Forced Drugging of Children in Foster Care: Turning Child Abuse Victims into Involuntary Psychiatric Patients – The use of psychotropic medication by children and youth within the child welfare system is examined. The increasing use of these medications by this population is presented as problematic through a case study and by identifying general aspects […]

Evidence-Based Policymaking Is an Iterative Process: A Case Study of Antipsychotic Use among Children in the Foster Care System – State policymakers must sometimes take action even when relevant, credible evidence identifying the best policy approach may not be available, such as during a recent, emerging crisis impacting the health of children, adults and […]

Desperation without Dignity – Facilities may not provide evidence-based treatment, such as cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) and trauma-informed care due to cost or staff availability. The minimal psychotherapy that may be offered has little therapeutic benefit, since the foundation of psychotherapy—a trusting patient and provider relationship—is lacking in many of […]

Consensus Statement on Group Care for Children and Adolescents: A Statement of Policy of the American Orthopsychiatric Association – Group care for children and adolescents is widely used as a rearing environment and sometimes used as a setting in which intensive services can be provided. This consensus statement on group care affirms that children […]

Using Evidence to Accelerate the Safe and Effective Reduction of Congregate Care for Youth Involved with Child Welfare – The child welfare system’s use of congregate care is in a period of rapid transition. Building on years of professional interest in offering more home-like placement options, legislative and administrative pressure at the state and […]

Brief Report: Use of Psychotropic Medications by Youths in Therapeutic Foster Care and Group Homes – This article examines the use of psychotropic medications among youths in residential community-based placements. Data are from a study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health of therapeutic foster care (June 1999 through May 2001) and group […]

Addressing the Mental Health Needs of Young Children in the Child Welfare System – The National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP) is the nation’s leading public policy center dedicated to promoting the economic security, health, and well-being of America’s low-income families and children. Using research to inform policy and practice, NCCP seeks to […]

State-level Data for Understanding Child Welfare in the United States – This comprehensive child welfare resource provides state and national data on child maltreatment, foster care, kinship caregiving, and adoption from foster care. The data are essential to help policymakers understand how many children and youth came in contact with the child […]

National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect – The National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect (NDACAN) distributes the data for each study listed. All datasets are distributed free of charge.

Estimating the number of children in formal alternative care: Challenges and results – Given the relatively large body of literature documenting the adverse impacts of institutionalization on children’s developmental outcomes and well-being, it is essential that countries work towards reducing the number of children in alternative care (particularly institutional care), and, […]