This guest post was written by Kendra Hanson. [Photo by LavenderLuz] Susan M. Wolfgram's article, "Openness in Adoption: What We Know So Far - A Critical Review of the Literature" is a valuable resource for prospective adoptive parents considering open adoption. While its publication in the 2008 April edition of the journal Social Work (Volume [...]
Two weeks ago DFL leaders announced their plans to cut $150 million from the base of the Health and Human Services (HHS) budget for the current biennium. This is in direct contrast to both Governor Dayton's proposal, which would have increased the HHS budget by $170 million, and the House and Senate DFL proposal to [...]
This guest post was written by Laurie Rottach. ICWA and the Responsibility of Adoption Agencies Adam Liptak's article, "Case Pits Adoptive Parents Against Tribal Rights" that was published in the New York Times on December 24, 2012 makes connections between a past Supreme Court decision from 1989 that involved the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) [...]
In a previous post, I wrote about a number of bills introduced that aimed to address children's mental health. The introduction of the Education (SF 978) and Health & Human Services (SF1034) omnibus bills featured several mental health provisions that were originally proposed within individual bills. Inclusion of these provisions in the omnibus bills increases [...]
This guest blog post was written by Courtney Knoll. ABC Family recently started airing promos for their upcoming series, produced by Jennifer Lopez, "The Fosters," set to air in June. It was highlighted this on the website BuzzFeed. Featuring a "multi-ethnic family mix of foster and biological kids being raised by two moms," the show [...]
This guest post was written by Teresa King. On February 28th, 2013 King5.com posted an article titled Support Safe Housing for All Youth Aging Out of Foster Care written by Jim Theofelis. Theofelis is a guest contributor for King 5.com and Executive Director of The Mockingbird Society. The Mockingbird Society's website states that their mission [...]
This guest post was written by Tracy Neil. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images / February 8, 2013) The Los Angeles Times ran an article on February 11, 2013 that was written by Karen Bass and Lucille Roybal-Allard that are both members of the Congressional Caucus on Foster Care. This article brought attention to [...]
In February of 2012, the Office of the Legislative Auditor (OLA) released its findings on child protection screening and provided recommendations for the State to improve this process. As a response to the OLA recommendations, Sen. Jeff Hayden and Rep. Susan Allen introduced legislation this year to establish a child protection screening work group and [...]