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Publications
Casey Family Services Publications
 Call to Action: An Integrated Approach to Youth Permanency and Preparation for Adulthood (Casey Family Services, 2005)
This brief and comprehensive report examines the need to assure that all youth in foster care have both family relationships they can count on for a life time and the skills that prepare them to navigate the adult world. The Call to Action establishes an integrated and customized practice framework along with specific indicators of change for youth, families and the child welfare system.
Permanence for Young People: Framework and Measures Released (Casey Center for Effective Child Welfare, 2004)
The Casey Center collaborated with the National Resource Center for Family-Centered Practice and Permanency Planning at the Hunter College School of Social Work to develop a framework and measurements to guide states in improving permanency practices for older youth throughout the country. These materials were developed during a June 2004 meeting of national youth permanency experts that included parents, youth and professionals.
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Post-Adoption Services Papers Published
The Casey Center has published three Strengthening Families and Communities white papers that highlight key aspects of post-adoption services needs.
An Approach to Post-Adoption Services
Executive Summary (pdf) | Full Report (pdf)
Creative Strategies to Finance Post-Adoption Services
Executive Summary (pdf) | Full Report (pdf)
Promising Practices in Adoption - Competent Mental Health Services
Executive Summary (pdf) | Full Report (pdf)
For printed copies, contact info@caseyfamilyservices.org
Merging Permanency and Independent Living: Lifelong Family Relationships and Life Skills for Older Youth
Written by Lauren Frey, project manager of The Casey Center for Effective Child Welfare Practice, this article was was published by the National Resource Center for Youth Development's newsletter, NRCYD Update [Summer 2004, p. 8]. Frey clarifies a best practice definition of permanency as a family relationship that is intended to last a lifetime. She challenges child welfare practitioners and policy-makers to concurrently prioritize permanency outcomes along with safety and well-being outcomes for older youth. Eight core principles are identified as foundational to successfully integrating family permanency with life skills, long-term supports and transitional services for the oldest youth in our foster care system.
Go to Article! (pdf)
The Road to Independence: A Summary of Life Skills Activities
(Casey Family Services, 2004)
This paper outlines the eight core principles that guide Casey Family Services' efforts to help youth learn the life skills they need to lead happy and productive lives. Brief descriptions of agency-wide programs and initiatives in eight divisions are also included.
The Road to Independence: A Summary of Life Skills Activities (pdf)
For printed copies, contact info@caseyfamilyservices.org.
Probate Court Study Spurs Reform
Just one month after Casey Family Services' study of the Connecticut Probate Court System was released, a pilot regional children's probate court was created to address some of the shortcomings it identified. The 73-page report, A Study of Connecticut's Probate Courts and the Management of Children's Matters Involving Custody and Guardianship, reviewed the operation of the State's Probate Courts from the point of view of various shareholders and studied Probate Courts outside Connecticut for ideas about how the needs of children could be better met.
"This really brings together all of our strengths," says Casey Family Services Executive Director Raymond Torres. "Through our direct work with families, we knew the courts could do better for children. Through our research department, we were able to conduct a comprehensive study of the system with concrete recommendations for making it work better. Through our continuing work with policy makers and families, we will be able to make sure the outcomes do, in fact, improve the way the Court deals with children and families."
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Annie E. Casey Foundation Publications
Strengthening Families, Strengthening Schools A Web-Based Toolkit
(Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2004)
A web-based resource to help schools, families, and communities develop more effective connections and partnerships. The toolkit includes:
- research and good practices from school and community resources
- checklists and printer-ready materials
- links to websites
- resources for families who want to get more involved in the children's schools.
The toolkit contains videos, a glossary section and four separate components: Getting Started; Strengthening Families; Strengthening Schools; and Strengthening Policy.
To download a copy, go to www.aecf.org/mc/schooltoolkit.
Earn It, Keep It, Save It
(Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2004)
This report highlights the Annie E. Casey Foundation's National Tax Assistance for
Working Families Campaign, which helps low-income families access free tax preparation and claim the earned income tax credit (EITC). The report follows three successful campaigns in Boston, Louisville and rural North Carolina. To learn more about EITC, visit www.eitc.info.
To receive a copy or view the document online, please visit www.aecf.org.
