child welfare reform

In May, Kansas Department of Children and Families (DCF) announced the roll out of a new online, interactive dashboard that highlights the reforms and changes taking place in the state’s child welfare system.

On Saturday, only days before election results come in, Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign will focus on foster care. During an online town hall organized by a foster-youth led initiative called Foster Youth for Hillary, potential Second Lady Anne Holton will field questions from foster youth across the country.

This week over 590 youth and alumni of foster care, along with concerned stakeholders, conveyed a letter to U.S. Senate leaders calling upon the upper chamber to vote on and pass the House-approved Family First Prevention Services Act.

The court-initiated overhaul of child welfare in Texas is underway; we will likely see a plan mapped out by the special masters in the case by early summer. Of specific concern is the system’s handling of the Permanent Managing Conservatorship (PMC) program of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS). 

Results from Great Britain’s experiments in successfully reducing child poverty provide a blueprint for the U.S. to do the same, according to Columbia University researcher Jane Waldfogel. But waning enthusiasm for this initiative in England threatens its success.

The annual Foster Youth Intern (FYI) report, published by the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute, has emerged as the best injection of fresh thinking on federal child welfare policy. The report includes federal reform proposals crafted by former foster youth who have spent the summer interning on Capitol Hill.

How well I still remember one of the anthems of my generation: “For the times they are a changin’.” And how applicable these words continue to be, especially in our world of Child, Youth and Family Services.