This fact sheet briefly outlines the top needs for kin families and potential funding sources to meet these needs. The funding sources include: Social Security Act Title IV-B kinship navigator grants, Family First Transition Act, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, and new (and temporary) Federal Medical Assistance Percentage dollars. The fact sheet also offers some pointers on how to develop partnerships that recognize and enhance kinship care programs.

This research to practice brief from the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation describes examination of findings from nine rural programs that serve child welfare-involved parents with substance use disorders. The examination was unable to provide information on program effectiveness but does focus on the range of services offered, the targeted population, how funding is blended, and collaborative approaches of these programs. Programs covered in this brief are: Children and Recovering Mothers (CHARM) Care Collaborative (Burlington, Vermont); Iowa Department of Human Services Parent Partner Mentoring Program; Kentucky Sobriety Treatment and Recovery Teams (START); Vermont Hub and Spoke Model; Women in Recovery (Tulsa, Oklahoma); The Arizona Families in Recovery Succeeding Together (FIRST) Program; Helen Ross McNabb Center (HRMC) Great Starts Program and Motivating our Mothers to Succeed Silver Linings and Rise to Recovery Models (Knoxville, Tennessee); and Parent-Child Assistance Program (Washington State).

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) disproportionally affect low-income, racial, and ethnic minority families. In an effort to improve health outcomes for poor families, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health and the Office of Minority Health have released a grant opportunity that focuses on ACEs and whether earned income tax credit (EITC) education and outreach activities can result in increased EITC receipt and changes in risk for ACEs. Eligible organizations include state, county, and city governments; Native American tribal organizations; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; public housing authorities; nonprofit organizations; and nonprofit institutions of higher education. Up to 6 grants are expected to be awarded. The application due date is August 17, 2020.

This dataset from the Annie E. Casey Foundation is the 31st edition that follows and ranks states on metrics related to child well-being. The data reflects trends prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Particular focus is on four larger categories of trend analysis: economic well-being, education, family and community, and health. Additionally, there are individual state profiles with relevant data that are presented as user-friendly fact sheets.

This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation tool supports Tribal TANF-Child Welfare Coordination grantees and human service partners as they identify and operationalize collaboration approaches and monitor the effectiveness of these approaches. There is also guidance on how to measure and track progress on coordination among partners. The tool includes details on options for completing, scoring, and interpreting Collaboration Assessment Tool results; the entire assessment tool is included in an appendix and as a separate downloadable Excel file.

This guide offers a framework and process for establishing a multi-system trauma-informed collaborative that addresses the impact of trauma on children and families. The guide identifies the collaborative as including the health care system as well as child welfare, education, early child development, first responder, and related systems; these components must support each other in policies and practices to best serve children exposed to violence and other adverse childhood trauma. The guide is designed for public agency administrators, local and state policy makers, trauma professionals, and other service stakeholders.

Published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, this research article features a study examining how mothers' Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) were associated with their children's developmental risk. The mothers' depressive symptoms and health were considered. The study concluded that mothers' ACEs are significantly related to their children's developmental risk, suggesting that addressing intergenerational trauma by focusing on childhood adversity in children's caregivers may be an important factor in promoting child development.

This Casey Family Programs blogpost illustrates the lessons learned in the integration of a trauma-informed approach into the policies, programs, and practices at the Connecticut Department of Children and Families. The blogpost discusses the origins of CONCEPT – the Connecticut Collaborative on Effective Practices for Trauma – which received a $3.2 million federal grant to implement this comprehensive approach to address child welfare and safety, permanency, and well-being. The blogpost also covers the generation of statewide stakeholder support, the trauma screening and referral process, evidence-based approaches implementation, institutionalizing trauma-informed approaches at the staff level, and the impact of this approach among child welfare professionals and the families they serve.

The National Indian Child Welfare Association has produced a toolkit designed for family advocates, child welfare workers, and agencies engaging American Indian and Alaska Native children and families in Systems of Care (SOC). Developed and designed by Indian people, the toolkit is a comprehensive collection of best practices, tribal protective factors, strategies for overcoming trauma and mistrust, outreach techniques, and culturally-based practical examples of how to support and enhance family engagement at all levels of the SOC structure. The toolkit also includes information on trainings and a listing of useful online resources.

In this Aspen Ideas to Go podcast, a panel of child and adolescent experts define anxiety and stress and offer coping strategies to parents to help support them in their interactions with their children at various stages of their development. In the wake of COVID-19, children and teenagers have experienced disruptions in their normal activities and routines, including attending school and play time with friends and family. Many adolescents and teens are experiencing emotional distress, worry, anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts. Taking a whole family approach, the panel addresses these behaviors and stressors and provides guidance to parents on being honest and clear with their communications, speaking in age appropriate language, filtering out misinformation, and monitoring the news. In addition, the experts also offer parents guidance on managing their own self-care and mental health during this time of uncertainty.