Resource Library

The Center for States designs products, services, and learning experiences to increase understanding and awareness, and build knowledge and skills. The Center focuses its attention on developing products and resources on several core organizational and practice topics.

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Library and Information Services

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The Center for States provides research assistance and responds to information requests on building capacity in child welfare.

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Showing 76 - 90 of 95 resources
Video

Addresses motivations for becoming a kinship parent and the importance of having agency guidance and support to navigate shifting family roles and dynamics. This video presents one family's transition from kinship care to adoption, and highlights resources that contributed to their success and their ability to provide permanency for their adoptive daughter.

Video

Highlights motivating factors for caregivers serving children with therapeutic needs, including the value of caregiver support networks, continuous training, and a commitment to strengthen families within the caregiver’s community. This video shares a foster mother’s experiences collaborating with biological families toward positive outcomes for the children in her care.

Video

This video highlights the story of a school social worker in Rhode Island and her experience becoming a foster parent to a student who did not have a relative placement.

Video

Illustrates the changes parents face when they decide to provide full-time care for their relative children and the benefits of different types of agency support. In this video, a kinship and adoptive parent discusses strategies she used to successfully provide stability for the children in her growing family and the importance of having agency resources to accommodate changing family needs.

PDF

Read about the value of collaboration as the key to prevention, safety, and long-term stability for children and families.

Video

Demonstrates the power of positive caregiver perspective alongside child welfare agency encouragement and support. In this video, caregivers share the concerns they had about becoming foster parents and discuss the resources that helped them become committed and effective foster parents.

Video

This video highlights the story of a family specialist in Ohio and her experience working with families to successfully place children with kin.

Video

Highlights the rewards and challenges of providing permanency and stability for relative children with differing needs. In this video, a single grandparent of five discusses her experience becoming a kinship caregiver, foster parent, and then legal guardian for her daughter's children, support the caseworker provided for her to become a certified foster parent, and the joy of watching her grandchildren thrive.

Video

This video highlights the story of a kinship specialist with the New York City Children’s Services and how she collaborates with fellow child welfare agencies in identifying kinship guardians to result in successful kin placement.

PDF

Engage staff and partners with activities in this guide to start a dialogue and create a vision for a more prevention-focused child welfare system.

Infographic

The infographic provides a visual reference for the cultural shift needed to protect children through strengthening families.

PDF

Helps child welfare leaders identify what they can do to advance their prevention vision and shows what they will see as that vision takes root.

PDF

Use the guide and digital stories from this library with teams and individuals to advocate, inspire, support, recruit, train, and coach towards a better child welfare system. 

PDF

Addressed developmentally appropriate services for youth in foster care and identified best practices for Federal support of States and territories in implementing provisions of the Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act (P.L. 113-183).

Video

Brandon is a 21-year-old alumnus of the foster care system. He was in the foster care system for about 10 years and serves as a foster care advocate, working in State government for the last 3 years. He feels that normal activities for all youth in foster care should include getting a driver’s license, going on out-of-State and overnight trips, and participating in sports.