Child Welfare 360° (CW360°) is an annual publication that provides communities, child welfare professionals, and other human service professionals with comprehensive information on the latest research, policies and practices in a key area affecting child well-being today. The publication uses a multidisciplinary approach for its robust examination of an important issue in child welfare practice and invites articles from key stakeholders, including families, caregivers, service providers, a broad array of child welfare professionals (including educators, legal professionals, medical professionals and others), and researchers.
Social issues are not one dimensional and cannot be addressed from a single vantage point. We hope that reading CW360° enhances the delivery of child welfare services across the country while working towards safety, permanency and well-being for all children and families being served.
To request a print copy or to receive updates on our latest editions, please contact cascw@umn.edu.
CW360°
Spring 2024 - Looking Back, Moving Forward: COVID-19's Impact on the Delivery of Child Welfare Services
Spring 2024 CW360°—Looking Back, Moving Forward: COVID-19’s Impact on the Delivery of Child Welfare Services
Editors: Traci LaLiberte, PhD, Stacy Gehringer, MSW, LICSW, & Denise McKizzie Cooper, MEd
The issue of CW360º explores the lingering impacts of the pandemic on families and child welfare practitioners. The issue also includes topics such as child maltreatment and mandated reporting trends, innovative strategies implemented in response to the challenges of the pandemic, workforce stability and the effects of hybrid work.
Spring 2023 - Interdisciplinary Collaboration in Child Welfare
Spring 2023 CW360°—Interdisciplinary Collaboration in Child Welfare
Editors: Traci LaLiberte, PhD, Stacy Gehringer, MSW, LICSW, & Denise McKizzie Cooper, MEd
The focus of this issue of CW360º is interdisciplinary collaboration in child welfare — how people, teams, programs, and policies all work effectively together to optimally serve children and families. In this issue, we explore the barriers to collaborative work, strategies to improving partnerships, the benefits of interdisciplinary learning, promising and innovative programming, and the impacts on service delivery for those with lived experiences.
Summer 2022 - Supporting Collaborative Birth and Foster Parent Relationships in Child Welfare
Summer 2022 CW360°—Supporting Collaborative Birth and Foster Parent Relationships in Child Welfare
Editors: Traci LaLiberte, PhD, Stacy Gehringer, MSW, LICSW, & Denise McKizzie Cooper, MEd
The focus of this issue of CW360 is supporting birth and foster parent partnerships and fostering collaboration among caregivers for children in care. In this issue, we explore the history and dynamics of these relationships, promising programs to promote birth and foster parent connections, and hear from many folks with lived child welfare experience.
Summer 2021 - Confronting Racism | Engaging Partners | Finding Solutions
Summer 2021 CW360°—Confronting Racism | Engaging Partners | Finding Solutions
Editors: Traci LaLiberte, PhD, Stacy Gehringer, MSW, LICSW, & Denise McKizzie Cooper, MEd
The focus of this issue of CW360 is confronting racism in child welfare and finding engaged solutions. In this issue, we explore the historical and ongoing racism embedded in the child welfare system. Additionally, authors offer approaches and possible solutions to address racist practices and policies that continue to cause harm.
Fall 2020 - Permanency and Transitions to Adulthood
Fall 2020 CW360°—Permanency & Transitions to Adulthood
Editors: Traci LaLiberte, PhD, Korina Barry, MSW, LGSW, & Denise McKizzie Cooper, MEd
This issue of CW360° explores permanency and supporting transitions to adulthood for youth in foster care. The issue provides updates to our 2009 issue, titled Permanency or Aging Out: Adolescents in the Child Welfare System. The current issue highlights ways in which our knowledge has grown and evolved over the past decade while also identifying areas still requiring our attention and continued examination.
Spring 2019 - Understanding Substance Use and Interventions in Child Welfare
Spring 2019 CW360°—Understanding Substance Use and Interventions in Child Welfare
Editors: Traci LaLiberte, PhD, Korina Barry, MSW, LGSW, & Kate Walthour, MSW, LISW
This issue explores the impact and implications of families’ co-occurring involvement in the child welfare and substance use disorder treatment systems. The overview section explores the latest evidence on addiction and recovery and the prevalence of substance use in families involved in child welfare in the U.S. Additionally, it explores key contributing factors for involvement and the systemic barriers that impact families, including stigma, poverty, and other social determinants of risk. The practice section includes articles on evidence-informed, innovative, and promising practices, including family drug treatment courts, medication assisted therapy, multisystemic therapy, and much more. The perspectives section presents articles from a variety of individuals involved with and/or impacted by substance use and child welfare, highlighting key experiences and lessons learned.
