The Imprint News’ Post

"In the perfect world, ensuring a child’s safety shouldn’t have to be a struggle. But sometimes, certain critical measures are needed, and now, the steps to offer these measures are a little easier. The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) within the Department of Health and Human Services last week amended its regulation at 45 C.F.R. 1356 to expand access to legal representation for children who are eligible for title IV-E foster care, their parents, kinship caregivers, Indian custodians and tribes by allowing state and tribal child welfare agencies to use federal funds to provide legal representation." Read the full blog post here: https://lnkd.in/eeDFxJzh #HHS #ACF #grants #courts #FosterCare #families 

Family policing (misnomered “child protection/CPS/child welfare/foster care”) is a Public Health EMERGENCY. OPINION- GUEST ESSAY Surgeon General: Parents Are at Their Wits’ End. We Can Do Better. Aug. 28, 2024 https://lnkd.in/gjpmaDMi Vivek Murthy #AbolishFamilyPolicing #RepealCAPTA #RepealASFA #SupportFamiliesNotSystems

Federal law requires all state child welfare agencies to make “reasonable efforts” to prevent the removal of a child from their family when safety issues can be addressed in other ways, and to make “reasonable efforts” to reunify a child with their family if they must be placed in foster care. With the goal of keeping more families together, some states are creating a higher standard of “active efforts” for some or all children, to prevent foster care placement and to support reunification. “Active efforts” has long been the so-called “gold standard” established for the protection of Native American children under the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). https://lnkd.in/eYi4JsBj

White saviorism is a palatable (to white folx) form of white supremacy. When our discriminatory and prejudice beliefs are sold as evidence-basedbest practice/, we can wield this power and privilege in extremely harmful ways. Social work has a very dark history of colluding with systems to oppress and control vulnerable communities. This is a perfect example of what this looks like. I hope she is held accountable, knowing the harm she has caused over FOUR decades. #accountability #whitesupremacy #socialcontrol #socialwork #childwelfare #fostercaresystem #reunification #povery #systemicoppression

Dive into my latest blog post https://wix.to/R1Av5KV about the Biden administration changes impacting LBGTQ foster children. Learn more about how this affects Child Welfare and family first! #FosterCare #FamilyFirst #LGBTQYouth #ChildWelfare #Equity#clball.org#clball

Social work is integral to Voices for Children and our mission. Social workers play a vital role in providing critical support to children living in foster care and our Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteers. Social workers have expertise in assessing and addressing the needs of children and families. They may guide a CASA in understanding the child's history, needs, and strengths. Social workers can also assist with identifying resources and services that may be helpful to the child and their family, such as counseling, medical care, or educational support. They can help facilitate communication and collaboration between the various parties involved in the child welfare system, including the CASA, the child's family, the courts, and other professionals. Ultimately, the partnership between social workers and CASA volunteers can be a powerful force for positive change in the lives of children in foster care. We appreciate all social workers' important role in the child welfare system and commend their efforts to help individuals, families, and communities. #socialworkday #communitybuilding #advocacy #empathyinaction #strengthinunity #courtappointedspecialadvocates #fostercare #childwelfare #socialwork #socialworkersrock #socialworkmonth #volunteer #becomeacasa #community #giveback #dogood #makeadifference #helpothers

House Passes Bipartisan Bill to Address Challenges in the Foster Care System The House passed H.R. 9076, the Protecting America’s Children by Strengthening Families Act. Sponsored by Representative Darin LaHood (R-IL), the bi-partisan measure passed with a vote of 405-10. This bipartisan bill represents a major reauthorization and reform of child welfare programs under Title IV-B of the Social Security Act and focuses on addressing challenges within the foster care system. With approximately 369,000 children currently in foster care across the country, the bill aims to strengthen family structures and enhance the well-being of foster children. The legislation has received support from 228 child welfare organizations and 26 governors. Key provisions include reducing paperwork for state agencies, enhancing support for grandparents providing kinship care, streamlining funding access for Indian tribes, addressing the caseworker shortage through improved technology and training, improving outcomes for youth aging out of foster care up to age 26, supporting evidence-based services to prevent child abuse and neglect related to poverty, and evaluating adoption services. The Senate has not taken action on this issue. https://lnkd.in/ecXvvBEK? s=1&r=2&q=%7B%22search%22%3A%22Supporting+Americas+children+and+families+act%22%7D

Policy and Advocacy Intern, Rachel Hamid, discusses one of the significant Children’s Agenda wins from the 2021 Oregon legislative session, SB 562, known as the Strengthen the Oregon Indian Child Welfare Act. The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) is a federal law protecting the rights of Native children by allowing their parents, tribe, or tribal guardian to be involved in decisions regarding a child’s guardianship, parental rights, foster placement, and adoption. Data shows us Indigenous children are disproportionately sent to out-of home-placements. For example, 4% to 5% of Native American or Alaska Native children are in foster care, despite only making up about 1% of the total youth population in Oregon. ICWA supports children descended from federally recognized tribes by giving their tribe a voice in cases regarding guardianship and ensuring tribal youth are raised by tribal members. - - - #ourchildrenoregon #childrensagenda #pnw #pnwkids #pnwfamily #oregon #portland #pdx #pacificnorthwest #oregoncoast #portlandoregon #everychildmatters #progessnotperfection #childrenshealth #literacy #earlychildhood #education #educationmatters #salemoregon #bendoregon #corvallis #policy #advocacy #students #kidscount

https://lnkd.in/emASsuBW We know the system is operating the way it was designed to. No way we will see change by doing things the same without actually listening to “consumer” voices as the Department of Children and Families calls us. Where’s the customer satisfaction? Where’s the changes in racist practices? We either get a meaningful role in accountability, transparency in the process of selecting a new DCF commissioner to lead the “Child Welfare system” as we know to be family police and not the helping agency they claim to be.