Child Welfare Policy & News

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.

Most youth are not addicted to technology. If anything, they are addicted to each other. But parents need to know what technology is on their childrens’ phones and how they are using that information.

This podcast episode explores the crisis currently brewing around immigration in the United States, specifically related to the Trump administration's "zero-tolerance" policy and to children separated from their families at our southern border.

The guests are Melvin H. Wilson, LCSW, NASW's Manager of Social Justice & Human Rights, and Guadalupe G. Lara, LMSW, NASW Board of Directors Member-at-Large.

There are a number of ways that social workers can help immigrants who have been separated from their families. We created a tip sheet so you can easily access the options and find ways that might work for you.