You are here

Strengthening Families: Parents' Experiences at the Front End of the Child Welfare System

This presentation is by the Children’s Trust Fund Alliance and their colleagues regarding a project they have been working on in partnership with parents to identify alternatives to CPS investigations. Using a participatory action research approach, three foundations (Annie E. Casey, Stand Together, and Aviv Foundation) supported a project to engage with parents as planners, recruiters, and interviewers to reach out to 100 parents across the U.S. who have experienced an initial visit from their local child welfare system.

Ten parents interviewed 100 parents to help better understand their experiences at the front end of the system. The goal was to better understand how the system works and its impact; the project included outreach to other audiences including youth, child welfare workers, judges, and attorneys for parents.

Presenters included:

- Teresa Rafael, MSW, Executive Director, Children’s Trust Fund Alliance
- Tiffany Allen, Research Director, ChildFocus
- Jennifer L. Brooks, PhD, Senior Impact Advisor and President, Jennifer L. Brooks LLC
- Dee Bonnick, National Parent Consultant and Member, Alliance Birth Parent National Network (BPNN)
- Meryl Levine, MSSW, National Director of Parent Partnerships, Children's Trust Fund Alliance

Author(s): 
The Center for the Study of Social Policy
Year of Publication: 
2023
Workforce themes: 
Geographic location: 
Resource Type: 
Multimedia
Language: 
English
Section: 
Resource Database