The scarcity of caregivers and the unique vulnerability of teens involved with the child welfare system necessitate effective strategies for ensuring that caregivers are prepared and supported in the important role they play with children and youth within the child welfare system. They are in a...

It is argued that the actual incidence of child maltreatment remains elusive and is, in fact, indeterminate. Factors that might be reflected in variations in child maltreatment rates, other than child harm or endangerment at least partially attributable to caretakers, are explored. But since...

Parental substance abuse is one of the most prominent reasons that children enter foster care. The relative role of substance type in delaying reunification has remained elusive. This study sought to understand the impact of parental use of alcohol, methamphetamine, other drugs, and...

Describing the needs and strengths of children residing in out-of-home care is essential to aid decision-making, to inform case planning, and to prioritize intervention in order to effectively meet the needs of these children. A cross-sectional study of 654 children between the ages of 5 and...

Research related to child welfare often suggests complicated relationships between child maltreatment, social disadvantage, program and policy effects, individual development, and population conditions that interact and change over time. New theories and conceptual models that account for this...

Although a growing literature defines significant components of systematic and effective implementation of evidence-based interventions (EBIs), little information exists about real-world successes and setbacks from child welfare practitioners' perspectives. This study sought to identify key...

Every year, a large number of children in the United States enter the foster care system. Many of them are eventually reunited with their biological parents or quickly adopted. A significant number, however, face long-term foster care, and some of these children are eventually adopted by their...

Decision makers typically face uncertainty in determining whether the outcomes of promising child welfare interventions justify the investment. Despite repeated calls for cost analysis in child welfare, original studies that evaluate the costs and effects of child welfare programs have been...

In recent years, the child welfare field has devoted significant attention to siblings in foster care. Policymakers and practitioners have supported efforts to connect siblings via shared foster placements and visitation while researchers have focused on illuminating the empirical foundations of...

A comprehensive residential education program for high school foster youth (the Academy) is examined as a potential model for emerging adults transitioning from foster care. Analyses of secondary data were conducted on outcomes for 478 alumni who attended the Academy over the past 10years....