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Home > Research Areas > Child Welfare
CHILD WELFARE
The Child Welfare staff have research and direct practice experience in every area of the child welfare field, including:
- Rigorous evaluation
- Policy reform
- Developing and analyzing indicators of child well-being
Our Work
State Child Welfare
Policy Database
Information on
child welfare policies
by topic and state
Tools and resources for
states and localities
to implement the
Fostering Connections
to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act
(Public Law 110-351) and improve outcomes
for children in foster care.
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Adoption USA: A Chartbook on the 2007 National Survey of Adoptive Parents
Authored by Child Trends, this is the first-ever survey to provide representative information about the characteristics, adoption experiences, and well-being of adopted children and their families in the U.S. More...
Evaluation of Wendy's Wonderful Kids
Child Trends has been contracted by the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption to do a multi-year evaluation of Wendy's Wonderful Kids (Child Trends' evaluation), a program that awards grants to public and private adoption agencies in the U.S. and Canada to hire adoption professionals to aggressively move children from foster care into adoptive families.
Family Finding
Child Trends is evaluating several Family Finding programs across the country. The family finding model provides child welfare professionals with techniques to find and reconnect children in the foster care system to their biological families. Three reports have come out of this project:
Piecing Together the Puzzle: Tips and Techniques for Effective Discovery in Family Finding
Bringing Family to the Table: Tips and Techniques for Effective Family Engagement
Family Finding: Does Implementation Differ When Serving Different Child Welfare Populations?
Florida, Maryland, and Wisconsin, three Family Connections projects based on the Family Finding model, are being evaluated by Child Trends researchers.
Preventing Child Abuse
The Center for the Study of Social Policy asked Child Trends to identify indicators for use in evaluating demonstration programs aimed at preventing child maltreatment among children ages 0 to 5. The report,  Indicators for Child Maltreatment Prevention Programs , co-authored by Child Trends' Sharon Vandivere, was completed in September 2009.
What About the Dads?
Fathers are often not involved in child welfare cases and caseworkers may never know whether a father can help his child. What About the Dads? Child Welfare Agencies’ Efforts to Identify, Locate and Involve Nonresident Fathers (2006), authored by Karin Malm describes the steps that child welfare agencies usually take to identify, locate, and involve nonresident fathers in case planning; the barriers encountered; and the policies and practices that affect involvement.
RESOURCES
There are 58 resources.
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Client Voices: Youth, Parent, and Relative Perspectives on Family Finding
Bringewatt, E., Allen, T., Williams, S. C.
May 1, 2013
This brief examines client perspectives on family finding efforts and identifies ways agencies can improve services.
Family Foster Care Reimbursement Rates in the U.S. Section 4: Appendix; Attachments to State Profiles
DeVooght, K.; Blazey, D.
April 9, 2013
This is Section 4 of the report, Family Foster Care Reimbursement Rates in the U.S.: A Report from a 2012 National Survey on Family Foster Care Provider Classifications and Rates.
Family Foster Care Reimbursement Rates in the U.S. Section 3-State Family Foster Care Rate Profiles
DeVooght, K.; Blazey, D.
April 9, 2013
This is Section 3 of the report, Family Foster Care Reimbursement Rates in the U.S.: A Report from a 2012 National Survey on Family Foster Care Provider Classifications and Rates.
Family Foster Care Reimbursement Rates in the US: Report from a 2012 National Survey on Family Foster Care Provider Classifications & Rates
DeVooght, K.; Blazey, D.
April 9, 2013
This report presents findings from a national survey of states’ family foster care provider classifications and rates.
Putting Youth Relationship Education on the Child Welfare Agenda: Findings from a Research and Evaluation Review
M. E. Scott, K. A. Moore, A. J. Hawkins, K. Malm, M. Beltz
December 2012
This document reviews the research and evaluation evidence on relationship education for youth in foster care, discusses the needs of disadvantaged young people around intimate partner relationships, summarizes research on the implications of relationships for child development, identifies common ground and also gaps in the research, and identifies opportunities to further improve relationship skills among these disadvantaged young people.
Putting Youth Relationship Education on the Child Welfare Agenda: Findings from a Research and Evalution Review (Executive Summary)
M. E. Scott, K. A. Moore,
A. J. Hawkins, K. Malm, M. Beltz
December 2012
Child Trends reviewed existing evidence on a somewhat neglected topic: relationship education for youth in foster care. The goals of this research review were to identify the needs of disadvantaged young people around intimate partner relationships, to identify evaluated relationship education programs, to highlight and synthesize common themes and gaps in research and evaluation in this area, and to make recommendations about opportunities to improve relationship skills among vulnerable youth in foster care.
Using Implementation Science to Support and Align Practice and System Change: A Case Study of the Catawba County Child Well-being Project
Allison Metz, National Implementation Research Network; Karen Blase, National Implementation Research Network; Leah Bartley, National Implementation Research Network; Dawn Wilson, Catawba County Social Services; Phil Redmond, The Duke Endowment; Karin Malm, Child Trends
July 2012
This is the second brief in a series of three that describes how implementation science principles informed technical assistance strategies used in Catawba County to support the full and effective use of evidence-based and evidence-informed practices (EBPs/EIPs).
