skal0044

About Heidi Ombisa Skallet

Heidi Ombisa Skallet, MSW, LISW, was the Outreach Coordinator at CASCW from 2011-2015. She received her Master of Social Work degree in Community Practice & Child Welfare from the University of Minnesota in 2011. Her areas of interest include child welfare systems reform, Indian child welfare, family & economic policy, early childhood policy, and international social work policies & practices.

November 2013

Guest Blog: Creating Ongoing Relationships Effectively (CORE) at Family Alternatives

By |2016-12-01T19:33:05-06:00November 11th, 2013|Categories: Stability, Permanency, and Adoption|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

This blog post was written by Joan Riebel, LICSW, Executive Director of Family Alternatives in Minnesota. Family Alternatives is a licensed foster care and adoption agency. Andrea Brubaker's blog post on San Pasqual Academy caused me to share our experiences as well. For any child, being removed from her family is a traumatic experience, regardless [...]

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October 2013

Achieving Permanency for Youth Based in the Community

By |2016-12-01T19:33:05-06:00October 23rd, 2013|Categories: Stability, Permanency, and Adoption|Tags: , , |

This post is written by the Stability, Permanency, and Adoption MSW Intern, Andrea Brubaker. As an alternative design to placing children in foster care in permanent families, the non-profit group home San Pasqual Academy near San Diego, CA offers a place for youth in foster care to live, attend high school, learn job skills, and [...]

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September 2013

Minnesota’s Child Welfare Report for 2012 is now available online

By |2014-09-04T14:03:37-05:00September 26th, 2013|Categories: CASCW at the Capitol|Tags: , , , , , , |

Minnesota Statute 257.0725 requires the Department of Human Services to make available annually a report on child maltreatment and children in out-of-home placement. This report for the year 2012 is now available online. Federal Safety Measures In terms of Federal Safety Measures, Minnesota did better than the national standard for: absence of repeat maltreatmenttime to [...]

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Witnessing intimate partner violence as a child: Policy & practice responses

By |2016-12-01T19:33:05-06:00September 5th, 2013|Categories: CASCW at the Capitol|

The American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry estimates that ten million children witness incidences of domestic violence between their caregivers (or intimate partner violence [IPV]) each year. In addition, a recent U.S. survey showed that more than half of youth exposed to IPV had also been maltreated. Such exposure can result in manifestation of [...]

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August 2013

Strengthening mental health services in Minnesota: A child welfare perspective

By |2016-12-01T19:33:06-06:00August 9th, 2013|Categories: CASCW at the Capitol|

Minnesota's recently enacted omnibus health and human services bill includes changes to mental health services in Minnesota that could have an impact on children, youth, and families involved in the child welfare system. Children's Mental Health Services to Adult Mental Health Services "Mental illness" ("MI") definition modified. Case management and community support services for adults [...]

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Greater investment in services for children with autism spectrum disorder in Minnesota

By |2016-12-01T19:33:06-06:00August 2nd, 2013|Categories: CASCW at the Capitol|

DHS initiative: Reform 2020 Reform 2020 is a 2011 legislative directive for DHS to reform Minnesota's Medicaid program, Medical Assistance (MA), so as to improve outcomes for people with disabilities, seniors, and other enrollees. Specifically, Reform 2020 focuses on community integration and independence, improved health, reduced reliance on institutional care, attainment of housing and employment, [...]

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July 2013

South Carolina Supreme Court orders family court to finalize adoption of “Baby Veronica”

By |2016-12-01T19:33:06-06:00July 19th, 2013|Categories: CASCW at the Capitol|Tags: , , , , , , |

Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision on Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl, otherwise known as the Baby Veronica case. The U.S. Supreme Court had been asked to decide what constitutes a "parent" under the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), specifically if the definition includes an unwed biological father who had not complied [...]

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