A major initiative of Children’s Rights and the Children’s Defense Fund comprising three reports, several proposals for changes to federal policy, and ongoing outreach to federal legislators in support of improvements to the child welfare workforce nationwide. Related publications: Components of an Effective Child Welfare Workforce to Improve Outcomes for Children and Families (2006) List […]

A study of efforts to improve the child welfare workforce in the context of class action litigation in 12 states and localities across the nation, documenting the progress made and barriers encountered and providing a set of recommendations to guide current and future reform efforts.

A comprehensive review of the literature on the needs of children with disabilities in foster care, focusing on abuse and neglect, health and medical issues, educational challenges, foster parent training and support, and aging out of the foster care system.

A study of the impact of adoption subsidies on adoption, including a survey of hundreds of adoptive and prospective adoptive parents in six states to learn firsthand about the impact of adoption subsidies on their decision to adopt.

A best-practices guide to help caseworkers match children with prospective adoptive families, developed through interviews with child welfare professionals, adoptive families, and young adults formerly in foster care and designed to increase the number of successful, long-term adoptions.

Designed for adoption professionals and foster families who will be preparing children to be photolisted, this guide includes step-by-step instruction on how to write descriptions of children and take or arrange children’s photographs, and covers best practices on sharing information about children that will be viewed through channels that everyone can access.

States and cities across the country are now implementing concurrent planning as an answer to expediting permanency for children in foster care. This report documents the implementation of the process in New York State. Featuring interviews with state and national child welfare professionals as well as focus groups with parents, foster parents, and caseworkers, this […]

A qualitative study of emergency care, designed to achieve a better understanding of the use of emergency care services throughout the country and its impact on children. Full report available for order from the Child Welfare League of America.

An in-depth analysis of system wide statistical data provided by New York’s Administration of Children’s Services and interviews with more than 70 parents, young adults formerly in foster care, adoptive parents and child welfare professionals. Concrete recommendations suggest actions that can be taken to help move children through the system more quickly.

Two reports taking an in-depth look at child deaths in New York City from 1999-2001 and from 2003-2004.