Children that experience chronic adversity and trauma can affect their neurological and hormonal development.
Type: Resources
FRONTLINE FOR CHILDREN | June 2020
CHILD PROTECTION POLICY – NEW AND NOTEWORTHY
State of Babies Yearbook 2020 (Zero to Three & Think Babies)
“The State of Babies Yearbook: 2020 compares national and state-by-state data on the well-being of infants and toddlers. The current state of babies tells an important story about what it is like to be a very young child in this country, and where we are headed as a nation. By nearly every measure, children living in poverty and children of color face the biggest obstacles, such as low birthweight, unstable housing, and limited access to quality child care.”
TexProtects’ Takeaway: Texas state ranked 43rd on the list for child wellbeing and our ranking for economic wellbeing, family & community, health, and education were not much higher on the list. With one in ten American children living here in Texas, we MUST do better. Our Prenatal to Three (PN-3) Collaborative has an ambitious policy agenda to improve services for 300,000 low income infants and toddlers in Texas.
Integrated data can help states better respond to and recover from crises like COVID-19 (Child Trends)
“State policymakers and program administrators need access to reliable and continuous data about early childhood services to understand what services have been disrupted, where services are most urgently needed, and how to deploy resources during and after the crisis to best support children and families.” Early childhood integrated data systems afford states access to comprehensive data, which may assist them in more efficiently responding to and recovering from crises like the global pandemic.
TexProtects’ Takeaway: The early childhood work in Texas is fragmented across multiple state agencies including TEA, HHSC, TWC, DSHS, and DFPS. To understand the way forward will require integrated data systems in order to better identify gaps and needs and coordinate and deliver services efficiently and effectively.
States Are Using the CARES Act to Improve Child Care Access during COVID-19 (Child Trends)
“The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act included $3.5 billion in emergency funds for the Child Care and Development Block Grant, and the federal Administration for Children and Families issued guidance to allow states more flexibility in meeting Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) requirements to mitigate the effects of the pandemic.… A new policy scan from Child Trends shows that states are using these emergency funds to improve the affordability of care and increase provider compensation.”
TexProtects’ Takeaway: As the nation continues to struggle with the COVID-19 pandemic, child care plays an even more vital role for working parents and caregivers needing respite. Texas is one of the states continuing to pay child care providers who accept subsidies, which is especially crucial due to closures of care centers and low attendance and enrollment in programs. Texas is also providing additional funding to providers who are taking care of the children of essential workers so that they will continue to serve families in need.
CHILD PROTECTION RESEARCH – NEW AND NOTEWORTHY
Addressing Racial Disparity in Foster Care Placement (National Child Welfare Workforce Institute – NCWWI )
This resource summary examines a recent case study in county-level public child welfare practices that attempt to address racial disparity in foster care placement. NCWWI concludes: “Child welfare systems need case-level strategies and community-supported interventions to reduce racial disparities in removal decisions and disproportionality in foster care systems. Child welfare administrators should consider development and training on case-practice and decision-making processes that reduce racial bias and increase racial equity. Additionally, it is critical to create collaborative community partnerships to develop systems of care that impact racial disparity within the larger community.”
TexProtects Takeaway: Tackling disproportionality in the child protection system cannot be done in isolation. It is crucial we collaborate across systems when addressing this disproportionality. There must be increased dedication, support, and resources toward both describing and solving the problem. Stay tuned for an upcoming blog series on disproportionality in our child protection systems.
A Review of the Literature on Access to High-Quality Care for Infants and Toddlers (Child Trends)
“While we know that high-quality early learning experiences that begin early in life can promote young children’s development and help reduce achievement gaps, much of the literature has focused on child outcomes related to attendance in early care and education programs for preschool-age children; less is known about how quality child care contributes to the development of infants and toddlers.” This literature review examines the existing research on access to high-quality care, specifically for infants and toddlers.
TexProtects’ Takeaway: Quality matters and access and affordability are continued challenges. COVID-19 has made the problems clearer than ever. If we want to do better and do something different, the time is now.
