Child Welfare

This study examines changes in policies and procedures in local child protective services (CPS) agencies between 2002 and 2005-2006.

About 45 states maintain child abuse registries, which are databases that allow child protective services investigators routine access to child abuse history information to inform better current investigations. Most states also use their registries to conduct pre-employment background checks on persons who work with children, such as day care providers.

The overall purpose of this report is to show how marital quality, strengths, and/or interpersonal protective factors work to enhance the probability that children will do better among families where strengths are higher. Additionally, we reviewed the research about parental marital quality and child outcomes and showed how those two constructs are connected.

In 2006, ASPE funded the Child Welfare Privatization Initiatives Project to provide information to state and local child welfare administrators who are considering or implementing privatization reforms. The project has produced papers on a range of topics providing insights about factors that should be considered when approaching or improving upon privatization efforts.

This brief describes a range of strategies states have implemented to achieve higher Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) work participation rates. It describes four broad categories of strategies: (1) creating new work opportunities for TANF recipients; (2) administrative strategies; (3) TANF policy changes; and (4) creation of new programs.

This practice brief profiles two strategies, one statewide and one local, for analyzing, reporting, and using data to hold case managers and administrators accountable for increasing the work participation of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients.

This practice brief profiles three work experience programs that engage nearly all work-ready TANF recipients in unpaid work activities, either alone or in conjunction with education and training. Unpaid work experience is designed to mirror regular employment in the paid labor market.

When Congress reformed the welfare system in 1996, major goals of the legislation were to increase employment and income of needy families and to decrease child poverty. Another major goal was to improve child outcomes through increased parental employment and earnings along with other provisions of welfare reform.

In 2006, ASPE funded the Child Welfare Privatization Initiatives Project to provide information to state and local child welfare administrators who are considering or implementing privatization reforms. The project will produce six papers on a range of topics providing insights about factors that should be considered when approaching or improving upon privatization efforts.