HKS Government Performance Lab’s Post

Are we truly listening to grandfamily caregivers? Nationwide, for every 19 children living with relatives, only 1 is part of the child welfare system. Why do 18 out of 19 children remain in informal care? Discover the real reasons behind this disparity and what we can do to better support these families. Dive into our latest article to learn more about the challenges and potential solutions for kinship care. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eRZ5j7Qw

The child welfare system is inundated with cases – some attorneys juggling over a hundred cases each, case managers and CPS Investigators overwhelmed, often unable to truly connect with the children or families they're meant to serve. This situation is not just unfortunate; it's unsustainable. It's like witnessing the Titanic not just hit the iceberg but also flood uncontrollably, while WE, the community and legislators stand by as critical observers. The hard truth that we must confront is this: CPS doesn't proactively seek out families to investigate. They are responding to US – the community. They are flooded with OUR calls of families living in poverty, with OUR demands for action. And when they can't keep up, we call again, relentlessly. This isn't a mere departmental failure; it's a societal one. Where do we draw the line between our responsibilities and those of the government? The more I ponder this, the more I am convinced that the challenges within CPS are a convenient scapegoat that masks the larger, more complex issues at play. These issues are rooted in our communities, in policies, in our collective attitudes, and in our approach to supporting each other. We cannot hope to reform or transform our way out of this crisis through the system. What we need is a fundamental shift in our societal perspective. We need to transition from a culture of judgment and surveillance to one of support and prevention. The solution lies in a community-based approach, where we all take part in nurturing and protecting vulnerable families. Only then can we hope to alleviate the overwhelming burden on our child welfare system and create a more compassionate and effective approach to supporting families in their time of need. #familywellbeing #childwelfare #justhelp #community

A groundbreaking report from The New York Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights highlights the ongoing discriminatory practices against Black families within New York State’s child welfare system. The report draws from powerful testimonies from advocates, parents, and children most affected by New York’s child welfare system, and urges federal leaders to adopt a transformative approach prioritizing family preservation over current punitive measures.   The testimonies of advocates, parents, and children affected by the child welfare system, submitted over the past two years, have culminated in a series of recommendations and a comprehensive roadmap for the State and federal government to improve or replace existing laws, ensuring better support for children and families.   The Committee’s recommendations require shifting from punitive child protection practices to a framework that prioritizes care and support. To fully realize these recommendations, all efforts must center on lived experiences and actively promote racial equity.   It’s time to transform these findings into action, dismantle harmful practices, and provide families with the resources and supports to strengthen and keep them together.

The US Child Welfare System is Unsafe and Needs Reform-Prevention, Family Preservation, & Removal Protocols Know the Facts: The US Child Welfare System Forcible child separation, generational trauma, abuse, negligence, corruption, lies, and death. The #1 reason a child is forcibly removed from their family is poverty. The truth about the ‘System’ and those who have failed to act to protect our nation’s most vulnerable populations for decades. How Do We Fix the US Child Welfare System Federal reforms must be enacted immediately to keep all children and families safe and thriving. Studies show the #1 deterrent to child neglect, abuse and trafficking is to provide low-income families with support. (SO LET'S DO THAT!) The US Child Welfare System must employ a ‘Prevention First Platform’. Training, policies, procedures, and protocols need to be updated throughout the US Department of HHS, DHS, and social services to implement a cultural and behavioral shift to prioritize family preservation services.

⭐Dorset's Innovative Family Justice Pilot Promises Positive Change⭐ This weeks article from Social Work Today, highlights a promising pilot scheme being trialled by Dorset council, which aims to create the conditions for families to get the help they and their children need at an earlier stage in an attempt to avert the need for care proceedings. Pilot aims:💭 🔷 Empowering Families: The pilot's goal is to allow families to understand and address social workers' concerns, ensuring their voices are heard in the decision-making process. 🔷 Effective Partnership: Practitioners will be better equipped to work effectively with families, enhancing the overall efficiency of the child welfare and family justice system. 🔷 Inclusive Discussions: The pilot starts with inclusive discussions involving families with experience in the child welfare system, social workers, senior managers, judges, and other professionals to identify successful practices in the current system, and areas for improvement.   Theresa Leavy, Executive Director for People – Children at Dorset Council UK, said they are “delighted” to be the pilot area, at a time where record numbers of children are currently in the care system. The Dorset pilot is part of a wider ‘Reimagining pre-proceedings’ project, which aims to create system change by implementing, and embedding in pre-proceedings work with children and families, learning from the Care Crisis Review and other key reports. It's great to see families being involved in the decision making process in order to try and implement positive change in pre-proceedings. I'm sure many, like myself will be keeping a close eye on the positive impact the pilot has on families in Dorset in the near future.😁 #socialwork #careproceedings #familiesfirst

