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Policy Paper

Strategies to Compensate Unpaid Caregivers: A Policy Scan

March 2024

Caregiving is essential work, but this work too often falls on individuals with little or no support from society as a whole. As a result, many caregivers experience severe economic security and hardship—especially women, and Black, Latinx/e, and other women of color and immigrant women in particular, who provide the most care. To better understand the current policy gaps and how we might better support unpaid family caregivers moving forward, this new report summarizes the policies in place to compensate family caregivers in the United States and abroad and offers recommendations for ensuring future policies more effectively support unpaid caregivers and their families.

(29 pp)

Cover Thumnail Caregiving Scan
Report

Expanding the Perspectives and Research Foundation for the Strengthening Families & Youth Thrive Frameworks

February 2024

This report expands on the perspectives and research evidence that inform the Strengthening Families and Youth Thrive frameworks by addressing key issues not highlighted in the initial research foundation reports.

(38 pp)

Expanding Perspectives And Research Foundation
Video

Culture is Healing: Removing the Barriers from Culturally Responsive Services (Webinar)

January 2024

In this webinar, community providers discuss the challenges they face in providing responsive services, including building evidence and operating in the context of restrictive “evidence-based” standards, as well as recommendations for actions state and federal policymakers can take to ensure all families have the support they need through expanding access and availability of programs that are developed by and for communities of color.

Panelists and Moderator:

  • Alexandra Citrin, Senior Associate, Center for the Study of Social Policy (Moderator)
  • Esi Hutchful, Senior Policy Analyst, Center for the Study of Social Policy
  • Paul Smokowski, PhD, Executive Director, North Carolina Youth Violence Prevention Center
  • Dana Kingfisher, ASA/Tobacco Program Coordinator, All Nations Health Center
  • Melvin Mason, LCSW, Executive & Clinical Director (retired), The Village Project, Inc.

Read the report here

Featured Image (resources, Pdf)
Policy Paper

Culture is Healing: Removing the Barriers Facing Providers of Culturally Responsive Services

January 2024

Ensuring child and family well-being requires a radically different, anti-racist response of supports that center the voices of diverse children and families of color, are dignified and strengths-based, and that are offered in spaces they trust. As this brief highlights, community-based organizations across the country are striving to answer that call despite numerous barriers. This brief lifts up the voices of those community providers, with the goal of highlighting and addressing the barriers that stand in the way of all families having the support they need.

Watch the webinar here

(19 pp)

Culture Of Healing Small Report Cover Page
Policy Paper

Housing is a Barrier for Parenting Students

September 2023

In 2022, the Center for the Study of Social Policy and Project SPARC conducted research to better understand the barriers experienced by parenting students participating in CalWORKs, California’s cash assistance program for families with children. This brief highlights findings from the research on parenting students’ experiences with housing.

(8 pp)

Housing Is A Barrier For Parenting Students
Policy Paper

Parenting Students Need More Support Transferring to a Four-Year Institution

September 2023

In 2022, the Center for the Study of Social Policy and Project SPARC conducted research to better understand the barriers experienced by parenting students in CalWORKs, California’s cash assistance program for families with children. This brief highlights findings from the research on parenting students’ experiences transferring to four-year institutions.

(5 pp)

Parenting Students Need More Support Transferring To A Four Year Institution
Policy Paper

Public Systems Create & Compound Mental Health Challenges for Parenting Students

September 2023

In 2022, the Center for the Study of Social Policy and Project SPARC conducted research to better understand the barriers experienced by parenting students participating in CalWORKs, California’s cash assistance program for families with children. This brief highlights findings from the research on how public systems too often cause and exacerbate stress, anxiety, depression, and other mental health challenges for parenting students and their families. While parenting students persevere in order to support their children and pursue their goals, these systemic problems slow their progress and undermine their health and well-being over the long term.

(5 pp)

Public Systems Create & Compound Mental Health Challenges For Parenting Students
Policy Paper

Caring for Each Other: What it Takes to Promote Mental Health and Well-Being

May 2023

Our public policies and systems do not provide all families with the services and supports they deserve and have historically either excluded Black families. We must center families who are marginalized or excluded by our systems and policies, by creating shared principles that can guide efforts to promote health and well-being both within and outside of health systems. This brief shares eight things that we owe all children, youth, and families to promote mental health and well-being.

(3 pp)

Caring For Each Other What It Takes To Promote Mental Health And Wellbeing
Policy Paper

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

March 2023

In its annual budget released in March 2023, the Biden administration once again proposed critical investments in families, including restoring the Child Tax Credit, establishing a national paid family and medical leave program, and expanding access to high quality child care and early education. This fact sheet shares how the Biden administration's proposals reflect what Black, Indigenous, and Latinx parents and caregivers have told us that they need.

Cover Small The Biden Administration’s Budget Recognizes Investments In Families Are Long Overdue
Report

The DULCE Approach to Setting Goals with Families of Infants

January 2023

CSSP engaged in a 12-month planning and implementation project focused on developing and pilot testing a collaborative goal setting process for families of infants that is derived from goal concordant care. This paper describes the initial success of this endeavor, including a description of and guidelines for the collaborative goal setting process, initial findings from pilot testing of the process, reflections about participants' experience of the  process, and a list of draft training and technical assistance tools.

(19 pp)

Small Cover Dulce Approach To Setting Goals