A pair of longitudinal studies published in 2017 demonstrate both the complexity of implementing trauma systems therapy (TST) in child welfare, and the substantially improved outcomes for foster children when a child welfare system implements it. The studies show that no single provider in the system is key to its success, but rather that it is important to include all the providers in training on trauma informed care, Including, therapist, case managers, supervisors, and fos

“Predictive analytics refers to the practice of extracting information from existing data sets and identifying patterns that may help to predict future outcomes.” (p. 4 of Chapin Hall/Chadwick Center report) Increasingly, child welfare systems are using these systems to try to determine which children may be in imminent danger from abuse and/or neglect. In September 2018, Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago and the Chadwick Center released a report titled, “Making the Mo

A May 2018 study titled, “The role of school climate in rates of depression and suicidal ideation among school-attending foster youth in California public schools” examined how school environment impacted depression and suicidal ideation for foster youth. Among the most disturbing finding is that female foster youth have extremely high rates of both depression and suicidal ideation compared to both male foster youth and other vulnerable populations such as LGBTQ youth. A star

In Spring 2017, Advances in Social Work published an article titled, “Identifying Trauma-Related and Mental Health Needs: The Implementation of Screening in California’s Child Welfare Systems” by Brent R. Crandal, Andrea L. Hazen, and Jennifer Rolls Reutz. The researchers surveyed county administrators of 46 of the 58 county child welfare agencies in California to determine if and how they are screening for the mental health needs of foster children, particularly the need for

Three studies on permanency outcomes for children adopted or placed in guardianship from the foster care system all found that multiple placements while in foster care was a risk factor for a disrupted adoption or guardianship placement. Each study found other risk and protective factors, but the one consistent finding was that multiple placements in foster care are not in the best interest of children. The first study titled “Predicting re-involvement for children adopted o

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

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