Background: Children involved in the child welfare system (CWS) have a greater need for mental health treatment relative to children in the general population. However, the research on mental health treatment for children in the CWS is sparse with only one known previous review of mental health services with children in the CWS. Objective: This…

Research in Russia on the opinions of guardians and experts of the department of guardianship examines the motives that people have for taking orphan children into their homes. The data indicate that about 80 percent of the guardians are grandmothers taking care of their grandchildren, whose parents have been stripped of their parental rights.…

Recent federal legislation strengthens children's and families' rights to family-centered practice by increasing the responsibility of child welfare agencies to identify and engage extended family members in providing care and support to children placed out of the home. Preliminary results from an experimental study of a federally funded family…

Rates of food insecurity in households with children have significantly increased over the past decade. The majority of children, including those at risk for food insecurity, participate in some form of non-parental child care during the preschool years. To evaluate the relationship between the two phenomenon, this study investigates the effects…

This paper presents findings from a landmark Australian study investigating the experiences and perspectives of young people in residential care. Data from a representative sample are analyzed to identify young people's satisfaction with various aspects of their residential care experience: their sense of safety, normality, support, comfort in…

The article reports from a qualitative study of family group conferencing in Wales. Family group conferences are meetings of extended family networks that are convened in order to plan for a child's care and welfare. They are an attempt to enable families to have a greater say in welfare decisions and often particularly encourage children's…

During the past few years, there has been a notable increase in the number of children in foster care, with foster care that is provided by relatives accounting for a substantial part of the increase. At the same time, there has been a shift in thinking in the field of child welfare, from viewing placement with a relative as a last resort to…

Challenges the message of "biopsychiatry," the belief that all mental illness is biologically based, genetic in origin, and incurable, and can only be treated chemically. Suggests that the epidemic drugging of school-age children is an act of despair. Highlights one family's experience in getting appropriate treatment without medication for their…

Evaluates the Family Program, a family-centered program in northern Virginia which provides intensive in-home support and treatment to families with children in the custody of county child welfare departments. The sample comprises 42 closed cases. Results show that families that are at risk benefit significantly from extensive support systems.…

This study defines child advocacy and considers what it can and should become. The contents of the study are divided into the following chapters: Background of Child Advocacy; National Picture; Proposed Focus for Child Advocacy; Advocacy in Action; Program Variables and Search for Results; Overview and Recommendations. The project, supported by a…

The Action for Children Commission was created in 1991 to study the lives of young Minnesotans, develop a vision of what their lives should be like, and make recommendations concerning the state's role in realizing that vision. After examining the conditions experienced by Minnesota youth, the report recommends that the state help to: (1) mobilize…

Placement of children in state custody with their relatives has grown dramatically. Interviews with caseworkers serving children in kinship foster care were studied and revealed the complex nature of this practice and identified potential obstacles to permanency for these children. Results suggest practice principles that may facilitate permanency…

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.…

Highlights the key issues in kinship care and discusses them as they relate to agency structure for kinship family support in the public child welfare system. Examines concerns for future planning, including meeting regulations, monitoring, and development of permanent plans, and explores implications for policy and practice. (Author/SD)

Examines three aspects of legal treatment of blood relationships in the adoption process: (1) ability of relatives to participate in adoption proceedings; (2) how courts evaluate blood relationships in determining best interests of the child; and (3) rights of relatives to continued contact when a child is adopted by nonrelatives. (Author)