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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.

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.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has recently issued a much-anticipated final rule, published in the Federal Register on September 9, amending its regulations on how it will administer the public charge determination made when an immigrant applies for lawful permanent resident (LPR) status, admissibility to the U.S., or seeks to extend or adjust their [...]

On September 13, the Census Bureau released its 2021 data on income, poverty, and health insurance. This year’s data demonstrate how powerful enhanced government supports like the Child Tax Credit (CTC) can be in buttressing families, promoting economic well-being, and advancing racial equity. In 2021, the share of people living in poverty fell from 9.2 [...]

On July 18, Academic Pediatrics, the official journal of the Academic Pediatric Association, published new evidence of DULCE’s impact, highlighting the strength of universal interventions in identifying family needs.  DULCE, or Developmental Understanding and Legal Collaboration for Everyone, promotes the health and well-being of infants and their families, starting in the critical first six months [...]

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 [...]

On Friday, June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that gave people with uteruses the right to obtain a safe and legal abortion. This ruling turns back the clock and effectively decimates not only a woman’s right to personal bodily autonomy but is an appalling attack on basic rights [...]

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 [...]

With Early Relational Health (ERH) gaining momentum in pediatrics, policy, and practice, we are excited to present the Perspectives on Early Relational Health series and accompanying video discussion guides. The series features four conversations among a diverse group of parents, pediatricians, researchers, and service providers about all parts of ERH and the discussion guides provide [...]

Photo used with permission from The California Endowment This blog is adapted from an interview with Chris Covington, former member of The California Endowment's President’s Youth Council, by CSSP staff members Laura Kreeger and Anand Sharma. Chris Covington offers reflections related to a recent CSSP Learning, Equity, and Power (LEaP) session, "Supporting and Embracing Youth [...]