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Child Welfare Information Gateway E-lert! May 2020
Encourage your colleagues to subscribe to E-lert!
Here's what's new from Child Welfare Information Gateway. Use the links below or contact us to request print copies. If print copies are available, we will ship them to you for free.
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Join us in celebrating National Foster Care Month all month long! Help spread the word with these outreach tools and join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter with #FosterCareMonth.
Here’s what you can do to show your support:
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter and use the hashtag #FosterCareMonth to join the conversation!
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Find cutting-edge knowledge from the child welfare field and information on discretionary grants funded by the Children’s Bureau all in one place. The redesigned CBDG webpage features lessons learned and evidence from innovative grantee work to support practice and program improvement.
Interested in historical grant materials and research? Explore the Children's Bureau Discretionary Grants Library for historical and current grant materials and resources or view a curated list of the latest materials from active grant clusters.
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National Child Abuse Prevention Month is over, but we’re already thinking about next year. What can we improve? Tell us what you think!
Please take a few minutes to share your feedback on the 2019/2020 Prevention Resource Guide. Your feedback can help shape the 2021 Prevention Resource Guide.
Prevention is a year-round effort. Continue to share the resources in your community, including tip sheets, activity calendars, success stories, Protective Factors in Practice interactive scenarios, and the 2019/2020 Prevention Resource Guide.
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Listen to the new episode of the podcast featuring a Q&A with Children’s Bureau Associate Commissioner Dr. Jerry Milner on the efforts to make foster care a support for the family instead of a substitute for parents.
"The job of radically changing how children and families experience the child welfare system cannot reside within any one federal agency or any one national organization. We have to have a common vision, we have to have a common commitment across those federal national entities that affect the lives of kids every day and an agreement that we want to serve them in a certain way with a certain defined set of outcomes.”
—Dr. Jerry Milner, associate commissioner, Children’s Bureau
According to Dr. Milner, federal partners, child welfare agencies, and community organizations can shift foster care to be a support for families by working to change the misconceptions regarding the children, youth, and families who are impacted by it. He also discusses how the Children's Bureau is supporting prevention efforts and the important role title IV-E reimbursement plays for legal services for families.
Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, SoundCloud, and Google Play
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Find resources on staying safe from COVID-19 from the Children's Bureau and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This webpage includes tips on everyday preventative actions you can take, CDC-approved guidance and information, and links to guidance documents for foster care providers, child welfare workers, and more.
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Updated State Statutes
The State Statutes series provides a searchable database of more than 40 child welfare, child abuse and neglect, and adoption-related statutes in every U.S. state and territory. Compare or review topics covering legal definitions, adoption records access, infant safe haven laws, and more.
Parental Substance Use as Child Abuse
Substance use disorders of parents can have a negative impact on the health, safety, and well-being of the entire family. This statute discusses responding to the care and treatment needs of substance-exposed infants and addressing the harm a child suffers when their parents' alcohol or substance use leads to neglect.
Plans of Safe Care for Infants With Prenatal Substance Exposure and Their Families
States are required to develop a plan of safe care for children affected by prenatal drug exposure or fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. Read about the plan requirements, services, and more in the new State Statute.
Access to Adoption Records
The need for information about adoption doesn't always end once the adoption has been finalized. Adoptees may need access to medical information or want to connect with birth family members. This updated statute describes the policies and procedures for who may obtain identifying and/or nonidentifying information.
Updated Resources
Working With Faith-Based Communities
Child welfare professionals work with children, youth, and families of all backgrounds—each with their own unique strengths. This web section provides resources on working with and engaging families of different religious backgrounds and serving their best interests.
Licensing Foster Parents
Learn about requirements for becoming a licensed foster parent, including home study requirements, background checks, and standards in this updated web section.
Recruiting and Retaining Resource Families
Having a robust network of resource families is vital to supporting the varying needs of children and youth in out-of-home care. Resource families are critical partners to child welfare professionals in providing care and supporting reunification. This updated web section includes the following pages:
- Diligent recruitment
- Recruitment strategies and tools
- State and local examples
- Retaining resource families
- Strategies for retaining resource families
Did You Know?
Did you know protective factors are a way to encourage the healthy development and well-being of children, youth, and families? These conditions or attributes serve a vital role in preventing child maltreatment. Using a protective factors approach shifts the focus from eliminating risk factors—which often left families feeling judged or stigmatized—to a strengths-based approach that positively engages the entire family and tailors services to align with their unique strengths to help them heal
Read Protective Factors Approaches in Child Welfare to learn about different protective factors approaches and how to put them into your practice.
In this Month's CBX: National Foster Care Month
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The May issue of Children’s Bureau Express features National Foster Care Month, which emphasizes the importance of foster care as a support to families and not a substitute for parents. Read the issue.
Subscribe to CBX to receive the issue in your inbox.
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Updates From the Capacity Building Center for States
Learn about the important role child welfare professionals play in enhancing the lives of children and youth in foster care.
Upcoming Virtual Event!
For more information and news from the Center for States, visit its website.
Give Us Your Feedback
To help us meet your needs, we welcome your feedback. Please take this short survey and help Information Gateway improve the resources and services we provide. Thank you!
Contact Information
Child Welfare Information Gateway
Phone: 800.394.3366
Email: info@childwelfare.gov
Web: https://www.childwelfare.gov
 
Chat live with an Information Specialist between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. EDT.
E-lert! is a free service of the Children's Bureau/ACF/HHS and Child Welfare Information Gateway.
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