address, project dates, and the amount of funding. Types of grants and contracts include demonstration…