Blog

As part of CSSP’s work with the National Collaborative for Infants and Toddlers (NCIT), we’ve produced three community action briefs which document and promote strategies that communities can use to jumpstart a prenatal-to-three focus across systems including ones focused on equity, data, and parent and family engagement. Equity in Early Childhood Systems: A Community Action [...]

The Alliance for Racial Equity, is an initiative of CSSP that was formed 15 years ago to provide national leadership in support of improved outcomes for children and families of color involved in the nation’s child welfare system. The Alliance works with dedicated partners nationwide to eradicate systemic bias and inequity within child welfare that [...]

On February 26th and 27th, CSSP’s getREAL initiative collaborated with core partner Family Builders to host the convening Threats and Opportunities to Supporting LGBTQ+ Children, Youth, and Families Involved with Child Welfare Systems. This dynamic two-day meeting brought together child welfare professionals, leaders from various faith communities, data experts, consultants, policy specialists, advocates, attorneys, researchers, [...]

The Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) presents child welfare systems with an exciting opportunity to both re-envision and re-shape service provision and advance equity in support of expectant and parenting youth in foster care (EPY). Addressing the unique needs of EPY, preventing child abuse and neglect of their children, and reducing disparate outcomes requires [...]

In 2000, concerns about the State of Tennessee’s Department of Children’s Services (DCS) led to a class action lawsuit focused on improving the state’s child welfare policies, programs, and outcomes. The case—Brian A. v. Haslam—resulted in a court-ordered Settlement Agreement; a strategy that is being used to promote child welfare system reform in states across the [...]

In 2001, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation approached the Center for the Study of Social Policy to develop a new approach to child abuse and neglect prevention—one that would reach millions of families before there was any concern about maltreatment or involvement with the child welfare system. CSSP explored the research about what makes families thrive [...]

Editor’s Note: DULCE (Developmental Understanding and Legal Collaboration for Everyone), an initiative of the Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP), focuses on the needs of infants and their families in the first six months of life. This pediatric care intervention proactively addresses social determinants of health and mitigates the risk factors for early life [...]

Four months after the Trump administration announced the end of its family separation policy, four-year-old Brayan, from El Salvador, was torn from his father’s arms by a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer after they crossed the border and requested asylum. When he described that moment, his father Julio broke down in tears. “I failed him,” Julio [...]

Throughout CSSP’s Strengthening Families initiative, ZERO TO THREE has been a critical partner in supporting providers to take a strengths-based, protective factors approach to families with infants and toddlers. Today we welcome a guest blog post from Julia Yeary, LCSW, ACSW, IMH-E®, Director of Military Projects at ZERO TO THREE, whose work focuses on supporting [...]

This week the Office of the Inspector General released a report indicating that the Department of Health and Human Services has failed to ensure that staff working at facilities housing immigrant children undergo the requisite background checks. Read our full statement.