Child Foster Care Web Sites
American Foster Care Resources, Inc. (AFCR)
PO Box 271
King George, VA 22485
AFCR is a publisher of resource materials for foster care providers, the children in care and their families, and the placing agency's staff and administration. AFCR's publications cover such topics as ADHD, discipline, sexual abuse, independent living, recruitment, and support groups.
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Annie E. Casey Foundation (AECF)
701 St. Paul Street
Baltimore, MD 21202
The Annie E. Casey Foundation works to build better futures for disadvantaged children and their families. The primary mission of the Foundation is to foster public policies, human service reforms, and community supports that meet the needs of today's vulnerable children and families.
Major Program(s)/Initiatives(s):
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Association of Administrators of the Interstate Compact for the Placement of Children (ICPC)
American Public Human Services Association
810 First Street NE
Suite 500
Washington, DC 20002-4267
The Interstate Compact for the Placement of Children is a uniform State law establishing a contract among party States to ensure that children placed across state lines receive adequate protection and services. The primary function of the ICPC is to protect the interests of both the children and the States by requiring that certain procedures be followed in the interstate placement of children who are being adopted, placed with relatives, or going into residential care or foster family homes.
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Casey Family Programs
1300 Dexter Avenue North
Third Floor
Seattle, WA 98109-3542
Casey Family Programs provides an array of services for children and youth, with foster care as it core. Casey services include adoption, guardianship, kinship care, and family reunification. Casey is also committed to helping youth in foster care make a successful transition to adulthood.
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Center for Child and Family Programs (CCFP)
Institute for the Study of Children, Families, and Communities/CCFP
203 Boone Hall
Ypsilanti, MI 48197
The Center for Child and Family Programs (CCFP)has replaced the former National Foster Care Resource Center.
The goals of the CCFP are to enhance the lives of vulnerable children and families and to shape local, State, and national policies by working with public and private agencies to conduct research, demonstrate new models of service, develop training curricula and provide T/TA, conduct program evaluations, and develop policy recommendations.
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Chapin Hall Center for Children
1313 East 60th Street
Chicago, IL 60637
Chapin Hall is a research and development center focusing on policies, practices, and programs affecting children and the families and communities in which they live. The Center devotes special attention to children facing significant problems such as abuse or neglect, poverty, and mental or physical illnesses, and to the service systems designed to address these problems.
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Child Welfare Information Gateway
Children's Bureau/ACYF
1250 Maryland Avenue, SW -- Eighth Floor
Washington, DC 20024
Child Welfare Information Gateway connects professionals and the general public to information and resources targeted to the safety, permanency, and well-being of children and families.
A service of the Children's Bureau, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Child Welfare Information Gateway provides access to programs, research, laws and policies, training resources, statistics, and much more.
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Child Welfare League of America (CWLA)
Headquarters
2345 Crystal Drive, Suite 250
Third Floor
Arlington, VA 22202
The Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) is the oldest national organization serving vulnerable children, youth, and their families. CWLA provides training, consultation, and technical assistance to child welfare professionals and agencies while also educating the public on emerging issues that affect abused, neglected, and at-risk children. Through its publications, conferences, and teleconferences, CWLA shares information on emerging trends, specific topics in child welfare practice (family foster care, kinship care, adoption, positive youth development), and Federal and State policies.
Major Program(s)/Initiatives(s):
- Federal Resource Center for Children of Prisoners - http://www.cwla.org/programs/incarcerated/default.htm
The Resource Center is conducting research and evaluation, collecting and disseminating information, providing training and technical assistance, and increasing awareness among the many disciplines and service systems that come in contact with families separated by incarceration. The Resource Center's ultimate goal is to improve the quality of information available about children with incarcerated parents and to develop resources that will help create better outcomes for these children and their families.
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Child Welfare Research Center (CWRC)
University of California at Berkeley/School of Social Welfare
120 Haviland Hall
Berkeley, CA 94720-7400
The Child Welfare Research Center (CWRC) provides research on a variety of child welfare issues including adoption, case management, foster care, and welfare reform. For access to information on current and archived projects, please see http://cssr.berkeley.edu/research_units/cwrc/projects.html.
