Ensuring Appropriate Psychotropic Medication Usage for Children in Foster Care. In recent years, Texas has put a number of accountability measures in place to reduce the overprescription of serious drugs to kids in foster care. The new reports, however, indicate children need more protections put in place. Ensuring Appropriate Psychotropic Medication Usage for Children in Foster Care, a new brief by Texans Care's child welfare policy associate Ashley Harris, looks at what Texas can do to build on earlier efforts to limit foster children’s unnecessary exposure to mind-altering drugs.
Center for the Elimination of Disproportionality and Disparties (CEDD). The Center for the Elimination of Disproportionality and Disparities has released a new website designed for internal and external stakeholders and members of the public. The CEDD website will provide visitors information on current health equity initiatives, work efforts using the Texas Model to eliminate disproportionality and disparities regionally and statewide, and information on technical assistance and support services.
GAO Report on Psychotropic Medication Usuage. A recent report by the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that children in foster care in Florida, Massachusetts, Michigan, Oregon, and Texas were prescribed psychotropic medications 2.7 to 4.5 times higher than children who were not in foster care, with children in the Texas foster care system being the most likely to receive these types of medications compared to the other four states. Texas has made significant efforts to address the overutilization of psychotropic meds within foster care; however, these findings suggest Texas can do a better job of ensuring children and youth in foster care are being provided the care needed to improve their overall well-being and secure a path to permanency.
Disproportionality in Child Protective Services: Updated Results of Statewide Reform Efforts. This report assesses changes and efforts to address disproportionality since the initial publication of the March 2010 preliminary report. The updated report provides a brief overview of disporoportionality in Texas and provides analyses of the outcome of investigations and how other case and family factors influence these outcomes as it relates to disproportionality.
Portrait of Private Agencies in the Child Welfare System. This report highlights results from the National Survey of Private Child and Family Serving Agencies. The report provides detailed information on the characteristics and organizational structures of private agencies. Findings from this report acknowledge the essential role of the private sector within child welfare and the need for strong public/private partnerships.
Finding Your Way: Guides for Fathers in Child Protection Cases. This series of short guides provide important tips for non-custodial fathers involved in child protection cases. It is specifically written to address fathers on how they can best navigate the child welfare system and be active and engaged participants in their children's case. The issues addressed include, father's legal rights, child support and courtroom etiquette.
Family Leadership and Perspectives.This webpage offers resources, examples of parent leader recognition events, State and local examples/resources, PowerPoint presentations, bibliographies, and links to other websites on the topic of meaningful family engagement. Meaningful family engagement is becoming an important part of case practice within child welfare agencies and is seen to improve outcomes for children and their families.
Voices of Experience: Improving Mental Health Supports for Homeless & Transitioning Youth This report highlights a project developed by the Texas Network of Youth Services that provided youth 18-24 an opportunity to interview their peers to better understand the struggles homeless and transitioning foster youth endure as they transition to adulthood and provides recommendations for addressing those challenges.
The Children's Defense Fund (CDF) recently published,The State of America's Children 2011. To view the full interactive report, visit here.
Foster Care: Fast Tracking Relatives Who Care for Kids.This report published by the Center for Public Policy Priorities creates a framework for evaluating the various standards for licensing to determine which ones should be waived under the federal Fostering Connections provision that allows states to waive "non-safety" standards for certain relative caregivers.
Licensing Relatives as Foster Parents.This short primer by Jane Burstain at the Center for Public Policy Priority describes the licensing process for relative caregivers and provides information on how legal parties and other advocates can assist relatives through the process.
Running Away from Foster Care: Youths' Knowledge and Access of Services. New research suggests that youth who have had multiple foster care placements are more likely to run away from their homes than youth who have only been placed once in a foster care setting.The report also highlights reasons why youth runaway from foster care, service barriers for runaway youth, and their knowledge of available services.
Regional Statistical Information About Children in DFPS Care. DFPS has posted the latest regional statistical information about children in DFPS care (May 2011). This information is updated quarterly. To view this information, visit this page.
Ensuring the Child Welfare System Works for All Texas Children. Recently released by Texans Care for Children, this policy paper examines how disproportionality impacts the children served by Child Protective Services. Additionally, the paper examines why children of different racial and ethnic backgrounds face differing outcomes within the child welfare system, what Texas has done to address disproportionality, and what Texans can continue to do to ensure all children receive appropriate care.
Addressing the Needs of Immigrant Children. The Spring 2011 issue of The Future of Children, a project of Princeton University and the Brookings Institution, is devoted to immigrant children--defined as children birth to age 17 who have at least one foreign-born parent. The volume's ten chapters address issues ranging from physical and psychological health, to living arrangements, educational outcomes, and acclamation to life in the US. The full volume and article summaries, is available at http://www. futureofchildren.org/
Foster Care Statistics 2009. The Federal Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) collects information on all children in foster care. This fact sheet provides the most recent national statistical estimates for children and youth in foster care from fiscal year (FY) 2009 and also provides earlier data from FY 2000.
Permanency Planning Today Winter Issue. The National Resource Center for Permanency and Family Connections (NRCPFC) recently released its Winter 2011 issue of Permanency Planning Today, a compilation of articles and resources related to meaningful family partnerships in the child welfare practice and initiatives related to creating beneficial living arrangements for children in the child welfare system.
Strengthening Representation of Parents in Child Welfare. The National Project to Improve Representation for Parents Involved in the Child Welfare System, a collaboration between the American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Steering Committee, and Casey Family Programs, is an initiative that aims to strengthen the representation of parents involved in the child welfare system, and to give them a voice in the process. To learn more, visit the project's webpage here.
The Transition to Adulthood: How States Can Support Older Youth in Foster Care. This article, released by The National Governors Association (NGA) Center for Best Practices, presents effective strategies that States can use to support older foster youth through the transition from the foster system to adulthood.
Impact of Changes to Foster Parent Reimbursement Rates. Published by the University of Minnesota's Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare, this report details information on the foster parent reimbursement rates and how those rates affect the number and quality of foster homes.
Addressing Racial Disproportionality in Child Welfare. This issue brief, released by the Administration for Children and Families of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, describes effort to address racial disproportionality in child welfare processes and practices. The efforts presented include policy proposals and practice suggestions supported by examples of current State and local initiatives.
How Out-of -School Time Program Quality is Related to Adolescent Outcomes. This research brief, produced by Child Trends, discusses positive outcomes in youth involved in high-quality out-of-school time commitments. The full report can be found here.
Former Foster Kids Struggle to Get Records. This article, published by the Texas Tribune, details the struggle that kids who have aged out of the foster care system face when attempting to retrieve their records. In the article describes a pattern of youth's requests being denied. The article also depicts the efforts that have been made by attorneys and others involved in the legal sphere to correct the struggle faced by those trying to receive copies of their records.
Permanency Planning and Family-Based Alternatives Report. In response to Senate Bill 368 of the 77th Legislature, the "Permanency Planning and Family-Based Alternatives Report" describes the efforts of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) to monitor child development and ensure the placement and permanency plans of children with developmental disabilities.
The Nation's Children 2010. Published by the Child Welfare League of America (CWLA), this reportgives data and information on the well-being of children throughout the nation.
Number of Youth Aging out of Foster Care Continues to Rise. This article discusses the climbing rate of youth aging out of the foster care, a number that has grown 64% since 1999. The article offers a factsheet on specific data and discusses efforts that have been made to reduce the number of children who age out of the foster care system.