Resident Hispanic Fathers Report Frequent Involvement in the Lives of Their Children (Child Trends)
“To date, limited research has examined father involvement among Latinos — the largest racial/ethnic minority group in the United States today. Documenting levels of father involvement for Latino fathers, as we do in this brief, provides one important piece of the story needed to understand contemporary patterns of Hispanic fathering…. This brief uses data from the 2013-2017 NSFG [National Survey of Family Growth] to look more closely at levels of involvement for Hispanic fathers who live with their children.”
TexProtects’ Takeaway: Information on how fathers of color are involved in their children’s lives is important to providing community resources to further support families in caring for their children. Protecting kids mean supporting their families (and that means mothers AND fathers AND other caregivers)
Home Visiting Career Trajectories: Snapshot of Home Visitor’s Qualifications, Job Experiences, and Career Pathways (Office of Planning, Research & Evaluation – Administration for Children & Families)
Research on home visiting staff and the opportunities available for their professional development is relatively scarce. The study highlighted in this report sought to assess “the home visiting workforce in MIECHV Program-funded local implementing agencies (LIAs) to gather needed information about home visitors’ backgrounds and career paths. This snapshot highlights findings on home visitors’ qualifications, job experiences, and career pathways.”
TexProtects’ Takeaway: Home visiting is a critical community service and proven prevention strategy for families with young children. Home visitors in MIECHV Program-funded agencies have strong educational backgrounds and job-related experience and the majority of home visitors are likely to continue their jobs for the next two years. This is good news for communities who have access to these programs!
Not in the Same Boat – The Pandemic Is Reducing Childcare Availability for Lower-income Families (University of Oregon Center for Translational Neuroscience – UOregon CTN)
As part of their Rapid Assessment of Pandemic Impact on Development Early Childhood Household Survey Project (RAPID-EC Project), UOregon CTN is updating this site weekly with new reports on survey findings that assess how COVID-19 is impacting young children and their families across the US. In addition to this report, the project has recently published findings on the decline of well-child visits and young children’s mental health difficulties during COVID-19.
The full list of RAPID-EC Project reports can be found here.
TexProtects’ Takeaway: We must do more to ensure lower-income families get the child care resources they need during the COVID-19 crisis. We must take action through policy change in order to prevent child care providers who serve lower-income families from shuttering. Stay connected with our PN-3 Collaborative to be part of the solution.
CHILD PROTECTION IN PRACTICE – NEW AND NOTEWORTHY
Resources to Support Children’s Emotional Well-Being Amid Anti-Black Racism, Racial Violence, and Trauma (Child Trends)
In this resource, Child Trends offers “… several steps that caregivers can take to support all children, and especially those who have experienced direct or secondary racial trauma. While the evidence strongly suggests that caregivers need a holistic understanding of how, and in what ways, racial trauma impacts children and youth of all races and ethnicities, our recommendations focus primarily on anti-Black racism and the racial trauma experienced by Black children and families. These recommendations can provide caregivers with a foundation for speaking with children about racism and racial trauma.”
TexProtects’ Takeaway: Learning to be anti-racist and unlearning systemic oppression of Black individuals must start at an early age. Parents and children can use these resources to learn together what it means to move past changing beliefs into taking action to ensure a safer and more just world for people of color.
“Domestic violence (DV) is a widespread problem in the United States. Experiencing and/or witnessing violence in relationships can negatively affect the health of parents and their children. Therefore, any program that works with families should play a part in preventing and addressing domestic violence. Fatherhood programs provide an opportunity to engage fathers in these efforts. This document includes: Background information to help fatherhood programs better understand DV; Foundational principles fatherhood programs can adopt to address and prevent DV; Descriptions of promising practices already being used by some fatherhood programs; Recommended future directions for fatherhood programs, based on current challenges in the field.”
TexProtects’ Takeaway: Family violence is correlated with poor outcomes for children. Fathers who may be perpetrators and/or survivors of violence need a safe space to educate themselves and unlearn these behaviors. Families and children are stronger when fathers are engaged and healthy.
FRONTLINE FOR CHILDREN | MAY 2020
Where Science Meets Policy
Child Protection Policy – New and Noteworthy
“Many students will return to school having experienced increased adversity and trauma related to COVID-19, including increased risk of child maltreatment, domestic violence, food insecurity, and homelessness. With timely investments in evaluation, we can leverage this experience to determine the best ways to equip teachers and other non-clinical staff to support students experiencing trauma.”
