Kinship diversion, an alternative to foster care, is a common response to allegations of child abuse and neglect, yet little research has been conducted on this practice. An estimated 100,000 to 300,000 children are diverted from foster care to live with relatives each year. However, few jurisdictions collect data on the practice, making it challenging to understand these children’s experiences—and to decide whether kinship diversion is beneficial. For several years, with the support of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Child Trends has sought answers to key questions about kinship diversion…
This report, written by Wilder Research, a division of Amherst H. Wilder Foundation, outlines how to monetize the economic returns and avoided costs of outcomes typically associated with responsible fatherhood programs, plus additional potential, two-generation, long-term child development and family well-being outcomes of father engagement. It makes a strong economic case for investing in comprehensive responsible fatherhood programs, which would include GED programming, job placement services, diversion services as an alternative to incarceration, parenting education with play and learn…
Accessing affordable child care is a common challenge for parents; it is especially difficult for those with low incomes who need education or training to gain knowledge and skills that can lead to higher paying jobs. Ideally, parents seeking job-related education or training would be able to access child care assistance as part of enrolling in occupational programs, but access varies across states, localities, and training providers. Accessing care for education and training can depend on numerous factors—from local policies and funding to the availability of child care that meets parents…
Child advocacy organizations have proven the value of using data to make the case for policies and programs to improve the lives of children and families. Many state governments have also embraced the open data movement by using data portals to promote government transparency and increase data access. Child advocacy organizations and state governments can leverage open data to improve the lives of children and families. This brief describes the changes to current practice required on both sides to accomplish this goal. (Author abstract)
Where and when during childhood and adolescence do people acquire the foundations of financial capability? The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) researched the childhood origins of financial capability and well-being to identify those roots and to find promising practices and strategies to support their development. Our new report, “Building Blocks to Help Youth Achieve Financial Capability: A New Model and Recommendations,” illuminates critical attributes, abilities, and opportunities acquired during the years spanning preschool through young adulthood that support the development…
Research in the last three decades has established a clear link between parental involvement and children's educational attainment. While most of what we know is based on mother-child interactions, increased attention has been paid to the specific influences fathers and other male caregivers have on their children's development. This paper briefly summarises the findings from the field of father involvement that also address the issue of children's literacy practices. Since the literature on father involvement and children's literacy outcomes is limited with significant knowledge gaps, the…
Mandated by the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997, this annual report analyzes the performance of state child welfare agencies on seven child welfare outcomes including the recurrence of child abuse and neglect, permanency planning, placement stability, and the safety of children in foster care. See a list of all Child Welfare Outcomes Reports. Data were obtained from state reports provided to the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting Systems (AFCARS) and the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data… As described in earlier articles, children whose parents have higher income and education levels are more likely to grow up in stable two-parent households than their economically disadvantaged counterparts. These widening gaps in fathers' involvement in parenting and in the quality and stability of parents' relationships may reinforce disparities in outcomes for the next generation. This paper reviews evidence about the effectiveness of two strategies to strengthen fathers' involvement and family relationships-- fatherhood programs aimed at disadvantaged noncustodial fathers and relationship…
Young adults are typically eager to learn about relationships and how to succeed in them. Some are considering engagement/marriage whereas others are looking for guidance on how to make smart choices when it comes to dating partners. With a rate of 3.5 divorces per 1,000 people, many young adults have experienced the break up of their parents and are fearful of that same fate. College students are desperate to have only one, happy marriage, and they don't know whether this is possible anymore.The college years bring the need to negotiate new life roles and relationships. These years in…
Family Expectations (FE) is a program in Oklahoma City designed to strengthen the relationships of low-income couples who are expecting a baby or have just had a baby. For all families, this period is typically full of promise but also vulnerability. FE is one of eight sites that are participating in a large national evaluation of Building Strong Families (BSF), a federally funded program for unmarried parents. The underlying rationale for BSF is that relationship skills education and family support services provided to unmarried parents in a romantic relationship will help them learn how to…
