Current Initiatives & Issues

The Children's Bureau is involved in initiatives and events that provide for the safety, permanency, and well-being of children and families. The following resources provide up-to-date information on a variety of issues related to child welfare:

Initiatives

The Administration for Children and Families and the Children's Bureau are currently involved in the following initiatives.

• Adoption Excellence Awards - The Adoption Excellence Awards are designed to recognize excellence in achieving the goals of safety, permanency, and well-being of children in out-of-home care.

• April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month - The 2008 Child Abuse Prevention website provides resources for communities to help parents understand and meet their children's needs and protect them from harm.

• May is National Foster Care Month - National Foster Care Month in May provides an opportunity for people all across the nation to get involved, whether as foster parents, volunteers, mentors, employers or in other ways.

• Systems of Care Curriculum for Child Welfare: Primer Hands On-Child Welfare - This curriculum is the result of a collaboration between the Children's Bureau, the National Resource Center (NRC) on Organizational Improvement, and the other NRC's in the Bureau's Training and Technical Assistance Network, the National Technical Assistance Center for Children's Mental Health at Georgetown University, and the Human Service Collaborative. Primer Hands On-Child Welfare includes 10 modules, each with PowerPoint slides, handouts, exercises, and case scenarios, as well as additional related materials.

• National Court and Child Welfare Collaborative: Focus on System Reform (October 2006) - Announcement of three leading national organizations dealing with court issues relating to children and families on forming a Collaborative with a goal of improving outcomes for abused and neglected children.

• Children's Bureau Response to Tribal Comments - Comments from the Administration for Native Americans Consultation and Conference on December 5, 2005.

• Tribal-State Relations - This issue brief is intended to help States and Tribes find ways to work together more effectively to meet the goals of ICWA.

• November is National Adoption Month - The purpose of National Adoption Month is to raise awareness about children in foster care nationwide waiting for permanent families. Recruitment efforts are highlighted throughout the National Adoption Month website to encourage America's families to "answer the call" to ensure the safety, permanency, and well-being of our children.

• The Healthy Marriage Initiative - President Bush has proposed a Healthy Marriage Initiative to help couples, who have chosen marriage for themselves, gain access to services where they can acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to form and sustain healthy marriages.

• The Faith-Based and Community Initiative - The goal initiative is to help grassroots organizations compete equally for federal dollars and face fewer bureaucratic barriers.

• Administration for Children and Families Initiatives - A complete list of current ACF initiatives.

Issues

The Children's Bureau provides resources that highlight current issues in the child welfare field.

• The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) offer a monthly update to provide the public and other interested parties with up-to-date information on CMS's efforts to implement new legislation, including the Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA). In addition, the Medicare website also offers a number of publications regarding MMA that may help recipients make decisions regarding their coverage.

• The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has identified various scenarios that certain groups of Medicare beneficiaries might encounter in trying to access the new prescription drug benefits, and has provided guidance on how to respond to inquiries regarding these circumstances. They have also provided contact information for Regional Assistance Centers that can help answer other questions that might arise. As these new scenarios are submitted and answered, they will be added to those that are currently in the chart.

• Comprehensive Family Assessment Guidelines for Child Welfare - These guidelines address the components of comprehensive family assessment, show the linkages to service planning and service provision, and illustrate how child welfare agencies can support their use. These guidelines are provided as an initial framework to facilitate efforts to move the child welfare community towards comprehensive assessment as a best practice. (PDF - 301 KB)

• Hurricane Katrina Relief Resources - In response to Hurricane Katrina, the National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect has compiled a list of resources to assist children, parents, and child welfare agencies in coping with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

• Impact of Methamphetamines on the Child Welfare System - Methamphetamine use is a growing problem for children and families across the country. Child welfare workers need to know what this drug is and how it affects users. These resources explore the scope of the problem and provide information on responding to and treating methamphetamine use.

• The Importance of Fathers in the Healthy Development of Children - This manual addresses both the opportunities and challenges that CPS caseworkers encounter while working with fathers. (PDF - 1,163 KB)

• Methamphetamine: The Child Welfare Impact and Response — Conference Proceedings - Proceedings from the May 2006 Children's Bureau conference on Methamphetamines and the impact of the drug on children and families, held in partnership with SAMHSA's Center for Substance Abuse Treatment and the Child Care Bureau.

• Report to Congress on Adoption and Other Permanency Outcomes for Children in Foster Care: Focus on Older Children - Report to Congress on the challenges for older children in foster care to achieve permanency and promising strategies being employed across the country to address these issues. (PDF - 286 KB)

• A Report to Congress on Interjurisdictional Adoption of Children in Foster Care - Describes the nature, scope, and impact of interjurisdictional adoption placement efforts and the strategies that improve outcomes for children in foster care who are placed for adoption in other jurisdictions. (PDF - 218 KB)

Other Related Links

• 16th National Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect - Information on the 16th National Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect, held April 16 to 21, 2007, is now available. View registration information, plenary speakers, conference offerings and more.

• Systems of Care - The Child Welfare Information Gateway provides resources for professionals to learn about systems of care, build systems of care in their communities, and communicate with other professionals engaged in the process.