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Common Mental Health Issues for Children, Youth, and Families Involved in Child Welfare

Includes resources addressing the unique mental health needs of children, youth, and families involved with the child welfare system. Contents include information on sibling issues and information for and about youth in care or youth aging out of care. Also included are resources on trauma for children who have been abused, neglected, or separated from their families; the secondary trauma experienced by workers in the child welfare system; and trauma related to major disasters. Additional resources focus on resiliency, needs of children and adults with co-occurring mental health and substance abuse issues, and examples of how States and localities are addressing the mental health needs of children, youth, and families.

• Unique mental health needs of children, youth, and families in child welfare
• Trauma
• Resiliency in children and youth
• Co-occurring disorders
• State and local examples

Selected Resources The Effects of Foster Care Placement on Young Children's Mental Health (PDF - 19 KB) Troutman, Ryan, & Cardi Protecting Children, 16(1), 2000 Discusses the impact on young children when attachments with primary caretakers in out-of-home care are disrupted. Promising Practices for Addressing the Mental Health Issues Impacting Parents of Children in Foster Care National Resource Center for Family-Centered Practice and Permanency Planning (2006) Teleconference audio file of State program managers in foster care and adoption dealing with mental health issues affecting parents of children in foster care.

Related Information Gateway Topics Child abuse and neglect: Impact - Long-Term consequences of abuse & neglect: Health and mental health Out-of-Home care: Casework practice in out-of-home care - Casework practice with children and youth in out-of-home care: Mental health issues and services in out-of-home care Out-of-Home care: Placement decisions - Placement stability: Correlates and consequences of multiple placements - Consequences of multiple placements Adoption: Search & reunion - Lifelong impact of adoption

Updated on April 9, 2008