Browse by Title

This factsheet discusses laws that require child welfare agencies to make reasonable efforts to provide services that will help families remedy the conditions that brought the child and family into the child welfare system. The issues examined include what constitutes reasonable efforts, when reasonable efforts are required to be made, and the circumstances under which reasonable efforts to reunify the family are not required. Summaries of laws for all States and U.S. territories are included.

Describe brevemente las ventajas y los desafíos que los jóvenes en cuidado de crianza ("foster care") pueden encontrar al usar las redes sociales. También discute problemas que deben considerarse y consejos para manejar problemas.Briefly describes the advantages and challenges youth in foster care may encounter when using social media. Issues that should be considered and tips for handling issues are also offered.

Describe brevemente las ventajas y los desafíos que los padres de crianza pueden encontrar al usar las redes sociales en su papel como padres de crianza. También se discuten problemas que deben considerarse y consejos para manejar problemas. Además, se ofrecen consejos para guiar a los jóvenes en el uso seguro de las redes sociales.Briefly describes the advantages and challenges foster parents may encounter when using social media in their role as foster parents. Issues that should be considered and tips for handling issues are also offered. Ways to guide youth in the safe use of social media are also discussed.

Provides an overview of State laws regarding the regulation of the fees and expenses that adoptive parents are expected to pay when arranging a private adoptive placement. Some of the fees and expenses that are typically addressed include placement costs, such as agency fees; legal fees and attorney expenses for adoptive and birth parents; and some of the expenses of the birth mother during pregnancy. Requirements for reporting adoption-related expenses to the court also are addressed.

Examines State laws that specify when a state court must provide legal representation for a child involved in child abuse and neglect proceedings and whether that representative must be an attorney, guardian ad litem, or a court-appointed special advocate. The qualifications, training, specific duties, and compensation of the representative also are addressed. Summaries of laws for all States and U.S. territories are included.

Provides an overview of State laws related to how States must respond to meet the needs of children who have been subjected to sex trafficking. The issues discussed include the respective duties of child welfare and law enforcement agencies, training requirements, diversion of child victims from prosecution to appropriate services, the array of services provided, and ways of funding services and programs for victims. Summaries of laws for all States and U.S. territories are included.

This publication summarizes State laws and policies regarding the actions that a State agency must take when a youth is reported as missing from an out-of-care placement. The issues covered include required notifications to law enforcement and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the steps the agencies must take to locate the child, and determining the reasons the youth ran from his or her placement and responding to those reasons in making subsequent placements. Agencies also must determine the child's experiences while absent from care, including screening the child to determine if the child is a possible sex trafficking victim.

Ofrece una visión general del proceso de reunificación, incluyendo lo que pueden esperar los padres mientras sus hijos estén en cuidado de crianza, qué pueden hacer para ayudar a que sus hijos vuelvan a casa y qué esperar luego de que sus hijos hayan vuelto a casa. También presenta recursos para ayudar a familias durante y después de la reunificación familiar. Provides a general overview of the reunification process, including what parents can expect while their children are in foster care, what they can do to help their children return home, and what to expect after children return home. Resources available to help families during and after reunification also are included.

Provides a general overview of the reunification process, including what parents can expect while their children are in foster care, what they can do to help their children return home, and what to expect after children return home. Resources available to help families during and after reunification also are included.

Examines State laws and procedures that provide persons who are named as alleged perpetrators in central registry reports the right to review the records and to request administrative hearings to contest the findings and have inaccurate records removed from the registry. Laws that provide for the expunction of old or unsubstantiated reports also are discussed. Summaries of relevant laws for all States and U.S. territories are included.

Provides an overview of State laws related to the rights of unmarried parents and the methods by which a person may establish a legal parent-child relationship with their child. The circumstances in which a person may be presumed to be the other parent of a child, the use of parentage registries, the use of genetic tests to establish parentage, and the right of rescission of parentage claims are discussed.

Examines the statistics and research related to maltreatment of children with disabilities, risk factors, and strategies for prevention. Issues encountered when assessing a child with a disability for maltreatment are explored; and information about promising prevention, collaboration, and training approaches are outlined.

Highlights the importance of understanding the concerns and needs of children and families in rural communities, their strengths and resources, and the cultural sensitivity required of child welfare professionals as they work to achieve safety, permanency, and well-being for rural children.