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Children and Family Research Center (CFRC)
1203 W. Oregon
Urbana, IL 61801
The Children and Family Research Center (CFRC) is dedicated to supporting and conducting research that contributes to keeping children safe, assuring permanent homes for children, and supporting child and family well-being.
The CFRC is an independent research organization created at the School of Social Work by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) and the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS).
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Children's Bureau (CB)
1250 Maryland Avenue, SW
Eighth Floor
Washington, DC 20024
The Children's Bureau, the oldest Federal agency for children and families, is located within the Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families. The Bureau is responsible for assisting States in the delivery of child welfare services designed to protect children and to strengthen families. The Bureau provides grants to States, Tribes, and communities to operate a range of child welfare services including child protective services, family preservation and support, foster care, adoption, and independent living.
Major Program(s)/Initiatives(s):
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Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI)
6723 Whittier Avenue, Suite 306
McLean, VA 22101
The Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to raising awareness about the foster children in this country and the orphans around the world in need of permanent, safe, and loving homes; and to eliminating the barriers that hinder these children from realizing their basic need of a family.
Major Program(s)/Initiatives(s):
- Angels in Adoption Program - http://www.ccainstitute.org/international.php
CCAI’s signature public awareness program, raises congressional awareness about the thousands of foster children in this country, and the millions of children around the world in need of permanent homes. CCAI’s Angels’ event provides an opportunity to members of Congress to recognize and honor the good work of their constituents who have enriched the lives of children through adoption.
- Foster Youth Internship Program - http://www.ccainstitute.org/youth_internship.php
The Congressional Foster Youth Internship Program (FYI) provides former foster youths, who are enrolled in college or graduate school, an opportunity to intern in congressional offices for the summer.
- Congressional Resource Program - http://www.ccainstitute.org/resource_prog.php
The Congressional Resource Program incorporates many of the ongoing activities of CCAI and serves as an informational and educational source to policymakers. Through both direct service and referral, CCAI assists members of Congress as they seek to draft positive foster care and adoption-related legislation and to meet their constituents’ needs.
- CCAI International Program - http://www.ccainstitute.org/international.php
The CCAI International Program facilitates ongoing communication, adoption education, and fact-finding trips between government entities on an international scale; and is most often administered in collaboration with the U.S. Department of State. The CCAI International Program strives to increase positive dialog with foreign officials and U.S. government officials involved in international adoption policy and practice. CCAI also assists governmental and nongovernmental organizations who are hosting foreign dignitaries in Washington, D.C. by organizing meetings on Capitol Hill on adoption-related matters.
- National Adoption Day - http://www.ccainstitute.org/adoption_day.php
CCAI is proud to be a founding partner of National Adoption Day. On the Saturday before Thanksgiving, in courtrooms across the country; lawyers, social workers, officials, parents, and children come together to finalize adoptions out of foster care, and to celebrate all adoptive families. In addition, national celebrations and press conferences are organized to raise public awareness of the 126,000 children available for adoption out of the U.S. foster care system.
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Foster Family-Based Treatment Association (FFTA)
294 Union Street
Hackensack, NJ 07601-4303
The Foster Family-Based Treatment Association is a membership organization committed to enhancing the lives of children and their families by strengthening family-based organizations. Treatment foster care is a model of care that provides children with a combination of traditional foster care and residential treatment centers, with the treatment occuring within the foster family home.
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Fostering Results Children & Family Research Center
150 N. Wacker Drive
Suite 2120
Chicago, IL 60606
General Scope: Fostering Results is a public education and outreach campaign that will work at the national level and in selected States to highlight the need to address the Federal financing mechanisms and to improve court oversight of child welfare cases.
Fostering Results is supported by a grant from the Pew Charitable Trusts to the Children and Family Research Center, School of Social Work, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Workforce and Workload Issues in Child Welfare: The Institute for the Advancement of Social Work Research (IASWR) is working in partnership with Fostering Results to promote evidence-based strategies to develop and retain a competent workforce. To learn more about Workload and Workforce Issues in Child Welfare, see http://www.fosteringresults.org/results/emergingissues/eiworkloadandworkforceissues.htm.
