Child Welfare Policy & News

This Community Conversation focuses on creating safe spaces for queer and questioning youth in mental health practices. Participants will explore the impact of using individual pronouns and preferred names, learn to work with and support families of queer and transgender youth, and discover how to build a safe space that facilitates open discussion with young people.

Watch a conversation with Deborah M. Figart, PhD, and Ellen Mutari, PhD, are the co-authors of "Economic Well-Being: An Introduction" from NASW Press. In this groundbreaking book, Figart and Mutari make the study of economic life accessible, applicable, and exciting.

A jury has awarded $2 million in damages to a Northern Kentucky social services worker who alleged in a whistleblower lawsuit he suffered extensive retaliation for reporting problems at the state's child protection agency.

Among his claims: Nearly 100 cases of child abuse and neglect were misplaced and languished for months, leaving some children stuck in abusive or neglectful situations with no investigation.

Research has confirmed that adverse experiences may influence the next generation through multiple pathways. The most apparent route runs through parental behavior, but influences during gestation and even changes in eggs and sperm may also play a role.

All these channels seem to involve epigenetics: alterations in the way that genes function. Epigenetics potentially explains why effects of trauma may endure long after the immediate threat is gone, and it is also implicated in the diverse pathways by which trauma is transmitted to future generations.

Social worker Caitlin Ryan, founder and Executive Director of the Family Acceptance Project, talks about how social workers can help families support their children who are LGBTQIA2S+.

Social workers are helping to address the impact that the pandemic has had on children’s mental health.