TexProtects’ Takeaway: 60% of schools were not offering mental health treatment services before COVID-19. House Bill 18, a bill championed by TexProtects last session, will help ensure that school staff have training to understand the effects of trauma as well as strategies and supports to help struggling students be healthy and continue learning.
Nationwide Survey: Child Care in the time of Coronavirus (Bipartisan Policy Center)
A new survey conducted by Bipartisan Policy Center and Morning Consult explores child care needs amidst COVID-19 in terms of balancing work and the need for care; parents’ caregiving activities and approaches; the search for and return to care as states reopen; provider closures; and child care as an essential service.
TexProtects’ Takeaway: While work situations have changed for 86% of surveyed families, the need for child care has not. Just 22% of essential workers have been able to maintain their previous child care placement since COVID-19, 60% of programs are closed, and 21% of those still doing in-person work have reduced their hours to care for children. In order for families with young children to get back to work, Texas must invest in a child care infrastructure that increases access and affordability.
Child Protection Research – New and Noteworthy
Evaluating an Enhanced Home Visiting Program to Prevent Rapid Repeat Pregnancy Among Adolescent Parents (Family & Youth Services Bureau, OPRE, and Mathematica)
“A small but growing body of evidence suggests a combination of individualized support services and improved access to effective contraception can promote healthy birth spacing among adolescent mothers. To build on this promising research, the Administration for Children and Families partnered with Mathematica to conduct an evaluation of Steps to Success.” Steps to Success is a home visiting program in San Antonio, Texas.
TexProtects’ Takeaway: Innovations in the field of home visiting allow programs to better ensure that the program is tailored to the needs of unique communities and clients for maximum impact. In this example, program elements and intensity were adjusted to increase a specific outcome. Stay tuned for our upcoming report on Innovations and Future Directions in Home Visiting for more on precision home visiting approaches.
Researchers Find Association between Participation in Extended Foster Care and Reduced Risk of Homelessness (Chapin Hall at University of Chicago)
Extended care — allowing foster youth to stay in care beyond 18 years old — is intended to improve foster youth’s outcomes as adults. Because foster youth face disproportionate rates of homelessness as compared to other youth, providing them with stable housing while in extended care is crucial. This memo highlights a study to better understand “youth’s homeless experience and predictors of homelessness after the implementation of extended care” so that we may support policymakers and practitioners in securing appropriate housing for older foster youth and keep them from homelessness.
TexProtects’ Takeaway: The number of foster youth who face homelessness during their transition to adulthood is unacceptable. However, staying in care past age 18 decreases the odds of experiencing homelessness, as does increasing protective factors such as strengthened relationships and tangible community supports. In policy and practice, we must do more to ensure that foster youth have access to housing and programs that can better ensure their safety and successful transition to independence.
Exploring New Research on Pre-K Outcomes (Education Commission of the States)
“This Policy Brief analyzes 15 research studies on the effectiveness of pre-K outcomes in programs across the country and finds evidence of sustaining effects beyond kindergarten.”
TexProtects’ Takeaway – Pre-K return on investment is between $2 and $13 (depending on quality) with short- and long-term effects on not only academics but social emotional skills. This reduces grade level retention and increases on-time graduation rates. Investing in children early in their lives makes dollars and sense.
Being Healthy and Ready to Learn is Linked with Socioeconomic Conditions for Preschoolers
“Families’ social, demographic, and economic circumstances can have direct and indirect effects on children’s development.… The question addressed in this brief is whether children ages 3 to 5 from families of different backgrounds differ with respect to their health and readiness to learn.”
TexProtects’ Takeaway – A child’s environment and access to resources affect their development and ability to be school ready. To support our youngest Texans, we must support their families.
Being Healthy and Ready to Learn is Linked with Preschoolers’ Experiences
“A preschool child who is healthy and ready to learn demonstrates the ability to regulate their behavior and emotions, key social and emotional competencies, motor skills, health, and early learning skills…. The analyses in this brief examine the associations between a young child’s experiences and the extent to which parents report that the child is healthy and ready to learn.”
