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Foster Care, Including Youth Issues

Out-of-home care - or foster care - encompasses the placements and services provided to children and families when children must be removed from their homes because of child safety concerns, as a result of serious parent-child conflict, or to treat serious physical or behavioral health conditions which cannot be addressed within the family. Before a decision is made to remove a child, child welfare staff must make reasonable efforts to safely maintain children with their families, including providing necessary supports and services.

Foster Care Resources:

  • 2013 National Foster Care Month Website

    The Children’s Bureau—together with its information service, Child Welfare Information Gateway; the National Resource Center for Permanency and Family Connections; and the National Resource Center for Youth Development—is pleased to announce that the 2013 National Foster Care Month website is now online. Get ready for National Foster Care Month by using the newly redesigned 2013 website! This year's theme is Supporting Youth in Transition, and the website provides resources that highlight a variety of practices and approaches you can use to support your work with youth, such as:

    • Creating meaningful connections
    • Partnering with youth
    • Advancing permanency options
    • Preparing for successful transitions
       
  • The 50 State CHARTBOOK on Foster Care
    This is a valuable website resource that is administered by Boston University and funded by The MENTOR Network Charitable Foundation. The CHARTBOOK provides data on current foster care programs, policies and financing for every state and the District of Columbia, with a particular emphasis on therapeutic foster care. It also highlights innovative initiatives and best practices being implemented in states throughout the country. Their hope is that the CHARTBOOK becomes a valuable resource or tool for child welfare professionals, policymakers and everyone committed to improving outcomes for our nation’s most vulnerable children. Using the online CHARTBOOK, you can access data for your state and easily compare it with other states’ data.
     
  • Building Successful Resource Families
    A Practice Guide for Public Agencies - by the Annie E. Cassie Foundation. For nearly two decades,the Annie E.Casey Foundation has worked witha range of city and state human service departments to promote child welfare reform. While each jurisdiction has presented unique challenges, finding and keeping high-quality resource families has been a common struggle. Recent engagements in Connecticut, Virginia and Maryland have highlighted significant challenges with regard to recruitment, development and support of resource families. These challenges include short supply, lack of appropriate support and training, and the need for a systematic approach to building capacity in this important area. The goal of this guide is to leverage our experience with different jurisdictions by sharing information and encouraging the use of best practices in working with resource families.
  • Relative Foster Care Licensing Waivers in the States: Policies and Possibilities
    On October 7, 2008, the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act (Fostering Connections) was signed into law, helping to, amoung other things, ensure that shildren in foster care maintain family connections. Each year approximately 750,000 children spend time in foster care when their parents, for a variety of reasons are unable to safely care for them.
     
  • Treat Them Like GOLD - A Best Practice Guide to Partnering with Resource Families
    Though this guide provides many specific strategies that have proven effective in North Carolina and elsewhere, at its heart is one basic rule: if you want to successfully recruit, retain, and partner with resource families, treat them like gold. This rule must be the foundation of your resource family recruitment and retention (R&R) efforts.
     
  • Foster Care and Education Q&A
    This document was authored by the American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law, Education Law Center, and Juvenile Law Center.
     
  • Foster Youth Testimony on Fostering Connections
    Statement of Daryle Conquering Bear - Former Foster Youth, Colorado before the Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support of the House Commettee on Ways and Means. Hearing on Racial Disproportionality in Foster Care, July 31, 2008
     
  • Destination Future Report
    This report was presented by the University of Oklahoma Outreach - National Child Welfare Resource Center for Youth Development at the National Youth Leadership Development Confererence August 2008.

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