Psychotropic medication oversight for youth in foster care: A national perspective on state child welfare policy and practice guidelines

This chapter examines federal child welfare policy in historical perspective with close attention to the financial inducements used to encourage state policy and practice. The authors show that rather than setting a single child welfare policy for all fifty states, the US approach relies heavily on the budgeting process as a mechanism for shaping the field. Examples include the structure for accepting and responding to child maltreatment referrals; the design of foster care services; the approach to reunification and permanency services; extension of foster care beyond age eighteen; and, most recently, adoption of foster care prevention services to reduce reliance on out-of-home care. The result is similar system goals across states, with ample opportunities for disparate system designs and likely different experiences for families.

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Mandates for Collaboration: Health Care and Child Welfare Policy and Practice Reforms Create the Platform for Improved Health for Children in Foster Care

Current Problems in Pediatric and Adolescent Health Care ◽

10.1016/j.cppeds.2015.08.006 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 45 (10) ◽

pp. 316-322 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Sarah Zlotnik ◽

Leigh Wilson ◽

Philip Scribano ◽

Joanne N. Wood ◽

Kathleen Noonan

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Foster Care ◽

Child Welfare ◽

Welfare Policy ◽

Policy And Practice ◽

Child Welfare Policy ◽

Children In Foster Care

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Creating Change through Collaboration: Substance Abuse and Child Welfare Policy and Practice Innovations

PsycEXTRA Dataset ◽

10.1037/e529792012-001 ◽

2010 ◽

Author(s):

Nancy K. Young ◽

Denise Churchill ◽

Sam Gillespie ◽

Peter Panzarella

Keyword(s):

Substance Abuse ◽

Child Welfare ◽

Welfare Policy ◽

Policy And Practice ◽

Child Welfare Policy

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Child Welfare as a Woman's Issue

Families in Society The Journal of Contemporary Social Services ◽

10.1177/104438949207300201 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 73 (2) ◽

pp. 67-78 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Elizabeth D. Hutchison

Keyword(s):

Child Welfare ◽

Gender Bias ◽

Practice Guidelines ◽

Historical Context ◽

Well Being ◽

Policy Implications ◽

Gender Analysis ◽

Policy And Practice ◽

Child Welfare Policy ◽

The Impact

The recognition that ensuring the welfare of children is not possible without addressing the welfare of their female caregivers is notably missing from the child welfare literature. This article seeks to correct this omission by analyzing the welfare of children in the context of societal structures for caregiving. The author places the gender analysis of child welfare in historical context, discusses current themes of gender bias, and analyzes the impact of child welfare policy and practice on several categories of women. Policy implications and practice guidelines for improving the well-being of children are discussed.

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Child Welfare Policy and Practice in the United States 1950–2000

Cross CurrentsFamily Law and Policy in the US and England ◽

10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198268208.003.0025 ◽

2000 ◽

pp. 546-564

Author(s):

Martin Guggenheim

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Child Welfare ◽

Welfare Policy ◽

The United States ◽

Policy And Practice ◽

Child Welfare Policy

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Beyond safety and permanency: Making well-being a focus of policy and practice for children in state care

Children Australia ◽

10.1017/s1035077200000493 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 34 (1) ◽

pp. 15-20

Author(s):

Mark E. Courtney

Keyword(s):

Child Welfare ◽

Welfare Policy ◽

Empirical Studies ◽

Well Being ◽

Child Safety ◽

Child Welfare Services ◽

Policy And Practice ◽

Child Welfare Policy ◽

Welfare Services ◽

Permanency Outcomes

This essay explores some of the reasons why child welfare policy has too often avoided an explicit focus on child well-being. The historical origins of child welfare services contribute to avoidance of child well-being in policy discourse. In addition, program administrators are reluctant to explicitly take responsibility for the well-being of children they serve because of concerns about added liability, the belief that public institutions other than the child welfare system should be held responsible, and the fear that child welfare services will be unable to ameliorate the damage that children often suffer before entering care. Three empirical studies of child welfare populations in the US are used to examine the inextricable links between child safety, permanency and well-being. It is argued that broadening child welfare policy to embrace child well-being as a policy goal will only enhance the likelihood that child welfare agencies will improve child safety and permanency outcomes.

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