Good Policy Requires Good Data Assessing Child Well-Being in Every State When it comes to making decisions aimed at enhancing the lives of children, policy makers are missing a vital resource: strong state-level data. One answer? The National Survey of Children’s Health, which offers quick, clear state-level statistics on a wide range of child wellness factors. Readers will learn about this survey, why it’s so great and how it must to grow to realize its full potential as a tool for helping child welfare programs and policies succeed. Read More
Young Child Poverty in 2009 Rural Poverty Rate Jumps to Nearly 29 Percent in Second Year of Recession The recession has increased the number of children living in poverty in America to nearly 29%; the numbers are even higher for children living in rural communities, especially the rural South. Read More
National Youth in Transition Database Lessons Learned from the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative The National Youth Transition Database (NYTD) allows for states to learn how to improve outcomes for youth exiting foster care. This document — a pep-talk packaged in a publication — shares lessons learned from implementing a similar tool called the Opportunity Passport Participant Survey. Read More
Social Capital and Social Geography This report explores how social capital and social geography affect the economic and overall well-being of families. Read More
Hard Times Made Harder Struggling Caregivers and Child Neglect Using data from a national survey, this brief links specific caregiver struggles to a higher incidence of out-of-home placements among neglected children. It closes with one clear recommendation: Offer integrated — and early — caregiver support services to help counter this trend and better aid America’s at-risk children and families. Read More
Peer Networking and Place-Based Initiatives This report — a thought paper rooted in 47 interviews with industry leaders — highlights what we’ve learned about utilizing peer networking to advance recent place-based initiatives. It then shapes these lessons into 10 solid strategies for successfully incorporating peer networking into the new multiyear, mutli-million dollar Building Healthy Communities project. Read More
Children of Immigrants: 2008 State Trends Update Brief 17 This brief presents trends about children of immigrants, including links to race, poverty and education. Read More
Paying for College: Availability of Need-based Financial Aid for New Jersey's Working Adults This policy brief identifies the challenges that low-income working adults in New Jersey encounter when they pursue a college education – including access to adequate financial aid. Read More
Immigration Enforcement and Family Separation This one-page brief examines the impact of enforcement raids on immigrant children and their families. Read More
Undocumented and Abused: A Texas Case Study Children in the Child Protective Services System Using Texas as a case study, this report looks at undocumented children in state child welfare systems because of abuse or neglect – and ways to improve the process by which these children may obtain legal residency. Read More
