In July 2018, The Journal of Public Child Welfare, published “Exploring trauma-informed practice in public child welfare through qualitative data-mining of case records,” by Sarah Taylor, Claire Battis, Sarah Carnochan, Colleen Henry, Margaret Balk, and Michael J. Austin.The study used qualitative data-mining to determine how trauma-informed practice manifested in the child welfare system. In response to a lawsuit, in 2011, the Courts mandated better coordination between the

In 2017, researchers published a study that found more than 50% of 2,241 youth ages 17-24 accessing homeless services in San Francisco County between 2011 and 2014 had a report to Children Protective Services (CPS) for child abuse or neglect during childhood. For the first time, researchers matched up administrative data from California CPS records and records of homeless youth accessing services. The study found that “Homeless female youth were significantly more likely to h

An article published in 2014 looked at a three-year program to recruit, train and support MSW students as Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) volunteers. CASA recruits, trains, and supports highly trained volunteers to provide a voice for foster children in the dependency courts. The school and CASA program were in an unnamed western state. The collaboration intended to provide Title IV-E students who would work in child welfare with an in-depth experience of foster care

A study published in 2015 looked at how poly-victimization impacted girls in the criminal justice system. This information is particularly pertinent to those of us who work with foster youth, who, by definition, have been the victims of abuse. It seems that interventions at both an early age and at adolescence could have a positive impact on the outcomes for girls who are survivors of abuse and who have witnessed violence in their family or community. There are three types o

The California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare (CEBC) recently released “Trauma-Informed Care in Short-Term Residential Therapeutic Programs and Foster Family Agencies” in response to a May 9, 2018 All County Information Notice (ACIN) issued by the California Department of Social Services (CDSS). The ACIN outlines the requirements for trauma-informed care (TIC) for Short-Term Residential Therapeutic Programs (STRTPs). STRTPs are part of the Continuum of Care R

It has been well established that foster youth have dismal educational outcomes. Less than half graduate from high school. Only 11.8% of former foster youth have a college degree by the time they are 25-years-old compared to 28% of their non-foster peers. Although these outcomes are well known, there has not been research on the experiences of foster youth in school until a recently published study examined this issue. A large-scale study published in 2018 comparing foster yo

Recently the California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse (CEBC) issued “A Guide for Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASAs)” CEBC is one of the best tools for easily finding evidence-based practices in child welfare. In an earlier blog I discuss this tool in more detail, and their guide for CASAs does not disappoint. It includes three sections: Understanding Evidence-Based Practices (EBP) Recorded CEBC Webinars, including “Knowing the best of what’s out there,” “Evidence-based

A study published in 2017 showed that the highest teen birth rates for foster youth in California were for young women who entered the system between the ages of 13 and 16, were in care for a relatively short period of time, lived in congregate care at the approximate date of conception, had a history of running away, and were Latina, Black or Native American. According to the study, Predictors of Early Childbirth Among Female Adolescents in Foster Care, the “Research indicat

Research in 2013 on a foster youth mentoring program in Texas shows that these programs need careful design, training, and support to be effective. Although the program had severe limitations due to the small sample size and because the outcomes were determined by satisfaction surveys of the youth and mentors as well as the subjective impressions of the mentors about how their youth fared rather than measurable outcomes, the findings have some valuable lessons, particularly f

Both male and female parents who age out of the foster care system have a 50% unemployment rate in the first year they exit the child welfare system. For those who are working the average annual earnings were just $7,310, which is considerably lower than the poverty level for a single parent with a child of $16,317 in 2014. Although employment was not correlated with the age of the youth at the birth of their first child, giving birth at younger ages did correlate with lower

A 2017 research study looked at educational outcomes for foster youth in extended foster care. Currently 22 states have some form of extended foster care for foster youth up to the age of 21. In comparing educational outcomes for youth who leave care at 18 and those remain in care the researchers determined that extended foster care has a dramatic impact on educational attainment for foster youth. The research found that for every additional year of foster care past age 18 th

Former foster youth studied in California, Minnesota and North Carolina had low rates of employment at age 24 compared to other low-income youth and to national comparison group of similarly aged youth. Additionally, female employment was higher than male employment, but they earned much less than their male counterparts, and African American unemployment rate was much higher than their White peers. Most problematic, the employment gaps worsen as foster youth age. By age 30,

The Center for State Child Welfare Data at the University of Chicago Chapin Hall released “Understanding the Differences in How Adolescents Leave Foster Care” in November 2017. The report finds age, gender, and racial differences for how adolescents leave foster care. Most foster youth leaving foster care for the first time will move to permanency, including reunification, adoption, and guardianship. The second most likely ways for youth to leave foster care is to age out or

It has been well documented that foster youth have high rates of prescribed psychotropic drug use. Most of this research has focused on children in the foster care system. A December 2017 study, however, examined the prevalence of behavioral health disorders, including substance use disorders, as well as the use of psychotropic medication and therapeutic counseling as foster youth transition into adulthood in California. The study found that positive screening for behavioral

This brief examines the “role that Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASAs) play in supporting crossover youth.The Center for Juvenile Justice Reform defines Crossover Youth as “youth who have experienced some form of abuse or neglect and who engage in delinquent behaviors regardless of the depth of their involvement in these systems.” A Court Appointed Special Advocate is a trained individual who is appointed by a judge to represent the best interests of an abused and negle

This article discusses three neuroscience concepts that the researcher recommends be included in trauma-informed care programs. The researcher notes that some standard intake processes may re-traumatize individuals because of its focus on the negative rather than strengths-based. The author makes four recommendations: “redesigning information gathering processes to decrease re-traumatization, “decreasing the use of labels such as ‘anti-social’ that do not take into account th

The most important points for from this study are the following: a. “the number of months youths spent in care after age 18 was significantly associated with the odds of finishing high school. Each month in care past age 18 increased the expected odds of completing high school by about eight percent.” b. “In particular, adults who had gone to college and whom foster youths turned to for advice and tangible support were particularly influential in increasing the chances that y

Research shows that the stress of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), such as physical or emotional abuse or losing a parent to divorce, imprisonment or foster care, has a long-term-impact on physical and mental health outcomes even 40 years later. The researchers in this study were able to empirically prove that there are four positive childhood experiences that moderate the effect of having three or more ACEs. These include: 1) Family stood by me; 2) Felt supported by fri