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Background
Although mandatory reporting has grown substantially in scope and geographical coverage, there is limited empirical evidence to support its effectiveness in preventing harm to children. In the absence of rigorous evaluations, comparing the perspectives of individuals who work in systems with and without mandatory reporting provides important insights.
Objective
The purpose of this analysis was to compare perspectives of frontline workers, administrators, and experts in child abuse and neglect in a system with mandatory reporting (Colorado, United States) and one without…
ABSTRACT
The child welfare system is overdue for substantial transformation. Families and communities of color have experienced the brunt of the failings and limitations present in current policy and practice. A transformed approach is needed that prioritizes maltreatment prevention, racial equity, and child and family well-being. The Family First Prevention Services Act is an important step in this effort, although its scope falls short of the significant changes that are needed to effectively serve children and families. Transformation requires intentional efforts to disentangle poverty…
On 20-21 October 2020, the Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP) and the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work (GCSW) held two-day virtual conversations with organizers, activists, scholars, and community leaders to strategize innovative ways to create a society in which the forcible separation of children from their families is no longer an acceptable solution for families in need.
This video includes two panel discussions (followed by audience Q & A) featuring: Hon. William A. Thorne, Former Tribal and State Court Judge (Trial and Appellate),…
On 20-21 October 2020, the Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP) and the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work (GCSW) held two-day virtual conversations with organizers, activists, scholars, and community leaders to strategize innovative ways to create a society in which the forcible separation of children from their families is no longer an acceptable solution for families in need.
This video features Lisa Sangoi, Co-Founder and Co-Director, Movement for Family Power as the opening keynote speaker. The video also includes remarks from Alan…
ABSTRACT
The child welfare system disproportionately harms Black children and families through systemic over-surveillance, over-involvement, and the resulting adverse outcomes associated with foster care. Ending this harm will only be achieved when the forcible surveillance and separation of children from their parents is no longer viewed as an acceptable form of intervention. This paper describes the upEND movement, a collaborative movement aimed at abolishing the child welfare system as we know it and reimagining how we as a society support child, family, and community safety and well-…
Focusing on three critical facets of the U.S. child welfare system — reporting and investigating maltreatment, placement and other system metrics, and permanency — this Essay explores how the pandemic impacts the child welfare system and how the system should respond. Analyzing Florida’s public data and emergency policies, this Essay provides a more data-driven picture of the pandemic’s impact on the child welfare system during the first six months after states imposed stay-at-home policies. This Essay also contextualizes recommendations for how the system should respond within an analysis of…
Who We Are
The Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP) and the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work have collaborated to create the upEND movement, a grassroots advocacy network designed to tap into work already being done and spark new work that will ultimately create a society in which the forcible separation of children from their families is no longer an acceptable solution for families in need.
Why We Need Change
Racism is deeply rooted in child welfare systems’ history, policies, and practices. But despite significant and frequent reform efforts, it has…
In partnership with the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work, the upEND movement works to create a society in which the forcible separation of children from their families is no longer an acceptable solution for families in need. The work of the upEND movement isn’t about reform, it is about ending the current U.S. child welfare system as we know it; it is about the abolition of child welfare through the creation of new, anti-racist structures and practices to keep children safe and protected in their homes. It is about changing our approaches to family poverty and…
As the keynote speaker at the Family Inclusion Network South East Queensland’s Global Day of Parents Forum on Tuesday, 4th June, sociologist David Tobis told the story of how parents worked with allies in New York City for over twenty years to bring about dramatic change to the child protection system. This article describes the keynote address and the story of the parents and allies who changed the child protection system in New York City.
Abstract
This chapter of Foster Care and Best Interests of the Child provides a template for evaluating and reforming the U.S. foster care system to prioritize the best interests of children. We draw on the subspecialty of program evaluation to construct a logic model for the foster care system that connects the system’s inputs (resources), activities, outputs (intended results of fidelity to program model), and outcomes (intended intermediate and long-term…