Spring 2018 - Criminal Justice Involvement of Families in Child Welfare
Spring 2018 CW360°—Criminal Justice Involvement of Families in Child Welfare
Editors: Traci LaLiberte, PhD, Korina Barry, MSW, LGSW, & Kate Walthour, MSW, LISW
This issue of CW360° explores the impact and implications of the intersection of child welfare and criminal justice involvement on families. Local, state, and federal efforts to support families and eliminate barriers to success are well established. It is imperative that we learn from these efforts while drawing upon family resilience, and to think critically about how professionals within these two systems can work together. This issue explores a shift to prevention, which includes investing more into our communities, addressing poverty, and eliminating bias. Additionally, we need systems that communicate and collaborate in ensuring accountability for crimes.
Spring 2017 - The Impact of Housing and Homelessness on Child Well-Being
Spring 2017 CW360°—The Impact of Housing and Homelessness on Child Well-Being
Editors: Traci LaLiberte, PhD, Korina Barry, MSW, LGSW, & Jennifer Bertram, MSW, LISW
On any single night, an estimated 550,000 people experienced homelessness in 2016 (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2016). Research has shown that the well-being of both families and unaccompanied youth is greatly affected by the experience of housing instability and homelessness. The nexus between housing insecurity and child welfare has become more clear over time. Poorer physical health, mental health, and educational outcomes are just a few of the negative consequences that families and unaccompanied youth face. Families and unaccompanied youth facing the many obstacles tied to attaining and retaining safe and stable housing often become involved with the child welfare system, and those same housing obstacles later contribute to barriers for family reunification once involved with the child welfare system.
This issue of CW360° explores the complexity of ensuring access to safe and stable housing and the resulting impact on the well-being of unaccompanied youth and families.
Spring 2016 - Child Welfare Reform
Spring 2016 CW360°—Child Welfare Reform
Editors: Traci LaLiberte, PhD, Korina Barry, MSW, & Jennifer Bertram, MSW, LISW
Child welfare policy and practice is ever changing across the nation, with countless reform efforts underway that aim to strengthen and improve the system. We often see large systems change that is sparked by crisis and driven out of a reactive response. Such large-scale change tends to lead to increased pressure on the workforce, and often increases workloads and leaves room for more crises. In order to make significant change that is sustainable, leaders must consider the voices of frontline staff, families, and communities. Reform efforts should consider established science by using data to understand what is working and what is not. It is imperative that supervisors and workers are supported through the ongoing challenges that accompany reform, focusing on high quality training that is provided in a timely manner.
This issue of CW360° focuses on the many complex pieces of the child welfare reform puzzle.
Winter 2015 - Culturally Responsive Child Welfare Practice
Winter 2015 CW360°—Culturally Responsive Child Welfare Practice
Editors: Traci LaLiberte, PhD, Tracy Crudo, MSW, LISW, Heidi Ombisa Skallet, MSW, LISW, & Priscilla Day, MSW, EdD
Most often the discussion around culture and child welfare is framed as a struggle or challenge for our field to address. This issue, created in partnership with the Center for Regional and Tribal Child Welfare Studies at the University of Minnesota–Duluth, reflects CASCW’s belief that the field needs to move beyond this to examine how culture can be used to make a difference in our work with all families. Through culturally responsive practice, we believe we will see true change in disparity and disproportionality in child welfare.
In addition to research, overview, and stakeholder perspective articles, this issue features an expanded practice section focusing on innovative, community developed practices.
Read Winter 2015 edition of CW360°
CASCW Partner Resources on Culturally Responsive Practice
Spring 2014 - Attending to Well-Being in Child Welfare
Spring 2014 CW360°—Attending to Well-Being in Child Welfare
Editors: Traci LaLiberte, PhD, Tracy Crudo, MSW, LISW, & Heidi Ombisa Skallet, MSW
This issue of CW360° is dedicated to exploring holistic views of well-being with a strong emphasis on addressing unresolved trauma as a key to better outcomes for children, youth, and families. Throughout this publication you will find research, policy, and practice strategies that reflect the emerging aspects of this work today.
Articles include a summary of well-being frameworks, research, and definitions found in both research and practice as well as an overview of current federal initiatives and grants to address well-being among children in the child welfare system; practice models to address child and family well-being; examples of collaboration and cross-system partnerships; and perspectives from the field.
Fall 2013 - The Intersection of Child Welfare and Disability: Focus on Parents
Fall 2013 CW360°—The Intersection of Child Welfare and Disability: Focus on Parents
Editors: Traci LaLiberte, PhD, Tracy Crudo, MSW, LISW, & Heidi Ombisa Skallet, MSW
Continuing the exploration of the intersection of child welfare and disability, this issue focuses on the experiences of parents with disabilities and mental illness (MI) in the child welfare system.
