It’s National Foster Care Month! In honor of the month, please consider making a donation to Fostering Impact, a nonprofit promoting good foster care policy and practice.
Here’s the latest news:
In celebration of this month’s theme, let’s begin with an encouraging story about the value of foster parents from the AJC.
According to the National Association of Counsel for Children, over a dozen states still aren’t providing counsel for children in dependency cases. C’mon man! This is America!
In Louisiana, the Supreme Court is considering the constitutionality of a law “re-opening” for a three-year period child civil sex abuse claims that would otherwise be barred by the statute of limitations. Georgia’s Supreme Court has rejected challenges to the constitutionality of such a law and held that statutes of limitation are procedural, not substantive. As these laws retroactively re-opening the filing period for civil child sex abuse claims are increasingly adopted across the country, it will be interesting to see how the courts come down.
Ideas from Arkansas on leveraging technology to improve services for children in care.
I’m glad to see the growing media coverage regarding the lack of mental health treatment facilities for children with significant behavioral health issues. Here’s another good description of the problem out of Ohio. I still contend that a major root cause is the federal IMD exclusion. Of course, the US is not alone in struggling to meet the needs of children with significant mental health and autism challenges. Here’s a story from the UK about children with complex needs being “dumped” on regular hospital wards.
Here’s a bill designed to further tighten oversight of residential treatment centers for children and youth. Here’s another designed to improve foster care recruitment.
Tennessee just enacted a law designed to speed up time to permanency and better support foster parents. North Carolina is considering a bill to improve stability in placements and speed up permanency, as well.
This is interesting. Northern Arizona University is teaming up with Arizona’s DCS to provide occupational therapy for youth aging out of foster care. In my experience, OT is really good for addressing trauma and improving executive function and emotional regulation skills. It will be interesting to see what results they get.
There’s a new book out about the child welfare system: A Minor Revolution: How Prioritizing Kids Benefits Us All. I think I’ll read this book and report on it. In the interim, here’s an interview with the author.
Have a great week! And please consider sharing this post with a friend or colleague.