Fairness Hearing: Charlie and Nadine H v. Murphy Exit Plan

On Tuesday April 25, a Fairness Hearing will take place in the Charlie and Nadine H. lawsuit, for which CSSP has served as the Federal Monitor since 2006. After many years of sustained effort and significant improvements in the work of the New Jersey Department of Children and Families (NJ DCF) to ensure all children

The Biden Administration’s Budget Recognizes that Investments in Families Are Long Overdue: Now Let’s Get To Work

In its annual budget released last week, the Biden administration once again proposed critical investments in families, including restoring the Child Tax Credit expansion that temporarily cut child poverty nearly in half, establishing a national paid family and medical leave program, and expanding access to high quality child care and early education. Action on these

In Memory of Partner and Friend Kent Berkley

CSSP mourns the passing of our respected colleague and dear friend Kent Berkley. Kent lost his courageous battle against pancreatic cancer on November 16, 2022, and died at his home surrounded by family including his beloved wife Michele, his children Gabriella and Isaac, and his granddaughter Luna. Kent worked hard and made a difference in

ASFA 25 Years Later: Time for Repeal

Since 1997, the rights of more than two million children’s parents have been terminated by courts across the United States. The legal severing of these familial bonds was enabled by the bipartisan passage of the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA)¹, which ties federal funding to a requirement that, with limited exceptions, states terminate the rights of parents whose children have been in foster care for 15 of the most recent 22 months.

Pausing Our Use of Twitter

With Elon Musk’s recent purchase of Twitter, and his subsequent chaotic leadership of the company, the Center for the Study of Social Policy has made the decision to pause our use of the platform while waiting to see how the situation evolves.

Brackeen v. Haaland and the Threat to the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978

The creation and enforcement of ICWA was a step toward righting the egregious wrongs of our past as a nation and affirms the tribal sovereignty of First Nations. Brackeen v. Haaland puts this critically important law at significant risk and is a step backward and any ruling against ICWA would be detrimental to the health, well-being, and sanctity of Native children, families, and communities and to our country and society as a whole.

Advancing Racial Equity and Supporting Community Power: Lessons Learned from Building Healthy Communities

Photo used with permission from The California Endowment This blog, written by Laura Kreeger, offers reflections related to CSSP’s Learning, Equity, and Power (LEaP) series highlighting lessons from The California Endowment’s Building Healthy Communities Initiative. Learn more about LEaP here.  In the Fall of 2021 CSSP hosted a Learning, Equity, and Power (LEaP) Lab titled

In Memory of Deena Smitherman

It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of Deena Smitherman on June 27, 2022. Deena was a founding member of the Parent Leader Network and served on the first Steering Committee, where she helped to raise awareness on race equity, parent leadership, and the importance of community engagement. She also contributed to

Advancing DULCE’s Strength-Based Approach

DULCE, Developmental Understanding and Legal Collaboration for Everyone, is a universal, evidence-based approach that seeks to transform the ways families with newborns experience the delivery of services and supports. CSSP has been engaged in the evolution of DULCE since its inception at Boston Medical Center’s Pediatric Clinic in 2012, where we led a Randomized Controlled