10 Key Resources for Child Welfare Professionals

Child wel­fare pro­fes­sion­als play a crit­i­cal role in help­ing chil­dren and fam­i­lies thrive. The resources list­ed below — select­ed by the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Child Wel­fare Strat­e­gy Group — are focused on help­ing the experts excel in this impor­tant work.

Check out…

Keep­ing the Con­ver­sa­tion Alive
A hand­out that tells child wel­fare pro­fes­sion­als, care­givers and oth­er car­ing adults what they can do to help con­nect youth in fos­ter care to a per­ma­nent family.

Engag­ing Kin­ship Care­givers with Joseph Crumbley
A five-part train­ing series designed to help child wel­fare pro­fes­sion­als bet­ter under­stand and address the unique needs of rel­a­tive caregivers.

Every Kid Needs a Fam­i­ly: Advice to Caseworkers
A short video cre­at­ed to inspire and ener­gize case­work­ers around the crit­i­cal task of con­nect­ing teens in fos­ter care with a family.

The Road to Adulthood
A report from the Foun­da­tion’s Jim Casey Youth Oppor­tu­ni­ties Ini­tia­tive lever­ages the lat­est find­ings on ado­les­cent brain devel­op­ment to help child wel­fare pro­fes­sion­als, care­givers and sys­tems bet­ter serve youth who are in or exit­ing from fos­ter care.

Nation­al LGBTQ Cur­ric­u­la and Train­ing Materials
A web­page link­ing to resources aimed at help­ing child wel­fare stake­hold­ers bet­ter under­stand and sup­port LGBTQ youth.

“It Matters…A LOT”
A blog post, writ­ten by an adop­tion recruiter in Ohio, that under­scores the impor­tance of keep­ing sib­lings togeth­er in fos­ter care.

Treat­ing Child­hood Trauma
A sto­ry by ​“60 Min­utes” and Oprah Win­frey that explores the reper­cus­sions of child­hood trau­ma and the meth­ods used to help kids who have expe­ri­enced trauma.

Group Care for Chil­dren and Adolescents
A state­ment, issued by a pan­el of men­tal health experts and endorsed by the Amer­i­can Orthopsy­chi­atric Association’s board of direc­tors, rec­om­mend­ing fam­i­ly care as the best option for kids in fos­ter care.

Address­ing Sec­ondary Trau­ma Stress Among Child Wel­fare Staff
An issue brief focused on help­ing child wel­fare pro­fes­sion­als build resilien­cy and mit­i­gate the impact of sec­ondary trau­ma stress.

Strong Fam­i­lies
A review of strate­gies geared toward reunit­ing fam­i­lies after chil­dren have been removed from a home due to parental sub­stance abuse.

Keep up to date with child wel­fare news and dis­cov­er the lat­est resources by fol­low­ing the Casey Foun­da­tion on Twit­ter.