Knowledge Center Resources for Students & State Workers

Below are some resources for foster youth, foster students and state workers.

 

Check out our page on national and state organizations, online and community-based foster care support groups as well.

  • Casey Family Programs: Casey Family Programs (based in Seattle, WA) is the nation’s largest operating foundation focused entirely on foster care and improving the child welfare system. They provide nonpartisan research and technical expertise to child welfare system leaders, members of Congress and state legislators so that they can craft laws and policies to better the lives of children in foster care, children at risk of entering the system, and their families. Since their founding in 1966, Casey Family Programs has invested more than $1.6 billion in programs and services to benefit children and families in the child welfare system.
  • American Public Human Services Association: APHSA is a membership organization composed of agencies and individuals involved in human services work. APHSA pursues excellence in health and human services by supporting state and local agencies, informing policymakers, and working with our partners to drive solutions in policy and practice.
  • California College Pathways: An excellent resource for California college students from foster care and those aspiring to attend post-secondary programs.
  • Child Welfare/Foster Care Statistics: These federal Child Welfare Information Gateway resources provide state and national data on the number of children in the child welfare system, trends in foster care caseloads, and well-being outcomes.
  • Child Welfare Information Gateway: A service of the Children’s Bureau, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Child Welfare Information Gateway promotes the safety, permanency, and well-being of children, youth, and families by connecting child welfare, adoption, and related professionals as well as the general public to information, resources, and tools covering topics on child welfare, child abuse and neglect, out-of-home care, adoption, and more.
  • Child Welfare Institute: A nationally focused, nonprofit organization dedicated to providing quality consultation and training services to state, local and private child welfare and human service agencies.
  • Child Welfare League of America: The Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) is the nation’s oldest and largest membership-based child welfare organization. CWLA’s counts as its members nearly 800 public and private child-serving agencies nationally. CWLA provides support and resources for proven programs, better coordination of services, more efficient program management, and more effective service delivery.
  • The College Board: The College Board is a not-for-profit association connecting students to college success and opportunity. Each year, the College Board serves seven million students and their parents, 23,000 high schools, and 3,500 colleges through major programs and services in college admissions, guidance, assessment, financial aid, enrollment, teaching and learning.
  • Federal & State Laws, Rules and Regulations: This US Dept. of Health and Human Services site conveys mandatory foster care policies that have their basis in federal law and/or program regulations. It also provides interpretations of federal statutes and program regulations and more.
  • Improving Educational Outcomes in Foster Care: This Casey Family Programs book provides a modular framework for achieving collaboration across the federal, state, and local legal, educational, and child welfare systems. Emphasizing the needs of K–12 students, it contains resources for parents, caregivers, teachers, and child welfare professionals.
  • Juvenile Law Center: The oldest non-profit, public interest law firm for children in the United States, it has become a national advocate for children’s rights, working across the country to enforce and promote the rights and well-being of children who come into contact with the justice, child welfare and other public systems.
  • National Center for Learning Disabilities: The National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD) works to ensure that the nation’s 15 million children, adolescents and adults with learning disabilities have every opportunity to succeed in school, work and life.
  • State Child Welfare Agencies: Includes links to state child welfare agency websites in all 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands.