Minnesota's Department of Human Services has issued a bulletin that summarizes the changes made to the adoption assistance program from the 2012 legislative session. Some of the major highlights and changes are noted below. For a more in-depth review, please read the actual bulletin. All statutes and rules pertaining to adoption assistance can now be [...]
Today is World Refugee Day. At the end of 2011, 15.2 million people were refugees, with 46% being children under the age of 18. Currently it is estimated that there are more than 70,500 refugees in Minnesota; more than 3 million refugees have entered the U.S. since the Refugee Act of 1980 was passed. The [...]
An article today from Child Welfare in the News discussed the issue of considering religion in adoptive placements in Israel. Currently in Israel, parents and adopted children must be of the same religion, meaning that non-Jewish children who are adopted by Jews must be converted to Judaism: "Those adopting non-Jewish children must convert them through [...]
On June 7, 2012, CASCW co-sponsored a reflective seminar on the role of supportive housing in the lives of at-risk adolescents and vulnerable families. For a summary of the seminar, as well as implications for children & families experiencing homelessness (in terms of supportive housing as a tool to increase permanency and stability), please see [...]
The Obama administration announced today a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) policy change that will positively impact young undocumented immigrants. The DHS Secretary, Janet Napolitano, sent a memo to the directors of CBP, USCIS, and ICE stating that DHS will use its prosecutorial discretion to stop deporting certain young undocumented immigrants, provided they meet certain [...]
This is just one question being asked on our Child Welfare Video Wall. Several people have already responded, saying it is the lack of funding available as well as continual funding cuts: "[F]unding...[O]ur national priorities...don't seem to be supporting those families and children in our society who are the most vulnerable." --Wendy"With funding being cut [...]
On Friday, CASCW co-sponsored a reflective seminar that discussed the role of supportive housing in child welfare practice. I thought this seminar was particularly relevant to this blog, as recent research from CASCW has shown that supportive housing can greatly reduce incidences of involvement in child protection and out-of-home care, thereby increasing a child's chances [...]
As a follow-up to the May 22 McEvoy Lecture on "Are We 'Immune to Change'? Coordinating Minnesota Systems of Care to Promote Healthy Development in Young Children," I'd like to direct readers to an excellent visual resource, Brain Hero, a 3-minute-long video that shows how brain development can be positively and negatively impacted by outside [...]