Child Welfare Information Gateway E-lert! October 2020

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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.

Plan Now for National Adoption Month!

It's almost here! Join us in supporting National Adoption Month this November. This year's resources focus on how to make engaging youth an everyday practice. Explore the Spread the Word tools and use the sample graphics, press releases, social media posts, and email signatures to get the word out on this year's theme: "Engage Youth: Listen & Learn." Start the conversation in your community and join us on Facebook and Twitter by using the hashtag #NationalAdoptionMonth.

New "Help a Friend in Trouble" Video

Sometimes a friend is the first person to notice when youth experience child abuse or neglect. Share the "Help a Friend in Trouble" video with your community to provide easy-to-understand guidance on what to do if youth feel unsafe at home. Whether you’re a parent, child welfare professional, educator, or other professional working with children and youth, you can help them feel prepared to support a friend—or get help for themselves—by sharing this new resource.

NEW Podcast: "Prevention Training for Home Visitors"

Hear how a common goal brought two states together to combine resources to develop more than 60 free online courses designed for home visiting professionals. Two members of the Institute for the Advancement of Family Support Professionals share how its competency framework enables supervisors to customize learning plans that ensure staff build skills—instead of merely passing tests—in prevention and family strengthening efforts.   Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, SoundCloud, and Google Play

Updated Resources

Use of Advertising and Facilitators in Adoptive Placements
Understand the state laws about advertising and facilitators in private or independent adoptions by both prospective adoptive parents and birth parents. Summaries of laws for all states and U.S. territories are included.

Family Support Services
Find family support resources and programs in this updated web section. All families can benefit from these community-based services, which may be comprehensive, focus on a particular goal, or target specific populations.

Behavioral Health and Wellness
Explore almost two dozen new and updated pages with resources on a wide range of topics, including the opioid crisis and collaboration between mental health, substance use, child welfare, and other systems.

Support Services for Youth in Transition: Life Skills
Find resources on this webpage to help support youth and teens aging out of care to develop the life skills they need to become self-sufficient adults.

Did You Know?

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

Domestic violence (DV) is a public health issue that has rippling effects on families and communities. Children and youth who witness DV experience trauma of their own, which can contribute to behavioral, social, and emotional problems as well as a negative impact on their mental and physical health. There is an unfortunate occurrence of families who experience DV and those involved with the child welfare system. It is important that this month, and every month, we educate ourselves on how to effectively serve these families.

The Domestic Violence web section includes 22 updated pages covering prevention, casework, and collaboration. Through education, prevention, and cross-system collaboration, we can make a substantial difference in the lives of those affected by DV.

For updated information on definitions, terminology, and the overall scope of DV, visit our Definitions and Terminology of Domestic Violence webpage.

Resilience and protective factors can play an important role in prevention as well as in survivor recovery. Explore the Quality Improvement Center on Domestic Violence in Child Welfare website, including its Issue Brief on Protective Factors for Survivors of Domestic Violence, and Information Gateway for more resources to help families affected by DV.

In This Month's CBX: Thriving Families, Safer Children: A National Commitment to Well-Being

This edition of CBX focuses on building awareness of an unprecedented effort to transform child welfare in the United States. Core national partners are committed to a long-term, unified effort to partner with families, communities, and jurisdictions in new ways that are driven by the lived expertise of parents and young people. This edition includes articles from a variety of organizations and federal partners as well as the four jurisdictions participating in tier one of the Thriving Families effort—Colorado, California/Los Angeles County, Nebraska, and South Carolina.

Updates From Capacity Building Center for States

Prevention-Focused E-Learning From CWVE 2020

More than 2,400 child welfare professionals came together for the Child Welfare Virtual Expo 2020: Strengthening Families Through Prevention and Collaboration on September 24, 2020. Explore the center's newly released Child Welfare Virtual Expo 2020 learning experience to view session recordings and reflect on how your agency can build a prevention-focused system.

Explore Additional E-Learning Opportunities

Then and Now: Looking Back and Moving Forward in Support of Children, Youth, and Families: Videos and Discussion Guide

For more information and news from the Capacity Building Center for States, visit our website.

Upcoming Conferences

Information Gateway will be at the following upcoming virtual conferences. Please register and watch a virtual session. Be sure to visit Information Gateway's conference calendar to view and/or submit upcoming events!

October 20–21, 2020
National CASA/GAL Association Virtual Conference

November 4–6, 2020
Together We Can Conference

Give Us Your Feedback

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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.