TexProtects’ Takeaway: Experiences in the early years shape biology, behavior, and health across the lifespan. Preventing adverse childhood experiences while increasing positive parenting behaviors like reading and singing together, limiting screen time, and ensuring adequate sleep would increase the number of children who are healthy and school ready.
Child Protection in Practice – New and Noteworthy
How to Help Families and Staff Build Resilience During the COVID-19 Outbreak (Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University)
This guide uses the science of child development to suggest three ways in which we can build up and strengthen resilience to improve current conditions and plan ahead for future times of crisis.
TexProtects’ Takeaway – Resilience is not something we are born with – it is something that is built over time and in relationship with a healthy community. With the increasing stress on many families right now, it is more important than ever that we “tip the scales” by offsetting those negative experiences with safe communities, supportive relationships, and access to care when needed. If that balance is not maintained, chronic stress can have negative impacts on child development, safety, and health.
New tools released by Chapin Hall help health care providers address social needs (Chapin Hall at University of Chicago)
“Health care providers are increasingly serving families whose economic and social needs are escalating due to COVID-19. Today, Chapin Hall is releasing two Practice Bulletins with evidence-based tips on how health care providers can sensitively and effectively engage families about their social needs and referrals to ensure that they get the services they need.”
TexProtects’ Takeaway – Pediatric primary care is one of the strongest access points for families with young children. The opportunities of a doctor’s visit extend beyond vaccinations and check-ups. When physicians are able to engage with their patients about their social needs and refer to community providers if appropriate, that visit can decrease childhood adversity and better impact long-term health outcomes for families and their children.
Frontline for Children | April 2020
Where Science Meets Policy
Child Protection Research
Touchpoints for Addressing Substance Use Issues in Home Visiting: Phase 1 Report (Office of Planning, Research & Evaluation – OPRE)
“Minimal research has focused on the ways home visiting programs can effectively engage and support families affected by substance use issues. This report describes what is known and what needs to be learned about this topic based on a literature review and review of current practices around six ‘touchpoints’ and four ‘implementation system inputs.’”
TexProtects’ Takeaway: The Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) presents unprecedented opportunity to expand home visiting programs to better meet the needs of families at risk of entering the foster care system. By preventing, identifying, and addressing behavioral health, these programs can put families on a safer and more secure trajectory. With 68% of removals linked to substance use, we must do better at providing families with help before a crisis occurs.
This brief uses a new pilot, National Outcome Measure of Healthy and Ready to Learn, to “understand how family characteristics, the activities in which families engage, and their neighborhood circumstances are associated with preschool children’s health and readiness for learning.” The authors found that strong family characteristics, healthy parents, and supportive neighborhoods all play a role in being ready to learn.
TexProtects’ Takeaway: Protecting children means supporting the families and neighborhoods in which they live! A parent’s physical health and mental health as well as the presence of anger, routine, or family strength all impact a child’s health and school readiness.
Continuity and change in the home environment: Associations with school readiness (Korucu, I. & Schmitt, S.)
“This study examined the continuity and change in the level of the quality of the home environment across ages 3 and 5 and its association with school readiness outcomes (i.e. attention regulation, language skills, social–emotional skills) at age 5.”
TexProtects’ Takeaway: The quality of the home environment influences a child’s development and learning. Even during change and instability, families with protective factors and responsive relationships can help children develop healthy social emotional skills and executive function for success in school and life.
Child Protection Policy
Top Federal Child Welfare Officials: Family is a Compelling Reason (Chronicle of Social Change)
This article, by Jerry Milner, associate commissioner of the U.S. Children’s Bureau, and David Kelly, special assistant to the associate commissioner, describes the importance of strong continued family connection for children in foster care during the COVID-19 crisis. “As we struggle to develop responses and adapt [to social distancing], we cannot forget the simple fact that children miss their parents, parents miss their children, and that absent aggravated circumstances, they deserve a fair shot to be together or get back together as soon as there is not a safety risk. Further, it is not merely a matter of longing for contact, it is a matter of healthy brain development, maintaining critical bonds, and prevention of trauma that can persist for generations.”
