Fostering Connections

A subtle change in child welfare policy, made shortly before the world went indoors, will allow child welfare agencies to use a calculation called “adoption savings” discount on matching certain spending requirements on federal funds. 

Ten years ago, I was George White, a 17-year-old high school student in foster care advocating for the extension of foster care to age 21 through AB 12. Today, I introduce myself as 27-year-old Dr.

Nearly every state in the union now has some offer of extended foster care for youths who turn 18 in foster care and do not feel ready to “age out” into adulthood.

MaryLee Allen, who for decades led on the issue of child welfare for the Children’s Defense Fund (CDF), died of liver cancer at the age of 74 last week. Allen, who is among the foremost experts on federal policy on child welfare, joined CDF shortly after its founding in 1973.

In 2018, Louisiana was among the handful of states with no offer of foster care support beyond age 18 for youth who became adults in the system. Since then, the state has moved quickly through incremental steps toward extended foster care, and is now poised to begin a robust expansion to age 21 that will tie older youth to specially-trained case managers stationed around the state.

Each fall, students in the University of Michigan Law School’s Child Welfare Appellate Clinic represent parents in termination of parental rights (TPR) appeals. We don’t cherry pick our cases for ones we’re likely to win.

The public has until October 1 to weigh in on a Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) proposal for a first-ever national standard on licensing foster homes. The standards, which HHS was directed to establish as part of the Family First Prevention Services Act, sets expectations for safety precautions and best practices for pre-licensing and home studies.

The Imprint is highlighting each of the policy recommendations made this summer by the participants of the Foster Youth Internship Program (FYI), a group of 10 former foster youths who have completed congressional internships.

Jerry Foxhoven is no stranger to Iowa’s child welfare system. He spent the past few decades working to improve the legal protection of children and families in contact with the Iowa Department of Human Services (DHS).