Other, Fact Sheet
Designed for judges, this bench card contains steps that judicial officers can take to help fathers participate in the child protection court process and case planning. (Author abstract modified)
Other, Fact Sheet
Designed for judges, this bench card contains ways in which judicial officers can help better engage fathers by understanding how men seek help and learn differently from women. They can also encourage the child welfare agency to work with fathers as often as mothers, offer services geared toward men's learning styles, and work as hard to find and engage fathers as mothers. (Author abstract modified)
Other, Fact Sheet
Identifying and locating fathers early helps children establish or maintain important connections with their fathers and paternal relatives. It also reduces delays in permanency, if the goal is adoption. Establishing paternity quickly after a putative father is located is critical to ensuring the case moves quickly and the father can assert and protect his constitutional rights to the care and custody of his child. Designed for judges, this bench card contains ways in which judicial officers can assist in this process. (Author abstract modified)
Federal law sets timelines for states' decisions about placing foster care children in permanent homes, and, in some cases, for filing to terminate parental rights. Some policymakers have questioned the reasonableness of these timelines for children of incarcerated parents and expressed interest in how states work with these families. GAO was asked to examine: (1) the number of foster care children with incarcerated parents, (2) strategies used by child welfare and corrections agencies in selected states that may support contact or reunification, and (3) how the Department of Health and Human…
Brief
Taking risks is fairly common in adolescence. Risky behaviors can be associated with serious, long-term, and -- in some cases -- life-threatening consequences. This is especially the case when adolescents engage in more than one harmful behavior. The tendency for risky behaviors to co-occur has been well-studied. Yet prevention efforts traditionally have taken a targeted approach, seeking to prevent a single risky behavior. A more powerful and cost-effective approach may be to employ strategies designed to address factors associated with multiple risky behaviors. This Research Brief brings…
This Accountability Checklist complements the Reasonable Efforts Checklist for Dependency Cases Involving Domestic Violence (Reasonable Efforts Checklist) by providing specialized information to hold perpetrators of domestic violence accountable in child protection cases. The Checklist will help judges: (1) Gather information needed to enhance decision-making on accountability issues; (2) Assess the risk posed by perpetrators to lessen perpetrator-generated safety threats to children and victim parents; (3) Review and tailor service plans to hold perpetrators accountable in ways that promote…
This fact sheet profiles the Parents as Teachers program, an evidence-based home visiting approach that builds strong families and promotes positive parent-child interaction so children are healthy, safe, and ready to learn. Findings from a 2004 study on the benefits and costs of prevention and early intervention programs are shared and indicate Parents as Teachers had the largest benefit per dollar of cost ($1.23) of all reviewed pre-kindergarten education programs for children up to age 3. Goals of the Parent as Teachers program are explained and include: enhance parent knowledge of child…
Brief
Designed for programs seeking to engage men and fathers, this brief explains the impact exposure to violence can cause on children and the harm that can result unless they receive support to help them cope and heal. The warning signs of exposure to violence are listed for children ages 5 and younger, children ages 6-12 years, and teenagers ages 13-18. The importance of fathers' engagement with their children to prevent and reduce the impact of exposure to violence is stressed, and the following recommendations are made for programs for engaging fathers: develop protocols to response…
This fact sheet examines the effect that having an incarcerated parent has on a child and provides recommendations for reforms.
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Training Materials This trainer's guide and trainee's guide provide information on working with African American fathers involved in the child welfare system. The materials discuss the historical relevance and current impact of slavery on African American fathers, the biases against African-American fathers by child welfare social workers and their agencies, solutions to the systemic biases against African-American father within child welfare, and the application of the principles of fairness and equity and associated skills and strategies in working with other culturally diverse families within child welfare…