TexProtects’ Takeaway: Now, more than ever, we must protect and support parent-child relationships which are so primary for resilience and health. We have been presented an opportunity to innovate and reimagine systems that will better reflect our values to protect children, preserve families, and prevent trauma. May we use the teachings of this crisis to do better for our children.
The State of Preschool 2019 (National Institute for Early Education Research – NIEER, Rutgers Graduate School of Education)
In partnership with Rutgers University Graduate School of Education, NIEER covers the national state of preschool in 2019, including enrollment, access, quality, and important developments across all 50 states. The report also offers recommendations for federal and state governments to support preschool programs through the current economic crisis.
TexProtects’ Takeaway: Students are eligible to participate in the Texas Public School Prekindergarten program if they meet at least one of the following conditions: qualify for free or reduced-price lunch (185% of Federal Poverty Line), are homeless, are in foster care, have a parent on active military duty or who was injured or killed on active duty, are unable to speak or comprehend English, and/or have a parent eligible for the Star of Texas Award. Only 9% of 3-year-olds and 49% of 4-year-olds are enrolled in public Pre-K in Texas. Based on the Child Maltreatment Risk Mapping done by UT Population Health, community rates of school enrollment for 3- and 4-year-olds can be protective – one factor that may contribute to decreased risk for child abuse and neglect in a community.
Child Protection Practice
Ways to Promote Children’s Resilience to the COVID-19 Pandemic
This fact sheet explores the ways in which families and communities can jointly promote protective factors to buffer children from harm and increase their chances of adapting positively to adversities like COVID-19.
TexProtects’ Takeaway: Protective factors like meeting basic needs, social connectedness, and support for caregiver well-being may be especially difficult during COVID-19. That’s why it’s important to remember that it’s ok to ask for help. Protective factors grow with connection and support.
10 Parent Strategies During COVID-19
10 strategies for parents and caregivers to thrive during the COVID-19 pandemic.
10 estrategias para los padres y cuidadores durante COVID-19
10 estrategias para padres de familia y cuidadores durante COVID-19.
Frontline For Children | March 2020
Where Science Meets Policy
In light of the urgent and staggering impacts of COVID-19, this month’s Frontline for Children includes a new “Practice” section aimed at parents as they navigate new challenges with their own children.
Child Protection Research
During the COVID-19 pandemic, telehealth can help connect home visiting services to families
“Research shows that child abuse, intimate partner violence, and substance abuse increase during times of crisis, so it is now more important than ever to provide support to families who may face barriers to accessing services.” This resource summarizes research-supported technological outreach strategies for home visiting programs.
TexProtects’ Takeaway – Home visiting programs, Early Childhood Intervention, as well as physical and behavioral health services are quickly expanding their telehealth capacities in light of the challenges of COVID-19. Learnings from the field should ensure high quality adaptations that can better serve families with challenges to access both now and in the future and include cost considerations.
Scaling Evidence-Based Programs in Child Welfare (IBM Center for the Business of Government)
This report illustrates how policymakers might scale a pilot program that has been successful in its early stages, using three different child maltreatment prevention services as examples: home visiting, mental health services, and substance use services.
TexProtects’ Takeaway – As Texas develops a comprehensive and effective plan for implementation of the Family First Prevention Services Act (Family First), it’s critical that evidence from the field is considered. Successful scaling requires active and targeted support from lead agencies and sufficient resources to ensure fidelity to core quality components.
A New Way to Talk about the Social Determinants of Health (Robert Woods Johnson Foundation)
“This guide discusses why we need a better way to talk about the social determinants of health, and best practices to assist in conversation with different audiences around the topic.”
TexProtects’ Takeaway – Our health is influenced by where we live, learn, work, and play so we need to invest not only in where health ends, but where it begins! To do that, it’s essential that we communicate in ways that connect with leaders and voters across the political spectrum. This report has great advice on how to do so!
This report addresses how responsible fatherhood programs prevent and address intimate partner violence.
TexProtects’ Takeaway – A father’s role in promoting safety and well-being for children cannot be underestimated; however, there are numerous barriers to effective fatherhood engagement in programs that could offer support. When offering support to fathers who use violence, it’s important to help them understand the impact of violence on their children and to help them process their own trauma. Trauma-informed approaches are critical.