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Freddie Mac Foundation
8250 Jones Branch Drive
Mailstop A40
McLean, VA 22102
The Freddie Mac Foundation provides funds for various nonprofit organizations that work on behalf of children, youth, and families. The Foundation focuses on children and prevention-oriented programs. Typically, grants are awarded to programs that build strong families, prevent child abuse and neglect, and recruit foster and adoptive parents. Among the Foundation's major programs are Healthy Families America and Wednesday's Child USA, a campaign to promote adoptions.
Major Program(s)/Initiatives(s):
- Healthy Families America - http://www.healthyfamiliesamerica.org/
The Healthy Families America (HFA) program helps first-time parents nurture their young children, and helps prevent child abuse and neglect. Home visitors are assigned to new parents to provide support, parenting education and referrals for the services they need, along with training and employment opportunities, for up to five years after the child is born. Healthy Families, a signature program of the Freddie Mac Foundation, is coordinated by Prevent Child Abuse America.
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Girls and Boys Town
14100 Crawford Street
Boys Town, NE 68010
General Scope: Girls and Boys Town, the original Father Flanagan's Boys' Home, is an organization that cares for troubled children -- both boys and girls -- and for families in crisis. The mission is to change the way America cares for at-risk children. Girls and Boys Town provides treatment and care of troubled boys and girls and conducts research and development of programs to meet the ever-changing needs of these children and their families.
Training Specific: The Child and Family Service Division offers training for consultants, therapists, school counselors, and other practitioners who work with families. The Division's specialists train professionals to help children and families connect with the resources and support systems they need, as well as offering Common Sense Parenting® classes directly to parents at select sites. For more information on this training program, see http://www.girlsandboystown.org/pros/training/child_welfare/index.asp.
Major Program(s)/Initiatives(s):
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Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative
222 South Central, Suite 305
St. Louis, MO 63105
The Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative is a national foundation whose mission is to help youth in foster care make successful transitions to adulthood.
Formed by the Annie E. Casey Foundation and Casey Family Programs, the Initiative brings together the people and resources needed to help youth make the connections they need to education, employment, health care, housing, and supportive personal and community relationships.
As a grant-making foundation, the Initiative supports successful community-based efforts that create opportunities and build assets for youth leaving foster care through grants, technical assistance, and coalition building with multiple stakeholders. Grants are made to qualified nonprofit organizations or governmental agencies by invitation only.
Major Program(s)/Initiatives(s):
- Opportunity Passport - http://www.jimcaseyyouth.org/opportunitypassport.htm
The Opportunity Passport™ helps participants learn financial management; obtain experience with the banking system; save money for education, housing, health care, and other specified expenses; and gain streamlined access to educational, training, and vocational opportunities.
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Legal Advocates for Permanent Parenting (LAPP)
1840 Gateway Drive
Suite 200
San Mateo, CA 94404
The Legal Advocates for Permanent Parenting (LAPP) provides self-help legal information, training, referrals, and consulting on issues of interest to foster parents, kinship caregivers, and pre-adoptive families of children in foster care.
In addition, LAPP works to improve communication between child welfare workers, CASAs, attorneys, and the courts and to educate the general public about the fostering and adoptive process, with the goal of encouraging permanence for children in the public child welfare system.
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National Child Welfare Resource Center for Youth Development (NCWRCYD) University of Oklahoma
College of Continuing Education
4502 East 41st Street -- Building 4W
Building 4W
Tulsa, OK 74135
General Scope: The National Child Welfare Resource Center for Youth Development (NCWRCYD) increases the capacity and resources of States and Tribes to help youth in care meet the goals of safety, permanence, and well-being. The Center can help States incorporate youth into all areas of programs and services, implement services that address legislative requirements, and prepare for Child and Family Services Review (CFSR) and Program Improvement Plan (PIP) development and implementation.
