ABSTRACT
Policies and Programs for Children and Families focuses on policies and programs dealing with child protection, family preservation, permanency planning, adoption, foster care, and juvenile justice. Programs for children with special needs are also examined. All statistics and policies have been updated throughout the chapter, including recent policy changes in child welfare that have increased the emphasis on preventing maltreatment. This edition also expands the discussion of child support enforcement policies. Information on childcare as a key support for family and child well-being has also been added. Illustrating the interactions among policy areas, this chapter considers how child poverty affects outcomes and how policy can protect children’s civil rights. More advocacy examples have been added throughout the chapter. This edition also contains an expanded discussion of how child welfare and family policy can be improved, and includes content on family capacity-building. Policies that could help communities identify and prevent childhood trauma are discussed, as is the evolving research base about the harmful effects of trauma. Distinct from other discussions of trauma, ours takes a strengths-based approach, to emphasize resilience and individuals’ capacity to thrive, with the right support.
