Noting that over the last decade, the role of a foster parent has evolved from temporary caregiver to essential part of a professional team in determining the best long-term plan for children in their care, this guide focuses on practical ways in which best child welfare practice can be incorporated into the recruitment, training, and support of…

This report is the third in a series of four final reports and several research briefs that present the findings of the Longitudinal Study of the Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Services Program, a study that the Research Triangle Institute (RTI) has conducted for the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA), U.S. Department of Education. The…

Educators and service providers often have little opportunity to work cooperatively with families to enhance outcomes for children. This document is the third in a four-part training module that was developed by Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory's Child, Family, and Community Program. The module is based on an ecological, family-centered…

This publication addresses the advocacy, counseling, and case management skills needed by the independent living counselor and includes a case management tool which underscores the importance of needs assessment, goal setting, and program monitoring. Based on a review of pertinent literature, the booklet contains five sections. The first secion…

Current research/literature identifies key, critical concerns of families with children who have special health care needs (ASHCAN). Emphasized are their expressed disappointments with overall transactional care between and among professionals helping their child(ren). Researchers of this study wanted to determine and evaluate the desires and…

This book assesses the current state of foster care in the United Kingdom and Ireland, the pressures which have shaped it, and the challenges it faces. Emphasizing the importance of fostering within a coherent child care policy, the contributors examine the latest research into key areas of foster care, and explore how practice can be improved.…

As part of the Clinton Administration's initiative to bring fathers back to the center of American life, a conference was convened in May 1996 at which federal staff members, practitioners, and researchers shared successful practices, identified challenges, discussed current research, and recommended future actions. This report summarizes the…

Noting that one of the biggest obstacles to reforming the foster care system has been the relative unavailability of research data from the field, this book provides an overview of the current state of foster care, describes the special needs of children living in foster care, and identifies policies and practices that address the foster care…

Keeping children safe in foster care is a critical concern for foster parents and the professionals working with them. This document is comprised of a set of four pamphlets, addressed to foster families and those working with foster families, providing information on medication safety, making foster care placements successful, working with social…

This research addresses the question: Does the military atmosphere of a treatment-oriented boot camp lead to greater reductions in antisocial attitudes and cognitions than a standard correctional facility that is also treatment-oriented? A self-report measure of antisocial attitudes and cognitions was collected from 118 inmates randomly assigned…

This study investigated the lives of adolescents with and without disabilities in nine high schools in urban, suburban, and rural areas in Kansas, Washington, Oregon, and California. It gathered information on key contextual factors and realities that adolescents confront throughout the day. In this investigation, 53 ninth-grade high school…

As child welfare professionals have become aware of the impact of prenatal substance exposure on children in the adoption process or who are available for adoption, there is a heightened need for understanding a range of issues connected with prenatal alcohol and drug exposure. This book addresses many of these issues, including the impact of…

Many community colleges have pursued aggressive initiatives to serve students on welfare, creating new academic programs or expanding existing ones. This chapter highlights case studies of best practices that illustrate how institutional initiatives targeting welfare students have resulted in an expanded capacity to educate and serve mainstream…

The General Accounting Office (GAO) examined the allocation of vocational rehabilitation (VR) funds to determine whether and how states are prioritizing VR services to individuals with the most severe disabilities through the order-of-selection procedure mandated in the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. GAO visited VR agencies in 20 states and analyzed…

The 11 papers assembled in this volume reflect the readiness of professional social work to develop practice approaches for working with parents of children in foster care. The papers were written from different perspectives, emphasize diverse aspects of foster care, and disagree on many issues. A unifying theme exists, however, in the shared…