The State Guides & Manuals Search links to online publications created by State agencies to describe their services and provide guidance on child welfare-related topics to both professional and personal audiences. The most common types of publications include policy or procedure manuals, administrative rules, licensing standards, handbooks for families involved with the child welfare system, or other guides explaining how the State provides child welfare services to families. The publications are organized by topic, covering a wide range of issues across the child welfare continuum. The search also identifies the primary intended audience for each publication.
The publications included in this search generally clarify how services are to be provided according to State law or policy. If you wish to access the text or a summary of a State's child welfare laws, visit Information Gateway's State Statutes Search, or the State Statute publication, Links to State and Tribal Child Welfare Law and Policy.
Currently the search includes publications written or approved by a State child welfare organization, such as a department of social services or State court. In addition, publications must be publicly available to view or download from States' websites. We encourage States to share their publications for possible inclusion in the State Guides & Manuals Search by emailing Information Support at info@childwelfare.gov.
About Topics
Each publication in the State Guides & Manuals Search is identified by the main topic(s) it addresses. Although many topics are closely related and may overlap, identifying the main topic(s) helps users more quickly determine which area of child welfare is the focus of the publication.
Information included in each topic is described below:
- Adoption
- Information for individuals and couples considering adoption
- Recruitment and retention of adoptive families
- Home studies and licensing
- Subsidies and postadoption services
- Child protection
- Screening and intake of reports of child abuse or neglect
- Child, youth, and family assessment
- Investigation procedures
- Note: Mandatory reporting is addressed separately
- Family preservation and support
- In-home services and other community supports to strengthen families and prevent child removal
- Kinship care
- Identifying and locating relatives and kin
- Relative/kin placement decisions
- Formal and informal services and supports for kinship caregivers
- Note: If a State does not have a publication about kinship care, refer to Out-of-home care or Permanency
- Licensing
Requirements and standards for:- Foster or adoptive homes
- Group homes
- Treatment or therapeutic foster care
- Child-placing agencies
- Transition to adulthood or independent living programs
- Mandatory reporting
- Types of professionals or individuals mandated to report child abuse or neglect
- The process for making reports of child abuse or neglect
- Basic information on the definition of child abuse and neglect and what happens when a report is made
- Out-of-home care
- Information for individuals and couples considering foster parenting
- Recruitment and retention of foster families
- Placement decisions
- Home studies and licensing
- Title IV-E eligibility and payments
- Handbooks for resource parents (non-relative foster parents and foster-to-adopt parents)
- Practice models
- Definitions and expectations for how a child welfare agency will operate and partner with families and other community stakeholders
- Permanency
- Case planning to provide a permanent family for children and youth in foster care, including reunification and guardianship
- Note: Adoption and permanent kinship care are addressed separately
- Transition to adulthood and independent living
- Services and supports for youth aging out of foster care
About Audiences
Each publication in the State Guides & Manuals Search is identified by its primary intended audience. Although many publications would be useful to all audiences, identifying the primary audience helps users determine for whom a publication is written.
Individuals included in each audience are listed below:
- Children and youth
- Those involved with the child welfare system, including those currently in foster care
- Youth transitioning to adulthood and/or aged out of foster care
- Children and youth in families formed by adoption
- Parents
- Birth parents of a child or youth involved with the child welfare system
- Prospective foster or adoptive parents
- Parents in families formed by adoption
- Professionals
- Caseworkers, supervisors, and administrators in all areas of child welfare and adoption
- Mandatory reporters of child abuse or neglect
- Related professionals serving children, youth, and families, including but not limited to the following fields:
- Domestic violence
- Early childhood and child care
- Education
- Faith and community-based organizations
- Health and mental health
- Law enforcement and the courts
- Substance abuse
- Relatives and kin
- Individuals related to a child by blood or marriage, including stepparents
- Members of a child's Tribe or clan
- Godparents
- Any adult who has a kinship bond with a child
- Resource parents
- Non-relative foster parents or foster-to-adopt parents
- Depending on the State, relatives and kin or parents in families formed by adoption
Identifying the audience can help users find publications written for themselves as well as for others. For example, a professional may search for publications written for children and youth to share with those they serve, or a resource parent may search for publications written for professionals to better understand State policies and services.