Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Child Welfare

Child welfare systems seek to ensure that children who have experienced or are at risk of experiencing child maltreatment achieve safety, permanency, and well-being. Child welfare services provided by state, tribal, local, and private social service agencies are intended to:

  • Prevent child abuse and neglect;
  • Protect children by strengthening their families while they remain home, or when necessary, providing foster care; and
  • Promote permanency for children through reunification with their families or facilitating adoption, guardianship, and post-permanency services for those who cannot be safely reunited with their families.

ASPE conducts work on policy and cross-cutting topics related to child welfare, such as identifying system drivers of foster care; improving outcomes for youth aging out of foster care; building state capacity to prevent involvement with the child welfare system, including reducing the disproportionate contact with Black and American Indian families; parental substance use; understanding variations in performance and outcomes across states; and, linking child welfare data systems with other health and human services data.

Related Products: