Child Welfare
First Focus is committed to the long-term goal of substantially reducing the number of children entering foster care, and working to ensure that our existing system of care protects children and adequately meets the needs of families in the child welfare system. Specifically, First Focus is working to ensure that promising prevention efforts including nurse-family visitation programs are adequately funded and broadly replicated, and engaging in efforts to improve access to substance use and mental health treatment for parents and children, expand kinship care and subsidized guardianship, improve services and continuity in care for teens aging-out of the child welfare system, and promote comprehensive reforms to the existing federal child welfare financing structure.
Investing in Prevention
Countless studies have demonstrated that prevention is worth every penny. Investing in prevention translates to fewer dollars spent on foster care, welfare, juvenile justice and a host of other programs further down the road. Effective prevention programs that foster child well-being and promote the security and stability of families hold promise improving parent-child relationships, reducing likelihood for abuse, promoting child well-being, and lessening the current financial strain on our child welfare system. moreImproving the Child Welfare System
Child abuse is a devastating social problem. Abuse has dire consequences for the developing child, often leading to deficits in interpersonal relationships, affect regulation, and self-development, as well as increased rates of multiple psychiatric diagnoses. Since the authorization of the very first federal grants for child welfare services in the 1930s, states have made considerable strides in addressing the needs of children and families entering the system, but we need to do more. moreAddressing Disparities in Child Welfare
The lack of access to resources contributes to an overrepresentation of minority populations in the child welfare system. In our advocacy efforts, First Focus intends to support policies and programs that address existing disparities in access to care, treatment and services for minority and under-represented populations. For instance, close to 10,000 American Indian children are currently in the foster care system, often representing a disproportionate number of kids in care. In fact, in some states - including Alaska and South Dakota American Indian children represent over 45% of substantiated cases of child abuse. Although tribal communities are over-represented in the child welfare system, they lack access to critical federal funding, services and supports.
IMPORTANT CHILD WELFARE UPDATES:
