Child welfare increasingly emphasizes the importance of providing services that meet the educational, emotional, physical, and mental health needs of children and their families. (See the Administration on Children, Youth and Families' Information Memorandum. ACYF-CB-IM-12-04, Promoting Social and Emotional Well-Being for Children and Youth Receiving Child Welfare Services, set forth a priority focus on the promotion of social and emotional well-being for children and youth, as well as systemic strategies child welfare agencies can use to embed a focus on well-being in their work. Issued in April 2012, the Information Memorandum identified a framework for well-being set around four domains: (a) cognitive functioning, (b) physical health and development, (c) behavioral/emotional functioning, and (d) social functioning.) This focus on well-being is based on evidence that abuse and neglect can have adverse effects across a child's lifetime, but certain interventions can reduce the behavioral, social, and emotional impacts of maltreatment.
This section is intended to help child welfare professionals stay abreast of current science, policy, practice, and systemic efforts to enhance child, youth, and family well-being. It highlights resources and materials from the Administration for Children and Families; the Administration on Children, Youth and Families; and the Children's Bureau, its grantees, and its Training and Technical Assistance Network.
- Supporting families to promote well-being from infancy to adolescence
- Linking well-being, mental health, substance abuse, and domestic violence
- Well-being and the courts
- Connecting well-being and permanency
- Collaborating toward well-being outcomes
ACYF-CB-IM-12-04: Promoting Social and Emotional Well-Being for Children and Youth Receiving Child Welfare Services (PDF - 149 KB)
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Children, Youth and Families (2012)
Explains the Administration on Children, Youth and Families' priority to promote social and emotional well-being for children and youth receiving child welfare services and encourages child welfare agencies to focus on improving the behavioral and social-emotional outcomes for children who have experienced abuse and/or neglect.
Integrating Safety, Permanency, and Well-Being for Children and Families in Child Welfare: A Summary of Administration on Children, Youth, and Families Projects in Fiscal Year 2012 (PDF - 818 KB)
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Children, Youth and Families (2012)
Examines the findings and lessons learned from a study of nine States that received waivers to conduct title IV-E child welfare demonstration projects to increase safety, permanency, and well-being for children and families involved with child welfare.
Well-Being
National Resource Center for Permanency and Family Connections
Offers a collection of resources, publications, teleconferences, and websites from States that address well-being as it relates to the child welfare system, income, community, cultural competence, and general well-being.
Well-Being and New Policy Directions for Child Welfare [Webinar]
Anderson & Stepleton (2012)
National Child Welfare Workforce Institute
Identifies four basic domains of well-being and articulates the need for trauma-informed screening, functional assessment, and effective evidence-informed interventions. A resource packet (PDF - 348 KB) is also available.
Well-Being Checklist (PDF - 260 KB)
Corinne Wolfe Children's Law Center, Advocacy, Inc., New Mexico CASA Network, University of New Mexico, New Mexico Children, Youth, and Families Department, New Mexico Citizens Review Board, & New Mexico Children's Court Improvement Commission (2011)
Child Protection Best Practices Bulletin: Innovative Strategies to Achieve Safety, Permanence, and Well-Being
Discusses extending the responsibility for achieving well-being outcomes to the larger community of individuals and agencies involved in the child welfare system. The bulletin includes several checklists with questions pertaining to preserving connections, enhancing family capacity, and services.