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Home > Systemwide > Service Improvement/Systems Reform > Child Welfare Reform > Child Welfare Reform Based on Litigation
Child Welfare Reform Based on Litigation
Some child welfare reforms have been undertaken in response to consent decrees, settlement agreements, and court orders resulting from class action lawsuits brought against State or local child welfare agencies. Resources include State and local examples.
Child Welfare Consent Decrees: Analysis of 35 Court Actions From 1995-2005 (PDF - 465 KB)
Child Welfare League of America & National Child Welfare Resource Center on Legal and Judicial Issues (2005)
Analyzes systemic improvement topics addressed within child welfare class action consent decrees, settlement agreements, and court orders/decisions during the last 2 decades.
Children's Rights
Uses the courts, policy analysis, and public education to ensure that children who are abused and neglected receive the care and services they need and grow up in permanent, loving homes.
Fixing the Child Welfare System: Do Lawsuits, Court Orders, Reviews, and More Regulations Really Help?
Child Protection Report (2002)
View Abstract
Collection of articles reviewing innovative programs initiated in response to the view that court receiverships, court orders, and additional regulations do not improved child welfare services because they do not address the practical concerns of casework.
Foster Care Reform Litigation Docket 2006
National Center for Youth Law (2006)
Summaries of pending and recently resolved child welfare reform cases. (PDF - 384 KB)
Impact Litigation as a Tool for Child Welfare Reform and Policy Advocacy
Lowry & Freundlich (2001)
In Advocacy for Children and Families: Moving From Sympathy to Empathy
View Abstract
Discusses the use of lawsuits to force child welfare system reform.
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State and local examples
Information Packet: Child Welfare Class Action Lawsuits (PDF - 124 KB)
Kaplan (2003)
Summarizes court decisions and outcomes of lawsuits filed on behalf of children and families in Alabama, the District of Columbia, and Connecticut.
Pitiful Plaintiffs: Child Welfare Litigation and the Federal Courts
Mezey (2000)
View Abstract
Describes an Illinois class action suit, B.H. v. Johnson, which illustrates the role of the Federal courts in promoting child welfare system reform. Identifies key variables during each phase of the litigation process.
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