Child Protection Policy
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Information, News, & Resources for Child Welfare Professionals and Others (Child Welfare League of America; CWLA)
This link features tips, sample (state) policies and protocols, and resources that CWLA has collected regarding the outbreak.
TexProtects’ Takeaway – Child Welfare agencies, including our own Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, are having to rapidly respond to the changing environment as a result of COVID-19 while still ensuring child safety. TexProtects is closely monitoring and offering recommendations along the way and will continue to keep you updated on important developments and concerns as they arise.
Child Care is Essential and Needs Emergency Support to Survive (National Association for the Education of Young Children; NAEYC)
This position statement describes NAEYC’s response to COVID-19 and 10 steps for states and districts to support child care during this time.
TexProtects’ Takeaway – The COVID-19 crisis has highlighted how essential and under-resourced our early childhood systems are. Now more than ever, we need to ensure that these centers and staff are supported and protected to ensure their sustainability during this crisis and beyond it.
State Fact Sheets: How States Spend Funds Under the TANF Block Grant (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities)
“In 2018, states spent only about a fifth of the funds on basic assistance to meet essential needs of families with children.”
TexProtects’ Takeaway – In contrast, Texas only spent 6% of their TANF funds on basic assistance. TANF funds provide essential funding for not only basic assistance, but also childcare, child welfare, and Pre-K. However, the TANF block grant has been frozen since its creation and has lost 40% of its value due to inflation.
New Recommendations Released – Historic Opportunity for Reform in Child Welfare: Quality Residential Services (FosterClub)
The National Foster Care Youth & Alumni Policy Council recently released a statement with six priorities, including Quality Residential Treatment Centers (QRTP) and moving towards “a 21st Century Child Welfare System”.
TexProtects’ Takeaway – The Family First Prevention Services Act offers unprecedented opportunities to increase quality in congregate care settings. The voice of youth with lived experience should be a driving force in the process of determining the most impactful improvement to the child welfare system.
Child Protection Practice
Parent/Caregiver Guide to Helping Families Cope with the Coronavirus Disease (National Child Traumatic Stress Network)
“This resource will help parents and caregivers think about how an infectious disease outbreak might affect their family – both physically and emotionally – and what they can do to help their family cope.”
TexProtects’ Takeaway – In addition to physical health and safety, families have a unique challenge in helping themselves and their children deal with the stress of the isolation and anxiety due to COVID-19. Remember to take care of yourself, take a break, and offer yourself and your children more room to breathe and relax than normal. And stay connected! Your presence and calm will be the largest determinant of how they experience this time.
Coronavirus Resources & Tips for Parents, Children & Others (Prevent Child Abuse America)
This webpage offers tips on staying emotionally and socially connected while physically distancing during the COVID-19 crisis.
TexProtects’ Takeaway – Even when we are apart, we can get creative and stay connected to family, friends and neighbors, our culture, and ourselves. Our connections are protective and will be the ties that hold us together during challenges. Find ways to make this time fun when you can. We are in this together.
Resources for Supporting Children’s Emotional Well-being during the COVID-19 Pandemic
“… research on natural disasters makes it clear that, compared to adults, children are more vulnerable to the emotional impact of traumatic events that disrupt their daily lives. This resource offers information on supporting and protecting children’s emotional well-being as this public health crisis unfolds.”
TexProtects’ Takeaway – Reassurance, routines, and regulation can do so much for supporting children’s emotional health. And remember that reactions and behaviors will likely vary depending on the day.
The Coronavirus (COVID-19) Emergency: Information and assistance for young people in and from foster care (FosterClub)
This website provides links to resources, information, and opportunities for young people who experienced or are experiencing foster care to find support during the pandemic.
TexProtects’ Takeaway – Older youth in the foster care system as well as those who have aged out are especially vulnerable during this emergency. Access to information and resources will be critical to help them establish safety plans during this time.