The Unsolved Challenge of System Reform: The condition of the frontline human services workforce
(Annie E Casey Foundation, 2004)
Human services delivery is rapidly reaching a state of crisis. Despite overwhelming evidence that even small investments in recruitment and retention generate significant gains for children and families, these workers are asked to do more with less every year. This report, published by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, outlines the findings that led the Casey Foundation to these conclusions and that serve as the basis for the newly launched Human Services Workforce Initiative.
To receive a copy or view the document online, please visit www.aecf.org.
Other Publications
Report Released on Adopting Foster Children
The National Adoption Day Coalition has released the first state-by-state analysis of the barriers to adopting foster children and promising practices to encourage the adoption of these children.
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Fostering the Future: Safety, Permanence and Well-Being for Children in Foster Care
(The Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care, 2004)
This report describes far-reaching recommendations to overhaul the nation's foster care system developed by The Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care after a year of intensive analysis and conversations with professionals, parents and children.
The Commission assessed two key aspects of the foster care system: federal financing that encourages an over-reliance on placement of children in foster care, and a court system that lacks sufficient tools, information and accountability to move children swiftly out of foster care and into permanent homes. The Commission believes that reform in these two areas will have far-reaching effects for children in foster care and is a critical first step to solving many other problems that plague the child welfare system.
The recommendations call for greater accountability by both child welfare agencies and courts. They give states a flexible, reliable source of federal funding, as well as new options and incentives to seek safety and permanence for children in foster care. Further, they help courts secure the tools, information and training needed to fulfill their responsibilities to children, and help children and parents have a strong, informed voice in court proceedings.
To receive a copy of the report or to get more information about The Pew Commission, go to www.pewfostercare.org.
Kids Count 2004 Calls for Unified Approach to Helping Youth Succeed
This year's Kids Count Data Book, produced by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, focuses on the issues facing foster youth making the transition to adulthood.
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Assessing the Effects of Foster Care: Early Results from the Casey National Alumni Study
(Casey Family Programs, 2004)
This study compiles case record data from more than 1,000 foster care alumni who went through any of 23 Casey programs and presents factors that researchers found predicted success for those youth when they became adults. Among the key factors: life skills preparation, being male, retaining housing after aging out, and getting a high school diploma before leaving foster care.
To download a copy of the report, please visit www.casey.org.
Final Report of the White House Task Force for Disadvantaged Youth
(White House Task Force for Disadvantaged Youth, 2004)
Submitted to the President, the report seeks to provide "a framework for Federal youth policy that encompasses a comprehensive Federal response, under existing authorities and programs, to the problems facing America's youth, with a focus on enhanced agency accountability and effectiveness." The Task Force recommends that the first designated "special target populations" should be youth who are already in public institutions, youth in foster care particularly those aging out of foster care), and juvenile justice youth.
To download a copy of the report, please visit www.ncfy.com/whreport.htm.
The Human Costs of Foster Care: Voices from the Inside
(Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care, 2004)
This report examines the experiences of foster children, as well as their birth and foster or adoptive parents, through a series of focus group discussions. Information shared illustrates serious shortcomings in the nation's child welfare system, of which foster care is the largest component, as well as aspects of the system that are successfully helping children live safely in permanent families.
To view the report, please visit www.pewfostercare.org.
Children, Families and Foster Care: Issues and Ideas
(The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, 2004)
The latest issue of The Future of Children examines the plight of children in foster care. Although foster care is a necessary lifeline for children who cannot safely remain with their families, too often the system lets these children down. They can be alienated from their birth families; "bumped around" from home to home; receive inconsistent medical care and "one-size-fits-all" service plans. Recent reforms in the child welfare system are a step in the right direction, but much more could and should be done. This guide highlights three key areas that can improve how children and families experience foster care and can enhance accountability within the child welfare system.
To view the document online, please visit www.futureofchildren.org.
Casey Family Services and the Annie E. Casey Foundation developed this paper in collaboration with the California Permanency for Youth Project, Casey Family Programs and the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative, Inc.
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Voice Archive
Voice is published quarterly by Casey Family Services for child welfare professionals, advocates and the children and families they serve.
More Publications
Check this section out to see a full range of useful publications.
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