Articles include an overview of the prevalence and population of parents with disabilities and MI in child welfare, practice strategies and policy recommendations for supporting parents with disabilities and MI, and innovative examples of collaboration and communication across systems.
Spring 2013 - The Intersection of Child Welfare and Disability: Focus on Children
Spring 2013 CW360°—The Intersection of Child Welfare and Disability: Focus on Children
Editors: Traci LaLiberte, PhD, Tracy Crudo, MSW, LISW, & Heidi Ombisa Skallet, MSW
This issue is dedicated to exploring the issues of children with disabilities in the child welfare system, a population that is overrepresented in child welfare.
Articles include an overview of the prevalence and population of children with disabilities in child welfare, evidence-based and promising practices for working with children with disabilities in child welfare, and innovative examples of collaboration and communication across systems.
Winter 2013 - Trauma-Informed Child Welfare Practice
Winter 2013 CW360° (Special Issue with Ambit Network)—Trauma-Informed Child Welfare Practice
Editors: Traci LaLiberte, PhD, Tracy Crudo, MSW, LISW
Guest Editors: Abigail Gewirtz, PhD, LP, & Chris Bray, PhD, LP
This issue addresses the question of how to incorporate trauma-informed organizational and practice strategies into child welfare practice.
Articles include research on complex trauma, evidence-based and promising practices that use a trauma-informed perspective, and innovative examples of integrating a trauma-informed perspective into practice and policy.
Spring 2012 - Secondary Trauma and the Child Welfare Workforce
Spring 2012 CW360°—Secondary Trauma & the Child Welfare Workforce
Editors: Traci LaLiberte, PhD, Tracy Crudo, MSW, LISW, & Heidi Ombisa, MSW
Child welfare professionals face unique challenges such as secondary trauma as they undertake the day-to-day work of providing safety and stability to families.
Articles include research on secondary traumatic stress and how outside influences can impact work, ways of preventing and intervening from an individual to organizational to policy level, and examples of cross-system collaborations and strategies for practice improvements.
Winter 2012 - Using a Developmental Approach in Child Welfare Practice
Winter 2012 CW360°—Using a Developmental Approach in Child Welfare Practice (Special Issue with Center for Early Education and Development)
Editors: Traci LaLiberte, PhD, & Tracy Crudo, MSW, LISW
Guest Editors: Christopher Watson, PhD, Nikki Kovan, PhD, & Mary Harrison, MSW
CASCW’s first collaborative issue highlights the challenge of providing services appropriately tailored to the developmental ages of the children served by child welfare.
Articles include research on early childhood development and maltreatment, policy issues related to children birth to five in the child welfare system, and practice points for addressing early childhood experiences of trauma and abuse.
Spring 2011 - Child Welfare and Technology
Spring 2011 CW360°—Child Welfare and Technology
Editors: Traci LaLiberte, PhD & Elizabeth Snyder, MSW
This issue is dedicated to exploring how the field of child welfare currently develops, utilizes, and evaluates its interaction with technology.
Articles include an overview of how child welfare and technology intersect and challenges encountered, promising practices utilizing technology to improve outcomes for youth and families, and practice examples on harnessing technology to assist workers and improve outcomes.
Spring 2010 - Promoting Placement Stability
Spring 2010 CW360°—Promoting Placement Stability
Editors: Traci LaLiberte, PhD & Elizabeth Snyder, MSW
Stability is often elusive for children and youth in out-of-home care. This issue presents a variety of research findings and perspectives in order to address this need.
Articles include research and federal policy related to placement stability, ways in which workers, advocates, and agencies can help youth achieve stability, and perspectives of individuals directly and indirectly involved in helping youth attain stability.
Spring 2009 - Permanency or Aging Out: Adolescents in the Child Welfare System
Spring 2009 CW360°—Permanency or Aging Out: Adolescents in the Child Welfare System
Editors: Traci LaLiberte, PhD & Elizabeth Snyder, MSW
Readers are introduced to the complexities often present when working with adolescents in foster care. Solutions and innovations for improving practice are provided.
Articles include successes, challenges, and outcomes for youth aging out of care and youth finding permanency, current research and special challenges as youth transition from care, and personal struggles and triumphs of former foster youth, their workers, and organizations.
Spring 2008 - Children of Incarcerated Parents
Spring 2008 CW360°—Children of Incarcerated Parents
Editors: Traci LaLiberte, PhD & Elizabeth Snyder, MSW
CASCW’s first issue of CW360° seeks to understand the experiences and outcomes of children of incarcerated parents and their families as they receive child welfare services.
Articles include strategies for how workers can navigate laws as they work with children of incarcerated parents, profiles of service providers who are already implementing programs to assist families, and an overview of how increases in the rate of parental incarcerations have led to an evolving landscape.