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  • Social Media and Out-of-Home Care

Social Media and Out-of-Home Care

Social media networks can be an important avenue for sharing messages and educating the public about the issues affecting children, youth, and families involved in child welfare. Find resources and information that promote family finding, explore effective recruitment and retention strategies, and provide additional information to help support parents and caregivers involved in out-of-home care.

  • Resources for child welfare professionals
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Resources for child welfare professionals

Facebook 101 for Child Welfare Professionals: An Introduction to Using Facebook to Reach Foster, Adoptive, and Kinship Families (PDF - 272 KB)
AdoptUSKids (2014)
Discusses ways in which a child welfare agency can use Facebook in order to connect with prospective resource families, including sharing useful information, answering common questions, and spreading awareness about upcoming events.

Facebook Useful in Finding Kin for Wards of the State
Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (2013)
Highlights the success the agency has had in Lincoln, NE, using Facebook to locate family members of children in care. The press release also shares case examples.

Social Media: Tips for Child Welfare Workers

Series Title
Factsheets
Author(s)
Child Welfare Information Gateway
Availability
View
Download (PDF - 334KB)
Disponibilidad
Ver
Versión para imprimir (PDF - 343KB)
Year Published
2022
Describes the advantages and challenges workers may encounter when using social media with children, youth, and families. Issues that should be considered and tips for handling issues are also offered, as are ways to use social media to support children, youth, and families.

Social Media Use in Child Welfare
Chang (2013)
Children’s Bureau Express, 13(11)
Guides child welfare professionals in developing a social media strategy for dissemination and a security policy.

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Resources for parents and caregivers

Social Media: Tips for Foster Parents and Caregivers

Series Title
Factsheets
Author(s)
Child Welfare Information Gateway
Availability
View
Download (PDF - 337KB)
Disponibilidad
Ver
Versión para imprimir (PDF - 350KB)
Year Published
2022
The benefits of social media are explained and tips for helping foster youth use social media are provided, including: discussing social media with youth, setting house rules early on, setting strict privacy settings, teaching youth to keep personal information private, monitoring use, conducting online searches, and discussing cyberbullying. Tips for social media use by foster parents and caregivers are also reviewed.

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Spotlight On

A Systematic Review of Internet Communication Technology Use by Youth in Foster Care

Sage & Jackson (2021)
Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal

 

Related Content

Resources for Foster Families

Parenting Resources for Foster Parents

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