Over the last year, the Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP), which manages the Alliance for Racial Equity in Child Welfare, has reviewed data and research literature, talked to young African American men who are in - or had been in - foster care and identified initiatives and strategies that are showing promise. This paper is a product of that work and is intended to: Summarize what we know about the situation of African American males involved with the child welfare system; Outline an approach to more effective action to improve outcomes for these boys and young men; and…
Report, Other
This report considers the role of family participation in government entities such as boards, advisory committees, and task forces that make policy and implementation decisions regarding services for California's 1.4 million children and youth with special health care needs (CSHCN). Information was gathered through interviews with parents, advocates, and administrators, a review of literature regarding family participation, and preliminary research regarding family participation on more than 60 California State- and county-level government policy entities that have role sin programs that…
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Journal Article Almost two-thirds of children in non-relative foster care live in homes headed by married couples. However, the literature includes little about either the role of foster fathers or the complexity and importance of the marital context for fostering. This study examined family functioning, overt interparental hostility, depression, and parental acceptance in a sample of 111 heterosexual foster parent couples and the relationship between family context and potential to foster parent successfully. Latent class analysis revealed three distinct types of foster parent couples, ?Good Context? (33…
Report, Other
This guide is designed to enhance the knowledge of evidence-informed and promising practices that address the needs of expectant and parenting youth in foster care and their children, and to provide a comprehensive set of resources for jurisdictions interested in achieving safety, permanency, and well-being for these young families. Information is drawn from a review of an expanded list of existing clearinghouses on evidence-informed programs, an internet search of programs, and phone interviews with programs to secure updated evaluation data. The resource guide is organized into three major…
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Journal Article This article discusses trends in adoption that indicate new concerns regarding a putative father’s constitutional rights, as well as the rise in State-run father registries and constitutional concerns presented in the absence of a National Responsible Father Registry (NRFR). Efforts that have been made to establish a NRFR are discussed, and the need for a NRFR and the constitutional balance a NRFR provides among all those involved in the adoption proceeding is emphasized. 130 references. (Author abstract modified)
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Journal Article Grandparents or other relatives are raising over 2.7 million children in the United States; and research suggests that the birth parents of these children maintain varying levels of involvement with them and their relative caregivers. However, the impact of parental involvement on children's developmental outcomes remains largely unexplored. This study sought to understand the role of maternal and paternal involvement (each parent's contact with the caregiver, contact with the child, friendliness to the caregiver, and quality of relationship with the child) on competence levels of African…
