Child Welfare Journal Recent Special Issues

Vol. 101, Numbers 2 & 3: Opportunities for Child Welfare to Respond to Prenatal Alcohol and Other Substance Exposures
This special double issue examines the roles and opportunities for child welfare agencies to respond to and care for children and their caregivers who are impacted by prenatal alcohol and other drug exposures. Policies and practices relevant to state, local/county, and Tribal child welfare agencies, their collaborating partner organizations, and the children and families they serve are discussed.
Sample article: Special Foreword: Erin Ingoldsby & Julie Collins, Guest Editors 

Vol. 100, Number 6: Understanding the Connection between Social Determinants of Health and Child Welfare
This special issue aims to advance our understanding by featuring policy, theoretical, and empirical papers focused on the intersection of the social determinants of health (SDOH)—the economic and social conditions that influence differences in health status—and child welfare.

Vol. 100, Number 4: Promotion of Latino and Hispanic Child & Family Well-Being
This special issue examines the well-being of Latino and Hispanic children in those families that are the subjects of increased stereotypes, biases, and discrimination affecting Latinx communities and resulting in impediments to their basic human rights. There remains a disproportionate representation of Latino and Hispanic children and youth affected by the social conditions in which they are born, grow, live, work, and age across the United States and Puerto Rico. Contributors discuss the extent to which such conditions and systemic responses affect the entrance into child welfare as well as efforts to promote Latino and Hispanic child well-being.

Vol. 100, Number 1 & Number 2: Transforming Child Welfare through Anti-Racist Approaches
The articles in this double issue focus on the underlying issues that perpetuate and support the overrepresentation of children of color and anti-racist approaches that improve child and family outcomes and address racial inequities. The authors discuss individual and community consequences of racial disproportionality and disparities, experiences of racism and bias among children and families of color involved in child welfare, strategies for applying anti-racist approaches to child welfare policies and practices, and much more.

Vol. 99, Number 3 & Number 4: Poverty, Race, and Child Welfare
This special double issue of the journal focuses on poverty, race, and associated practices and policy in the US and Canadian child welfare systems. This issue’s contributors tackle such topics as taking a justice-oriented approach in meeting the needs of children and families; the ways in which poverty creates conditions that are interpreted as parental failings; the colonial roots of neglect in First Nations communities in Quebec; systemic racism and poverty as causes of Black children’s overrepresentation in child welfare; centering the lived experiences of people of color who interact with the child welfare system; listening to and supporting mothers; engaging neighborhoods in child welfare; how poverty can hinder family reunification; working toward income stabilization for families who are vulnerable; how the COVID-19 pandemic may have affected the incidence of child maltreatment in the United States; and much more.
Sample articles: Special Foreword: Lenette Azzi-Lessing & Vandna Sinha, Guest Editors
“The Need for Justice in Child Welfare”: Jerry Milner & David Kelly

Vol. 98, Number 6: Global Perspectives on Child Protection and Neglect
This special issue focuses on child welfare research, best practices, and innovation to promote more family-supportive interventions by systems in the United States and nations across the world. The issue’s contributors – hailing from Africa, India, Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Americas – bring attention to the significance of poverty and income/resource insufficiency related to child neglect and the challenges faced by child protection systems. Their work also discusses the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the health and social justice needs of children and families who are vulnerable, and efforts to support those disproportionally affected by this health crisis.

Vol. 97, Number 5 & Number 6: Twenty Years after the Foster Care Independence Act of 1999 (‘Chafee’): What We Know Now About Meeting the Needs of Teens and Young Adults
Teens and young adults account for about 25% of the general population, but make up more than 34% of individuals in foster care. Ample research has documented the experiences of youth who exit the child welfare system — many depart the system ill-prepared for life on their own, devoid of family and other environmental supports to help them. This two-part special issue delves into the challenges facing older teens and young adults as they navigate the foster care system, age out, and prepare for adulthood.
Sample article: Special Foreword: Cassandra Simmel & Victoria Kelly, Guest Editors

