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By Melissa Landrau, Rise Magazine, July 11, 2022 When I had an active ACS case, I had homemaking services—this involved a lady coming into my home from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm and monitoring my children. I had no privacy. The homemaker would watch and feed my children. If I had to step out, she would accompany me. It was outrageous. I didn’t feel like I was the parent because she did everything for me. I would’ve rather had child care without someone in my home intruding and controlling...

Jenny Kane/AP By Rhitu Chatterjee, NPR.org Starting July 16, people in mental health crisis will have a new way to reach out for help. Instead of dialing the current 10-digit National Suicide Prevention Lifeline , they can simply call or text the numbers 9-8-8. Modeled after 911, the new 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is designed to be a memorable and quick number that connects people who are suicidal or in any other mental health crisis to a trained mental health professional. "If you...

Register NOW to learn how to lead a book study of What Happened to You? by Bruce D. Perry, MD PhD, and Oprah Winfrey in your community! Learn how you can bring a book club on to your community and help inspire a desire to work together to create a more equitable society. Come hear lessons learned and tips about how you can use the Alliance’s book club guide in working with your community. Children’s Trust Fund Alliance (CFTA) will conduct this training on Wednesday, July 27, 3-5 p.m. ET.

New guidance from the federal government will make it easier for states to stop a controversial practice that, according to a 2021 NPR investigation , keeps impoverished families in debt when their child is placed into foster care. When children go into foster care, there's often a surprise for their parents: Many will get a bill from the state or county for "child support," to share the cost of their child's care. These parents, however, are almost always poor and struggle to pay. The added...

Strengthening Families with Infants and Toddlers: A Policy Framework for States , is a new report from ZERO TO THREE designed to reframe the role of child welfare from preventing harm to children toward strengthening families and the communities where they live. The policy framework includes 11 recommendations for states and communities that aim to advance equitable outcomes supporting the health and well-being of very young children and their families, including those who are in or are at...

A factsheet from Child Welfare Information Gateway seeks to empower youth involved in the child welfare system to speak up about their feelings, wants and needs, questions and concerns, and aspirations. In doing so, youth can play an active role in the conversations and decision-making that directly affect them. The publication, Using Your Voice: A Guide for Youth on Participating in Case Planning , answers and expands upon the following questions: What is youth engagement? What is case...

By Alison Graham, Image: Heather Rousseau, The Roanoke Times , The Publication, July 10, 2022 Julia Jones spiraled when social services took her four children away. Her husband had just left her, both of her parents were dead and she felt like she had no one to ask for help. The social workers told her to take parenting classes and go to therapy, and she did. But to her, it seemed like the harder she tried to get her kids back, the farther away they got. So instead, she kept doing what she...

Just a gentle reminder of a great opportunity to hear from national presenter Ingrid Cockhren - CEO of PACES Connection and Dr. Tyra Turner Whittaker on the topics of minority mental health in honor of July as National Minority Mental Health month . This topic is so important every month, but this month we highlight the importance of providing culturally relevant support by welcoming and hosting these amazing experts. It's free so don't forget to register here for the link. A flyer is also...

A four-part training, Tribal Family Wellness Plan Learning Modules , developed by the Quality Improvement Center for Collaborative Community Court Teams in collaboration with the Tribal Law and Policy Institute , provides guidance for tribal child welfare providers about implementing programs and practices that reduce the impact of substance use on pregnant and parenting families. The goals of the module include reducing the impact of substance use on pregnant and parenting families,...

Original Post from Children's Bureau Express: For children and youth in foster care, having caring and supportive adults in their lives can significantly improve well-being and encourage positive youth development. These beneficial relationships are in part created through coregulation. Coregulation is when adults enact three types of support with youth: caring, consistent, and responsive relationships; cocreation of supportive environments; and intentional and developmentally informed...

After more tha n two years of a deadly pandemic, a racial reckoning laying bare gross inequities, historic environmental catastrophes, and record-breaking gun violence and mental health challenges, could the first known national study of “What Happened to You?,” by Bruce D. Perry and Oprah Winfrey, help us heal our collective trauma, one relationship and community at a time? That’s the question Carey Sipp, PACEs Connection director of strategic partnerships, hopes will be answered with a...

Although war, violence, and displacement have occurred as long as humans have engaged in conflict to solve their issues, it was the war in Ukraine that prompted us to create a resource guide for children and families displaced by war and violence. Estimates announced in May 2022 put the number of forcibly displaced people at 100 million, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) . “The number of forcibly displaced people worldwide rose to 90 million by the end of...