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Child Welfare

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COVID-19: Child Welfare Resources

Access four resource guides for state legislators: COVID-19 and Child Welfare Caseworkers, COVID-19 and Congregate Care Facilities, COVID-19 and Foster and Kinship Caregivers, COVID-19 and Older Youth in the Child Welfare System. NCSL staff will update this information regularly, so check back often.

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Teens in Foster Care: Challenges and Solutions

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services latest “Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System” says more than 430,000 people were in foster care in the last fiscal year. About a quarter of those in the system were teenagers. On this episode of “Our American States,” we talk with two state legislators who have first-hand knowledge of foster care and are actively involved in shedding light on this topic.

Results Driven Governing

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Child Welfare Database

Explore the child welfare legislation enacted between 2012-2019, including topics such as child protection, kinship care, foster care, services for older youth, mental and behavioral health and more.

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Foster Care: Older Youth

Approximately 25 percent of the nearly 430,000 children in foster care are 14 or older. This toolkit looks at aspects of supporting older youth in foster care, including extending services beyond the age of 18, higher education support, normalcy, housing and engagement.

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News You Can Use

NCSL's latest bi-monthly child welfare newsletter discusses the impact of COVID-19 on child welfare, new NCSL resources and more.

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Supporting Foster Parents

This page contains information for state legislators about how they can become involved in helping find more foster parents for the more than 437,000 U.S. children and youth in foster care, a situation exacerbated by the opioid and substance abuse crisis.

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Overview