Volume 96, Number 5 & Number 6: The Intersection of Immigration and Child Welfare
This two-part special issue, produced in collaboration with the Center on Immigration and Child Welfare, is dedicated to issues surrounding the intersection of immigration and child welfare. Although documentation of the experiences of immigrants with the child welfare system has grown over the past decade, there remain many challenges to understanding the risks associated with child welfare system involvement as well as the strengths that may prevent child maltreatment in this population.  Additionally, the current administration has changed immigration enforcement priorities that previously safeguarded many parents, families, and long-time residents whose only violation was living in the country without documentation. Enforcement now targets a much larger group of immigrants for deportation. This volatile and unpredictable political climate creates uncertainties about policies and protections for children of immigrants implemented over the past decade and whether they will remain in place.  Given the complexity of these cases, child welfare agencies and the supportive services surrounding them must be equipped to effectively respond to the unique needs of children in families who are immigrants to promote positive outcomes of safety, permanency, and well-being; articles in this double issue tackle these concerns.
Read the Tables of Contents and Abstracts here
Read the Special Foreword here

Volume 96, Number 1 & Number 2: Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity/ Expression, and Child Welfare
This two-part special issue is dedicated to children and youth with diverse sexual orientations and gender identities/ expression (SOGIE)— such as those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning (LGBTQ)—who have experience with multiple youth-serving systems. The issues focus on children and youth with diverse SOGIE who have current or past involvement in child welfare, homelessness, and/or juvenile justice. Articles in this issue employ an intersectional analysis of policies, programs, and practices as they relate to youth with diverse SOGIE.

Volume 95, Number 3 & Number 4: Kinship Care and Child Welfare: New Directions for Policy and Practice
This two-part special issue  focuses on children in kinship care—those who are being raised by grandparents, aunts and uncles, older siblings, and non-related extended family members—to bring attention to this less visible area of public child welfare, featuring policy-based and empirical research on kinship families.

Volume 94, Number 4 & Number 5 Special Issue: Families in Child Welfare Affected by Substance Use
This two-volume special issue highlights the advancements made since the release of CWLA’s 2001 special issue of Child Welfare which put a spotlight on parental substance use disorders among families in child welfare, including those involved with dependency courts. CWLA with the support of the National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare (NCSACW) have compiled the lessons from many of those efforts into this two-part special issue of Child Welfare. Guest editors Nancy K. Young, PhD, and Julie Collins, LCSW, have produced a must-read two-volume set for anyone interested in the most up-to-date research on programs and practices working for these families.

Volume 94, Number 2 & Number 3: Improving the Use and Usefulness of Research Evidence
This two-part special issue considers how research is used in child welfare and provides examples of organizational strategies, structures, and alliances that embed research use in organizations’ efforts to promote the well-being of children, youth, and families. Policy-makers, practitioners, and researchers have different responsibilities and prioritize different activities; these differences contribute to gaps between what is known by researchers and the knowledge used by public child welfare leaders, administrators, and supervisors. The articles in this double issue speak to the ongoing, important work of those involved in child welfare research, and the successes and challenges they experience.

Volume 94, Number 1: Housing, Homelessness, and Economic Security
This special issue examines the critical problem of housing instability within the context of child welfare. Home ownership reduces the transmission of intergenerational poverty; promotes educational attainment; and increases parental and family satisfaction, happiness, and well-being.  With the publication of this issue, we hope to draw further attention to America’s affordable housing crisis, making clear and candid links between housing stability and child well-being. Most importantly, we hope to assist researchers, child welfare professionals, and policy-makers in finding concrete solutions and practical information on how to develop the partnerships necessary to provide for the housing needs of children and families.

Volume 92, Number 6 Special Issue: Outcomes from the Family Connection Discretionary Grant Cluster
In 2007, the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-351) now, more commonly known as Fostering Connections, passed through Congress to become law. One year later, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Children’s Bureau (CB), made available competitive grant funds authorized by this legislation. The Act provides matching 36-month grants to state, local, or tribal child welfare agencies and private nonprofits to help children who are in or are at risk of entering into foster care reconnect with family members. Twenty-four grantees were funded in the first cycle of funding in 2009. Funded projects implemented one or a combination of program areas: kinship navigator, family-finding, family group decision-making (FGDM), and residential family treatment. As demonstration projects, grantees installed, tested, and evaluated at local levels new and unique approaches to delivering services to children. Grantees developed programs as identifiable sites that others seeking to implement services for similar populations could look to for guidance, insight, and replication. This special issue of Child Welfare highlights several of these projects.

