Overview

Child Welfare is a critical state responsibility and includes protecting children from abuse and neglect, and ensuring that children have safe, stable, and permanent living situations. States and the federal government spend about $25 billion every year on child welfare services.  State legislators play a major role in funding, structuring, and overseeing child welfare systems and enact more than 300 child welfare bills every year. NCSL tracks these issues in the following major categories: foster care, adoption, child abuse and neglect, kinship care, child welfare system, prevention, minority children, and federal issues.  

Denver staff focuses on state policy, tracking legislation and providing research and policy analysis, consultation, and technical assistance specifically geared to the legislative audience.

NCSL's Washington, D.C. staff track and analyze federal legislation and policy for the full range of human services issues and represent state legislatures before Congress and the Administration.