Over the past many years, we have seen a movement within our family serving systems – from substance abuse to child welfare – to include the people impacted most by those systems in the planning and decision-making processes. Organizations like Think of Us have been founded by and for people that have been impacted by the child welfare system. Bregetta Wilson, MS, LPC, our guest from season 1, leads a team of Parent Leaders at our Wisconsin Department of Children and Families that has advised changes to our state’s child welfare policies and procedures. At Children's Wisconsin’s, we have a Parent Advocate, Esmeralda Martinez, whose lived experience informs her role and the support she provides to parents that are living a similar experience to her own. So how might we advance these movements to meet the promise of “Nothing about us, without us”? How might we learn from people with lived experience about what overloads families in the first place, so that we might support them before child welfare and family separation is needed? How might we create the power balance that Liz Weaver discusses in episode 2 where those with lived experience have the influence to make meaningful changes to the decisions and systems that impact them the most? And lastly, how might we support our lived experience partners so that we don’t overload them or cause harm? Esmeralda Martinez joins the podcast to answer these questions through her experience and expertise. Listen here: https://lnkd.in/eyfmaR6T and subscribe wherever you listen to your podcasts. Wellpoint Care Network, Meta House, Rogers Behavioral Health #livedexperience #parentadvocate #peersupport #trust #substanceabuse #domesticviolence #neglect #overloadedfamilies #childwelfare

Brightpoint, in partnership with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the University of Connecticut, the William T. Grant Foundation, and the Doris Duke Foundation, has publicly launched Empower Parenting with Resources (EmPwR) program. EmPwR is the nation’s largest guaranteed income pilot program for families involved in the child welfare system. This initiative will provide families with a monthly cash stipend to assess the impact of financial stability on family well-being and child welfare outcomes. At Brightpoint, we believe that economic stability is key to family stability. Our research has shown that families with financial security are less likely to encounter the child welfare system, leading to better outcomes for children. This program exemplifies Brightpoint’s commitment to testing strategies to advance sound public policies based on research and best practices. EmPwR is a collaboration between our Ahlquist Center for Policy, Practice & Innovation and our committed child welfare staff and illustrates the potential when direct services are coupled with innovation, and we leverage our partnerships to advance change. It also reflects our commitment to preventing the need for foster care and highlights the crucial role economic stability plays in ensuring family well-being. Read the full press release, https://lnkd.in/g7ZSp9SN. For more detailed information about the Empower Parenting with Resources (EmPwR) program and its impact on family stability and child welfare outcomes, visit www.empwrstudy.com.  #Brightpoint #EmPwR #ChildWelfare #FamilyStability #EconomicStability #SocialImpact #CommunitySupport #StrongFamilies #ThrivingChildren

A growing body of research shows using economic and concrete supports to help families meet basic needs can prevent unnecessary contact with the #ChildWelfare system. We explain the different ways that states are using flexible funds to provide concrete supports to families in our new policy brief: https://lnkd.in/gfpH_ARR Our brief shares recommendations to expand family and economic and concrete supports, including: 1. Provide direct cash assistance to families at risk of child welfare involvement to promote family dignity, address racial inequities, and more. 2. Engage experts with #LivedExperience to co-develop pathways for families to equitably access economic and concrete support services in their communities.

Check out this powerful discussion with JERMAINE REED about the impact of CPS on Black families, the role of mandated reporting, and the need for community collaboration. One of my favorite quotes from the episode is, “The mandatory reporting system is to child welfare what the aorta is to the human body; it’s the main artery”.  I could not agree more. Time to cut it off!

Earlier this year, Jermaine Reed hosted the Color of Child Welfare conference, which included a keynote by Dorothy Roberts, author of Torn Apart. Ms. Roberts wrote an article last year titled, “Why End Mandated Reporting”, where she writes: “Poor and low-income families are more likely to come in contact with professionals who are mandated to report child maltreatment. Receiving social services, relying on welfare benefits, living in public housing or shelters, and using public clinics all subject parents to an extra layer of surveillance by government workers who are quick to report when they suspect maltreatment or a family’s needs for services.” This system has led to the troubling reality where 53% of Black children and 1 in 3 of all children in the United States are subject to a child maltreatment investigation. How does our current system of mandated reporting discourage families from seeking the help that they need due to fear of ending up in the child welfare system? How does it create moral dilemmas for the helpers – teachers, social workers, doctors and nurses – who feel compelled to report a family under the weight of the potential consequences if they don’t? How might we transform mandated reporting into community collaboration that lifts overloaded families over their challenges? Jermaine Reed from Fresh Start Family Services joins the podcast to share his expertise and explore these questions. Listen here: https://lnkd.in/eyfmaR6T and subscribe wherever you listen to your podcasts. Joy DeGruy, National Children's Bureau, Administration for Children and Families (ACF) #diversityequityinclusion #bias #mandated #overloaded #neglect #inclusion #workforce #discrimination