Child Welfare Policy & News

Martha Gonzalez-Cortes is Senior Vice President of Community Investment at Kalamazoo Community Foundation in Michigan. She has a deep working knowledge of immigration policy issues, and a passion for finding systemic solutions to challenges faced by immigrant and refugee families.

Sen. Kaine (D-VA) introduces Child Welfare Workforce Support Act and Protecting LGBTQ Youth Act.

Two Tennessee bills would allow agencies to refuse to serve qualified families because of their faith, marital status, sexual orientation or gender identity.

The film covers all the stages foster parents go through. The honeymoon period when the children first come to a new home and revel in their new rooms and toys. The trauma and anger that can prompt children who are in foster care to act out and disrespect their foster parents. The issues that occur when parents foster and adopt children of different races or cultures. And the patience and love that is needed when new families are created through adoption.

With more than 430,000 kids in foster care in the United States and a decline in the number of available beds in licensed foster homes, the real reason for the shortage of foster parents may stem from a concerns about caring for a child who has been through severe trauma.

It’s happened again—another revelation that priests have been abusing children and the Catholic church covered it up is being reported in the news. How should social workers address this issue?

The first thing social workers must do is take victims seriously.