Selected Research and Reports

A Better Start: Child Maltreatment Prevention as a Public Health Priority (2010) How a public health approach to child maltreatment addresses the range of conditions that place children at risk for abuse or neglect and include strategies at the individual, family, community, and societal levels to promote health and well-being


Addressing Racial Disproportionality in Child Welfare (2011) This issue brief explores efforts to address racial disproportionality in child welfare by focusing on changes in policy and practice at specific decision points in the child welfare process—prevention, reporting, investigation, service provision, out-of-home care, and permanency—as well as policies and practices that can be implemented across several or all of these decision points.


Children Adopted from Foster Care: Child and Family Characteristics, Adoption Motivation, and Well-Being (2011) This brief highlights the diversity among children adopted from foster care and in their adoptive families.  Overall, findings from the National Survey of Adoptive Parents indicate that most children adopted from foster care are doing well and have parents who are satisfied with the adoption. However, there are some reasons for concern.


Cumulative Risks of Foster Care Placement by Age 18 for U.S. Children, 2000-2011(2014) Using synthetic cohort life tables and data from the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS), this study estimated how many U.S. children were placed in foster care between birth and age 18, finding support for three conclusions. First, up to 5.91% of all U.S. children were ever placed in foster care between their birth and age 18. Second, Native American (up to 15.44%) and Black (up to 11.53%) children were at far higher risk of placement. Third, differences in foster care placement were minimal between the sexes, indicating that the high risks of foster care placement are shared almost equally by boys and girls.


Disparities and Disproportionality in Child Welfare: Analysis of the Research (2011) Active and visible research on the topic of racial disproportionality and disparities in child protection and child welfare has been a subject of investigation for more than ten years. This document is an effort to update a previous review and synthesis of the research contained in Robert Hill’s Research Synthesis in Child Welfare: An Update (October 2006).


Ending Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children: A Call for Multi-System Collaboration in California (2013) As human trafficking, in general, has become a more recognized and visible problem throughout the world, political leaders and legislators have responded with new laws, initiatives, and conventions to define crimes, enhance awareness, provide services, criminalize exploiters, and track progress. The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of children is an epidemic spreading at an exponential rate across the state of California, this report makes key recommendations to put an end to this.


Foster Care in California: Achievements and Challenges (2010) The child welfare system in California is a fundamental part of the state’s social safety net, charged with the task of protecting children from harm and furthering their well-being. This report focuses specifically on describing and discussing issues central to foster care in California and on the significant advances that have occurred since 2000.


How the Child Welfare System Works (2013) This factsheet provides a brief overview of the child welfare system and its purposes and functions.


Sustaining Momentum: Improving Education Stability for Young People in Foster Care (2014) Entering the foster care system can catapult a youth’s academic career into a devastating tailspin marred by too many new-kid-in-the-classroom transitions. This report highlights the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s four-year effort to counter such educational instability. It highlights key lessons learned and leaves readers with specific recommendations and next steps for continuing this work.