Child Welfare Practice Tools

While across America schools are facing severe budget cuts, families with children are facing profound economic hardship, and students are feeling the effects of the downturn in the economy at both school and home. Families from all income brackets are feeling the difference. These changes are affecting the delivery of services to students on different levels, and the role of the school social worker is being greatly affected.

Immigrant families comprise a large and increasing number of all families in the United States. They are also a growing population in many state and county child welfare systems. Nationally, this increase has been acknowledged as an important issue that requires attention.

At this moment, there are more than 500,000 American children and youth in foster care (Casey Family Programs, 2005). Although most will be reunified with their families within a short time, many will spend months, or even years, in foster care. Whether their time in care is long or short, each of these vulnerable children needs a safe, caring foster family home to ensure their well-being and positive development while they are in foster care. 

Social workers have always played a crucial role in supporting families, either by providing therapy to newlyweds who are trying to sort through conflict related to managing a newly created household, or by helping couples who are trying to make the decision whether or not to pursue marriage. Social workers also counsel same-sex partners or heterosexual cohabiting partners who grapple with many of the same issues as married couples do.

Current research indicates that more than 500,000 children in the foster care system will be looking for “forever families,” either through a reunion with their birth parents or adoption by a foster parent or relative (Casey Family Programs, 2005). A new study by the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute entitled, “Listening to Parents: Overcoming Barriers to Adoption of Children from Foster Care” (Evan B. Donaldson Institute, 2005), finds that a major reason why so many children have not found homes is that the vast majority of prospective parents feel encumbered by a system they perceive as too frustrating, bureaucratic, and unfriendly.

There are many changes happening at the Department of Health and Human Services. They brought Michael O. Leavitt on board as the 20th Secretary on January 26, 2005 . He will oversee a department that funds numerous health and human service programs nationwide. In his statement before the Finance Committee on January 19, he described some of his priorities: the reauthorization of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Medicaid reform, implementation of the Medicare prescription drug benefit, global health, and medical liability reform.