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

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Showing 1 - 15 of 40 resources
PDF

Learn the definition and find information about normalcy and the reasonable and prudent parent standard in the PL 113-183.

Video

Frankie is 14 years old and lives with his sister, brothers, and moms. He and his sister were adopted when they were 2 years old and 4 years old, respectively. He loves spending time with his aunts, uncles, and cousins and loves being part of a big family.

PDF

Assists agencies to evaluate how well the services in an area of their choice follow the Youth Welfare approach.

PDF

Use this tool with your prevention planning team to prepare for and tackle the adaptive challenges that many states face as they develop and implement prevention plans. 

PDF

Assists readers in exploring the Youth Welfare approach to service provision in the area of health care.

PDF

Use this crosswalk to start thinking concretely about prevention planning as a change and implementation process. 

PDF

Understand the CFSR statewide data indicators, their use in program improvement efforts, and performance calculation tools.

PDF

Better understand your state’s performance on statewide data indicators related to the safety and permanency of children served by the child welfare system. 

Video

Shares Stephen’s story about being a community-based provider and policymaker in Florida, the need for laws that empower caregiver decision-making, creating Florida’s reasonable and prudent parent standard (RPPS), and the effect RPPS and normalcy laws can have on foster care.

PDF

Learn about the Youth Welfare approach, which outlines how agencies can shift from a child-focused system to a youth-focused system.

PDF

Assists agencies to evaluate how well the services in an area of their choice follow the Youth Welfare approach.

PDF

Suggests examples of service provision for youth in foster care in the area of financial literacy and describes how those services can be improved using a “Good-Better-Best” continuum approach.

PDF

Learn to use the CFSR Round 4 SPSS syntax to calculate observed performance for a state on all or selected statewide data indicators.

PDF

Learn about the definition and calculation of the CFSR statewide data indicator maltreatment in foster care.

Video

Tells the story of a family from the perspectives of the father of five children; his mother, who takes on the parenting role for her five grandchildren; and their social worker.