Federal, State, and Local Spending to Address Child Abuse and Neglect in SFYs 2008 and 2010
K. DeVooght, M. Fletcher, B. Vaughn, H. Cooper
June 2012
This report summarizes and discusses state-by-state child welfare financing data for SFYs 2008 and 2010 and national trends from a survey of 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
2011
Bringing Family to the Table: Tips and Techniques for Effective Family Engagement
S. C. Williams, K. Malm, T. Allen, R, Ellis
December 2011
This brief presents findings from the site visits, focusing specifically on the engagement process, the second component of the model. The brief describes current practice in the sites and identifies promising techniques, common challenges, and potential solutions to engaging family members and/or other important people in the child’s life.
Piecing Together the Puzzle: Tips and Techniques for Effective Discovery in Family Finding
T. Allen, K. Malm, S. C. Williams, R. Ellis
December 2011
This brief examines the discovery component of the model and identifies promising techniques and tools that family finding workers reported using to help facilitate
the discovery of family members or other important people in the child’s life.
Innovation Models for Evaluation of Family-Strengthening Interventions
J. Schneider Munoz, V. Holmes, R.A. R. Renteria
November 3, 2011
Presented to American Evaluation Association Annual Meeting
Anaheim, CA
Presentation focused on lessons learned from phase one of evaluation initiative to document changes in secondary data and community trends and report on reduction of risk of child abuse for specific cases participating in the Brevard C.A.R.E.S. family strengthening program.
Teen Parents in Foster Care: Risk Factors and Outcomes for Teens and Their Children
Jennifer Manlove, Kate Welti, Marci McCoy-Roth, Amanda Berger, Karin Malm
November 2011
In this research brief, Child Trends' goal is to increase decision makers’ understanding of this population of high-risk youth, to inform strategies to reduce teen pregnancies in foster care, and to support teen parents living in foster care and their children.
Implementation Update: The Fostering Connections Act
Marci McCoy-Roth
Voices for America's Children
October 21, 2011
Family Finding: Does Implementation Differ When Serving Different Child Welfare Populations?
Karin Malm, Tiffany Allen
October 2011
Before successful replication and adaptation of family finding services can occur, additional examination of the program models and how they differ across sites needs to occur.
What Helps and Hinders Me from Being Adopted: Voices of Youth in Foster Care from the Wendy's Wonderful Kids Evaluation
Child Trends
October 1, 2011
This brief summarizes previous research regarding challenges
to adoptions of older children in foster care and presents new
data from the voices of youth in foster care who received
services from the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption’s
Wendy’s Wonderful Kids (WWK) adoption recruitment
program.
Achieving Successful Adoptions: Voices of Prospective and Current Adoptive Parents from the Wendy's Wonderful Kids Evaluation
Child Trends
October 1, 2011
This brief summarizes previous research regarding barriers
and facilitators to successful adoptions, and presents new
data from the voices of prospective and current adoptive parents who received services from the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption’s Wendy’s Wonderful Kids (WWK)adoption recruitment program.
Wendy's Wonderful Kids Technical Report: Impact Findings
Child Trends
October 1, 2011
This technical report summarizes the impact findings of a national five-year evaluation of the impact of child-focused recruitment on foster care adoption.
Wendy's Wonderful Kids Technical Report: Program Description and Implementation
Child Trends
October 1, 2011
This is a program description and implentation report of a national five-year evaluation of the impact of child-focused recruitment on foster care adoption.
Wendy's Wonderful Kids Evaluation Report Summary
Child Trends
October 1, 2011
This report is a summary of a national five-year evaluation of the impact of child-focused recruitment on foster care adoption.
Child Welfare and Youth Homelessness: The Fostering Connections Act
Marci McCoy-Roth
National Alliance to End Homelessness Conference
Washington, DC
July 14, 2011
Statewide Child Maltreatment Needs Assessment and Evaluation Services Project
David Murphey, Kristine Andrews, Lori Delale-O’Connor, Dylan Knewstub
Ohio Children’s Trust Fund Stakeholders’ Meeting
Columbus, OH
June 27, 2011
Foster Care Data Snapshot
Amy McKlindon, Sharon Vandivere, David Murphey
May 2011
To coincide with National Foster Care Month in May, this Data Snapshot explores state and national
trends in the number of children in foster care, as well as the number entering foster care, each year
from 2000 to 2009.
Adopted from Foster Care: Child and Family Characteristics, Adoption Motivation, and Well-Being
May 2011
This research brief is the first of a two-part analysis that presents information on children adopted from foster care in the United States and their families using data from the 2007 National Survey of Adoptive Parents (NSAP) and the 2007 National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH). It describes the characteristics of children adopted from the U.S. foster care system and presents findings related to the well-being of the children and their families.
Children Adopted from Foster Care: Adoption Agreements, Adoption Subsidies, and Other Supports
May 2011
This research brief is the second of a two-part analysis that presents information on children adopted from foster care in the United States and their families using data from the 2007 National Survey of Adoptive Parents (NSAP) and the 2007 National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH). It presents information on post-adoption supports and services including adoption subsidy payments, and Medicaid coverage, and other services such as support groups for parents and children.
Child Maltreatment Data Snapshot
This Data Snapshot uses data from
the National Child Abuse and Neglect
Data System (NCANDS). The NCANDS
includes information provided by states from their child welfare administrative data systems on investigated reports of maltreatment.
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