This blogpost examines the implementation of the Washington State’s Department of Social and Health Services’ Division of Child Support (DCS) Alternative Solutions program, a different approach for child support enforcement for noncustodial parents. The DCS model is based on a philosophy that puts more emphasis on consistent child support payments over time rather than “over-enforcing” child support orders that cannot be sustained. The blogpost illustrates how the Alternative Solutions program examines the barriers that prevent noncustodial parents from meeting their obligations, works with these parents to develop Individualized Solutions Plans, and connects them with other social services providers in the community to help meet their goals. The blogpost also covers the supplemental training that Alternative Solutions staff receive on trauma-informed case management, motivational interviewing, and family-centered coaching, and the ways that DCS staff have remained connected and work collaboratively with nonresident parents during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Fathers & Families Coalition of America will host its 22nd Annual National Conference as a hybrid event (with in-person and virtual events) from May 16, 2021 to May 19, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. The conference will include presentations on strategies to support students and families during the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual case management, supporting fatherhood and fatherhood engagement, child support, trauma-informed care, and overcoming adversity and building resilience. Six workshops will be offered as part of the advanced practitioner credential program. The conference registration includes a fee.

This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation brief summarizes findings from three different demonstration projects that are designed to support noncustodial parents: the Enhanced Transitional Jobs Demonstration (ETJD), Parents and Children Together (PACT), and the Child Support Noncustodial Parent Employment Demonstration (CSPED). The evaluations assessed whether employment and other supportive services to disadvantaged noncustodial parents affect participants’ earnings, parental engagement, and ability to make child support payments. Findings from these projects showed significant impacts on improving noncustodial parents’ employment and earnings compared to prior evaluations of similar programs. ETJD and CSPED examined child support payments, and neither study found an impact on the amount of child support paid. However, unlike previous evaluation studies, PACT and CSPED, which had parenting workshops as a core service, generated positive impacts on father-child contact.

The Institute for Research on Poverty at the University of Wisconsin at Madison hosted a webinar on December 2, 2020, which covered father-specific parenting programs targeting expectant and new fathers and young, low-income, and unmarried fathers. Presenters highlighted peer-to-peer programming for new fathers led by the African American Breastfeeding Network; a Dads Matters effort that brings fathers into perinatal home visiting programs; and the work of the Milwaukee Fatherhood Initiative that offers father-focused legal, health, and education services and parenting support.

This blogpost by the Associate Commissioner of the Children’s Bureau identifies this year’s National Adoption Month theme as “Engage Youth: Listen and Learn” and features a link to the Adoption Month’s website, which provides resources to engage youth and prepare them for adoption or guardianship. These resources are intended for child welfare professionals who work with youth to ready them for adoption, and for legal professionals to provide guidance on how the judicial system can support youth well-being. Tips are offered for case planning with older youth, removing barriers for permanency, and collaboration with child welfare agencies. Also included on the website are videos of real-life stories of young people who have transitioned out of foster care to adoption, guardianship, or independent living.

This research-to-practice brief identifies lessons learned from six child support agencies in Arizona, California, Michigan, Ohio, and Virginia as they implemented the Procedural Justice-Informed Alternatives to Contempt (PJAC) model of child support enforcement. The PJAC model incorporates fairness in dispute resolution over child support payments and suggests that if a non-custodial parent perceives the process to be fair, he or she is more likely to comply with the order, regardless if the outcome of the process is favorable to them.

This research-to-practice brief identifies the positive outcomes of preserving sibling relationships within child welfare agencies and the barriers for joint sibling placement. Strategies that support joint sibling placement and adoptions are presented from initiatives in Connecticut, Idaho, and New Jersey; they include prioritizing kinship relationships regarding placement and establishing clear operating policies, involving children in placement decisions, and using retention strategies for adoptive and foster parents.

This report is an initial evaluation of the Bringing Families Home (BFH) program in San Francisco, California, which is a state-funded initiative that provides permanent housing and supportive services for homeless families or families with unstable housing who are engaged with the child welfare system. (Bringing Families Home is the sustained version of Families Moving Forward, a federally funded demonstration project.) Participating families under BFH receive in-home services to prevent their children from being placed in foster care. Families with children in foster care receiving reunification services are also covered under the program. The evaluation includes assessment data of family status and information about housing status, receipt of supportive services, the status of child welfare cases, and out-of-home care placements for families enrolled in BFH from July 2017 to June 2020.

This research-to-practice brief presents findings from an initial study of custodial and non-custodial parents enrolled in the Fathers Advancing Community Together (FACT) program, which is offered by Rubicon Programs in Contra Costa County, California. FACT addresses responsible parenting and healthy relationships and delivers economic stability services. The brief notes that FACT parents believe they already possess the necessary skills to be successful parents and acknowledge the importance of personal financial management for long-term economic stability. The survey of FACT parents also identified the challenges they encountered accessing childcare and balancing job seeking while participating in FACT, which led to a restructuring of the program to better serve parents.

This research-to-practice brief offers a blueprint of strategies to implement trauma-informed practices under the Family First Services Act. The brief illustrates key considerations in building a systemic approach to trauma-informed care to include: design access and delivery of prevention and kinship navigation services; use of functional assessments to analyze child trauma and traumatic stress when making placement decisions; incorporating trauma-informed treatment approaches and assigning residential facilities that support youth and their families; encouraging trauma-informed family reunification planning; and preparing child welfare professionals to address secondary trauma.