Volume 91, Number 3 Special Issue: Services for Native Children and Families in North America
There is a need for leadership of, and support for, Indian child welfare concerns and efforts. Organizations like the NRC for Tribes, about which Cathryn Potter writes in the penultimate article of this collection; and the National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA), of which Terry Cross serves as executive director, reflect that concern and support. It is our hope that this special issue provides a collection of articles that offers our readership a unique perspective on contemporary child welfare research, policies, and practices with Indian communities.

Volume 90, Number 2 Special Issue: Child Welfare Evaluation
In May 2009, the Children’s Bureau hosted the National Child Welfare Evaluation Summit in Washington, DC. The purpose of this three-day summit was to explore the current state of evaluation practice in the field of child welfare and to promote cohesive, strategic, and sound approaches for evaluating child welfare systems, projects, and programs. The summit provided a forum to discuss dynamic tensions in the field, such as those between theory and practice, rigor and flexibility, fidelity and adaptability, and evidence-based practice and practice-based evidence. This issue of Child Welfare journal focuses on Child Welfare Evaluation.

Volume 90, Number 4 Special Issue: Taking Child and Family Rights Seriously: Family Engagement and its Evidence in Child Welfare
The articles in this special issue of Child Welfare present diverse perspectives on family engagement and expand the definition of family engagement beyond the worker-client dyad, shifting the focus to the larger family and the service or policy setting. It is edited by several of the leading voices in the area of family engagement in the United States (Joan Pennell and Gale Burford), the United Kingdom (Kate Morris), and Australia (Marie Connolly). The article findings point to the benefits of family engagement in child welfare and also to its dangers when implemented without adequate supports and resources. It is my hope that the dialogue about this important area of policy and practice moves forward in continuing to connect children and youth with their families.

Volume 90, Number 6 Special Issue: Effectively Addressing the Impact of Child Traumatic Stress in Child Welfare
Perhaps no other child-serving systems encounter a higher percentage of children with a trauma history than the child welfare system. Almost by definition, children served by child welfare have experienced at least one major traumatic event, and many have long and complex trauma histories. Children in the child welfare system, especially those in foster care, have a higher prevalence of mental health problems than the general population. Abuse and neglect often occur with concurrent exposure to domestic violence, substance abuse, and community violence. These children also often face the additional stressors of removal from the home, multiple placements in out-of-home care (foster homes, shelters, group homes, residential treatment facilities, kinship placements), and different schools and peer groups. Research shows that exposure to trauma can increase the risk of experiencing multiple types of trauma, known as polyvictimization or complex trauma, with increased likelihood of adverse traumatic symptoms. This special issue is devoted to addressing the effect of child traumatic stress on children, families, operations, and staff within child welfare.

Volume 89, Number 2 Special Issue: Residential Care and Treatment
Recognizing the importance of disseminating quality research and promoting policy and effective practice methods, Child Welfare devotes this special issue to residential care and treatment services. This issue brings together an array of articles from national and international practitioners, researchers, government officials, and academics. This collection of articles spans a range of topics and issues. Each article critically examines an aspect of residential care services for children, with the intent of strengthening and adding to the body of knowledge. The guest editors of this special issue—Lloyd Bullard, Larry W. Owens, Louise Richmond, and Floyd Alwon—have taken great care to cluster the issues under four general categories: broad macro policy issues, program models of practice in residential care, specific residential care program issues, and findings of three residential care outcome studies.

Volume 89, Number 5 Special Issue: Convention on the Rights of the Child
The Convention on the Rights of the Child protects children, preserves and strengthens families, and is unquestionably improving the lives of children. It is time for the United States to join the global community and ratify this crucially important treaty— for the sake of our own children and children worldwide.