What's New in Child Welfare?

March 2013

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 $29 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.

Title IV-E Child Welfare Waivers 2012-2014

• State Legislators Fact Sheet
• Child Welfare Title IV-E Waiver Demonstration Projects 2012-2014
• Guidance on the Title IV-E Child Welfare Waivers Webinar

Your Source for the Latest Compilations of Child Welfare State Legislative Enactments

• 2010 and 2011 Child Welfare Summaries
• 2009 Child Welfare Summaries
• 2007 – 2008 Child Welfare Summaries
• Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse and Neglect 2012
• Fostering Connections Act – 2012 Legislation
• Differential Response
• Reinstatement of Parental Rights
• Shaken Baby Syndrome Prevention Laws
• Legislative Strategies to Safely Reduce the Numbers of Children in Foster Care
• Statutes of Limitations in Child Sexual Abuse Cases
• Disproportionality of Children of Color in Child Welfare
• Ombudsman/Office of the Child Advocate Chart of Legislation

Webinars 2012 and 2011 

• Key Findings in the Second Round of Child and Family Services Reviews
• Stopping the Silence: Reporting Child Abuse
• Guidance on the Title IV-E Child Welfare Waivers
• Engaging State Legislatures in Child Welfare Reform: Arkansas’  Experience  Webinar
• The Texas Permanent Judicial Commission on Children, Youth and Families - Webinar

Fostering Connections Act of 2008 Legislation

• Fostering Connections Act – 2012 Enactments
• Kinship Guardianship Assistance
• Extending Foster Care to 21
• Sibling Placement
• Relative Notification
• Educational Stability
• Health Oversight
• Tribal Child Welfare
• Transitional Planning

Foster Care, Kinship Care, Adoption and Permanency

• The Future of Foster Care
• All in the Family
• Medical Consent and Educational Enrollment
• Children of Incarcerated Parents
• A Different Kind of Jail
• Moving Children Out of Foster Care

Child and Family Services Reviews

• Key Findings from the Second Round of CFSRs Webinar
• State Progress Toward Child Welfare Improvement
• Involving State Legislators in the Child and Family Services Reviews
• Assessing Promising Approaches in Child Welfare: Strategies for State Legislators
• Engaging State Legislatures in Child Welfare Reform: Arkansas’  Experience  Webinar
• The Texas Permanent Judicial Commission on Children, Youth and Families - Webinar

*PLEASE NOTE: The National Conference of State Legislatures is an organization serving state legislators and their staff. We cannot offer legal advice or assistance with individual cases, but we do try to answer questions on general topics.
 

About This NCSL Project

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.