Equity in Permanency
International Social Service (2023)
This paper reviews the principles of equity in permanency to connect and place children with family locally and globally and offers related practice recommendations.
This paper reviews the principles of equity in permanency to connect and place children with family locally and globally and offers related practice recommendations.
This policy brief reviews recent research on child welfare agency practices serving immigrants during the pandemic and offers four policy recommendations to response to the needs of immigrant families in the child welfare system.
This brief reviews foster care licensure for immigrant caregivers, describes challenges that state licensing standards may present for undocumented caregivers, and explains how caregivers may overcome these challenges.
This policy brief discusses the state of immigrant children’s eligibility and coverage by Medicaid and CHIP in 2019.
This fact sheet reviews federal and state policy that impact healthcare coverage for immigrants.
This legal brief provides clarification on many common questions related to what role the California state court’s play in Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) cases.
This policy brief outlines key steps that state and localities can take to protect and support unaccompanied children and help reunify them with family as quickly as possible.
This policy brief provides a framework of the essential elements that should be included to create standardized and comprehensive processes for identifying and tracking Dual Language Learners within early childhood systems.
Immigrant and refugee families are an at-risk population that are not often enrolled in home visiting program. The purpose of home visiting programs is to support children and their caretakers and for immigrant and refugee families this could mean assistance with integration-related supports that help parents access early childhood, health, and social services systems. This policy brief discusses approaches that some states have utilized to help immigrant and refugees access home visiting programs.
Some states and localities have developed specialized policies and practices for working with children in immigrant families, though these vary considerably. This report explores this diversity of approaches, drawing on interviews with child welfare officials from 14 states, six counties, and New York City. For each of nine key issues—ranging from agency staffing and training, to language access policies and cooperation with foreign consulates—the researchers identify a recommended approach and discuss relevant policies and practices.
This article discusses legislation enacted in California that addresses some of these questions, as well as recent federal policy that helps safeguard the parental rights of undocumented immigrants involved in federal immigration enforcement proceedings. Additionally, this article reviews federal child welfare law and policy that support best practices for working with immigrant families.
This publication presents an overview of state laws that designate the officials and entities that may have access to the confidential records of child abuse and neglect reports and investigations, the circumstances under which information may be disclosed, and the appropriate use of confidential information. Public disclosure of information in cases of child abuse-related fatalities or near fatalities also is addressed. Summaries of laws related to these issues for all states and U.S. territories are included.
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This report documents how the current immigration context is affecting our nation’s youngest children, under age eight, based on interviews and focus groups in 2017 with more than 150 early childhood educators and parents in six states—California, Georgia, Illinois, New Mexico, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania.
Read ReportA list and description of various child welfare bills recently signed in California, including a variety of juvenile justice-related bills.
Read the AnalysisFoster parents follow guidelines for credentialing that vary by state. Although nothing in federal law prohibits persons with undocumented status from becoming foster parents, many states – but not all – prohibit those who are undocumented from obtaining foster parent status. This lack of credentialing opportunity for those without legal status results in both reduced financial resources to those relatives who potentially want to foster and are not documented and reduced opportunity for children to be placed in kinship care situations when these constraints are prohibitive.
State variations in law and policy are examined here for how they affect foster licensure. A summary version of this resource is also available.
The Urban Institute’s State Immigration Policy Resource compiles state-level immigrant and immigration policies in three major areas: enforcement, public benefit access, and integration.
Access the ResourcesCalifornia Senate Bill 873 clarifies the role and responsibility of the superior courts in making the findings needed for determining whether an individual is eligible for Special Immigration Juvenile Status. This report provides information regarding the background for this legislation as well as the efforts underway to assist the courts (i.e., providing education, resources, and other services).
View ReportIn March of 2014, the California Department of Social Services issued this all county letter, which provides information on the key components of Senate Bill 1064.
Read LetterThis is a recording of the The Reuniting Immigrant Families Act: A Case Study on California’s Senate Bill 1064 webinar. Speakers included Yali Lincroft, Consultant, First Focus Campaign for Children; Wendy Cervantes, Vice President, Immigration and Child Rights Policy, First Focus Campaign for Children; Alex Salgado, Legislative Aide to California Senator Kevin de Leon; and Laurie Melrood, Children’s Advocate, Arizona.
Listen to Webinar RecordingThis special issue includes articles that address the intersection between the legal and child welfare systems.
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