Connections Count

In This Issue:

Making It Possible

Need strategies to involve birth families in your state CFSR? New tools can help.

Resources and Tools

Two new resources related to dads as permanency resources: What about the Dads? Child Welfare Agencies’ Efforts to Identify, Locate, and Involve Nonresident Fathers (PDF) and Fatherhood.gov, the new federal clearinghouse with sections for researchers and policymakers.

Questions about kinship care among social workers, policymakers, state legislators, or community partners? See Is Kinship Care Good for Kids? (PDF)

Youth and Family Perspectives

“Kayla is like a complicated plant. She has roots with us— her adoptive family—and roots with her birth family. To be healthy as an adult, the more support she has in place, the better.”

Donna Coraluzzo, foster parent

Youth and Family Perspectives

Considering Adoption
In this interview with Casey Family Services, the Coraluzzo family of Connecticut discusses plans to adopt their foster daughter and to include her birth family.

Adoption in America
In this NPR report, a mother and son offer transracial adoption insights.

CBS News Looks at Family Finding:
In this report for 60 Minutes, Leslie Stahl discusses efforts to place foster youth back with their families.

State Spotlight

Ties with birth families—however complicated—are important to older youth in care, two different studies say.

About Connections Count

Produced by the Annie E. Casey Foundation/Casey Family Services, Connections Count is an electronic newsletter focusing on best practices, tools, research, and data on youth permanence in child welfare.

Contact Us

Casey Family Services
127 Church Street
New Haven, CT 06510
Tel: 203.401.6900
Fax: 203.401.6901

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Helping children, families, and communities grow stronger together.