The National Child Welfare Resource Center for Youth Development is a service of the Children's Bureau, Administration for Children and Families (ACF), U. S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Training Specific: The NCWRCYD focuses on increasing the capacity and resources of State, Tribal, and other publicly supported child welfare agencies to effectively meet the needs of youth who will be emancipated from the child welfare system. This will be accomplished by helping adolescents achieve the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 goals of safety, permanency, and well-being through the effective implementation of the John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Act of 1999 and other related programs.
Training and technical assistance activities are directed at assisting states and tribes in four primary areas:
Major Program(s)/Initiatives(s):
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National Foster Parent Association (NFPA)
7512 Stanich Avenue
No. 6
Gig Harbor, WA 98335
General Scope: The National Foster Parent Association (NFPA) is a nonprofit volunteer organization. The NFPA's purpose is to bring together foster parents, agency representatives, and people in the community to improve the foster care system.
NFPA promotes coordination, cooperation, and communication among foster parents, foster parent associations, child care agencies, and other child advocates in an effort to encourage the recruitment and retention of foster parents.
Training Specific: Links to training opportunities, a Speakers Bureau, and tools and resources are available from the home page.
Major Program(s)/Initiatives(s):
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National Resource Center for Family-Centered Practice and Permanency Planning (NRCFCPPP)
Hunter College School of Social Work
129 East 79th Street -- Suite 801
New York, NY 10021
General Scope: The National Resource Center for Family-Centered Practice and Permanency Planning (NRCFCPPP), a service of the Children's Bureau, focuses on increasing the capacity and resources of the State, Tribal, and other publicly supported child welfare agencies to promote family-centered practices that support the safety, permanency, and well-being of children while meeting the needs of their families.
The NRCFCPPP helps States and Tribes to implement strategies to expand knowledge, increase competencies, and change attitudes of child welfare professionals at all levels, with the goal of infusing family-centered principles and practices in their work with children, youth and families who enter the child welfare system. The NRCFCPPP builds states knowledge of foster care issues including placement stability and other foster care issues.
Training Specific: The NRCFCPPP offers on site training and technical assistance to States, Territories, Tribes, and other publicly supported child welfare agencies on a wide range of issues which promote sustainable systemic reform in child welfare. The NRCFCPPP is particularly focused on working with States throughout all stages of the Child and Family Services Reviews (CFSRs), including the development and implementation of the States' Program Improvement Plan (PIP). More information is available online at http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/socwork/nrcfcpp/training.html.
Major Program(s)/Initiatives(s):
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Orphan Foundation of America (OFA)
21351 Gentry Drive
Unit 130
Sterling, VA 20166
The Orphan Foundation of America's mission is to provide opportunities for America's foster youth to continue their education, to increase awareness of the number and plight of older teens leaving the bureaucratic maze of foster care, to highlight the potential of America's foster youth and the importance of supporting their dreams, and to offer direct opportunities for citizens, business, and civic organizations to assist older foster youth.
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Walker Trieschman Center for Professional Development WTC
c/o CWLA
400 First Street NW Third Floor
Washington, DC 20001-2085
General Scope: The Walker Trieschman Center (WTC), a division of the Child Welfare League of America (CWLA), is a national resource center committed to helping practitioners find better ways of caring for, treating, and educating high-risk children, youth, and their families.
Training Specific: The WTC coordinates and manages the professional development activities for CWLA, including staff and training courses for line staff and supervisors.
Training Courses and Programs include:
- Parent Resources for Information, Development, and Education (PRIDE) is designed to strengthen the quality of family foster care and adoption services by providing a standardized, consistent, structured framework for the competency-based recruitment, preparation, and selection of foster parents and adoptive parents, and for foster in-service training and ongoing professional development; and
- Effective Supervisory Practice is designed for both entry-level supervisors and more experienced middle managers from a wide variety of human service organizations dealing with children and youth.
WTC advocates for policies and practices that will strengthen the child welfare workforce, and provide agencies with strategies for recruiting, developing and retaining employees in a broad range of positions. For more information on these efforts go to the Workforce Development Initiative Program Page at http://www.cwla.org/programs/workforce/.
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