Frontline for Children | February 2020
Where Science Meets Policy
New and Noteworthy – Child Protection Research
Trends in Pediatricians’ Developmental Screening Rates 2002 – 2016 (American Academy of Pediatrics)
A study released last week shows that 63% of pediatricians reported utilizing standardized developmental screening tools in 2016. That’s up 21% since 2002, but well short of the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendation that ALL children be screened at 9, 18, and 30 months.
TexProtects’ Takeaway: As part of our Prenatal to Three Policy Agenda, TexProtects will be working throughout the interim and into next session on ways to increase the rates and quality of developmental screenings, as well as ensuring that appropriate referrals are provided in response to those screenings. It’s about getting families to the right community resources at the right time!
Prenatal and Infancy Nurse Home Visiting and 18-Year Outcomes of a Randomized Trial (American Academy of Pediatrics)
A randomized control trial of 742 pregnant, low-income women with no previous live births found that children whose mothers had participated in nurse home visiting demonstrated better receptive language, math achievement, and a number of other secondary cognitive-related outcomes.
and
Prenatal and Infancy Nurse Home Visiting Effects on Mothers: 18-Year Follow-up of a Randomized Trial (American Academy of Pediatrics)
An 18-year follow-up of 618 out of 742 low-income, primarily African-American mothers with no previous live births enrolled in an randomized clinical trial of a prenatal and infancy nurse home visiting program concluded that nurse-visited women incurred $17,310 less in public benefit costs compared with program costs of $12,578.
TexProtects’ Takeaway: Since its inception, TexProtects has advocated for the expansion of evidence-based home visiting programs like Nurse-Family Partnership: they have an amazing return on investment and positive outcomes across multiple domains and two generations. Despite significant progress, less than 4% of families who could benefit from these programs have access to them. Expanding home visiting programs through the Prevention and Intervention Division, the Family First Prevention Services Act, and other funders is a critical part of our Prenatal to Three policy agenda.
New and Noteworthy – Child Protection Policy
States can improve supports for infants and toddlers who are in or at risk of entering foster care (ChildTrends)
Child Trends fielded the 2019 Survey of Child Welfare Agency Policies and Practices for Infants and Toddlers in–or who are candidates for–Foster Care to understand what policies and services are already in place for infants and toddlers involved in and at risk of entering foster care, as well as to understand where the child welfare field can leverage the opportunities provided by the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA).
TexProtects’ Takeaway: With FFPSA, states have a new opportunity to use federal funds to support the children and families who are at risk of becoming involved with the foster care system. Texas will likely need to increase its capacity to provide a robust array of services for infants and toddlers who are candidates for foster care, as well as their families. FFPSA is included in interim charges to multiple committees that will hold hearings in the coming months to monitor the Department of Family and Protective Service’s (DFPS) planning and implementation. Stay tuned for ways you can participate and speak up for Texas children.
Using implementation science to make sure evidence-based policy is sized to fit target populations (ChildTrends)
Child Trends’ Lauren Supplee recently appeared on the Freakonomics podcast to discuss evidence-based policy and implementation science, the study of what factors make it possible to scale up research-tested programs to serve larger populations in different communities.
TexProtects’ Takeaway: Evidence-based policy ensures that children and families benefit from proven programs. However, implementation matters! Investments in continued evaluation, adaptations for unique populations, and model fidelity are critical components in taking what works in one place to a larger scale. Thankfully, innovators at Child Trends as well as the Child and Family Research Partnership (CFRP) at the University of Texas are leading the way in designing solutions for these challenges.
Supporting Early Learning in America – Policies for a New Decade (New America)
New America makes eight recommendations to further policy actions that will help “America’s children become lifelong learners who are able to think critically and inventively, manage their emotions and impulses, and make smart decisions.”
TexProtects’ Takeaway: There is much that can be done to support the healthy development of a child’s brain in the early years, both inside and outside the home. TexProtects appreciates the recommendations to support two-generation programs (like home visiting) and ensure that they are integrated with other early childhood systems, as well as the recommendation to identify stable funding sources for early education and care so that parents can plan ahead, knowing they will have access to high quality and affordable care while they are at work.
State Child Care Assistance Policies: Texas (National Women’s Law Center)
NWLC compiled a sheet of child care assistance policy-related facts based on the landscape of care in Texas in 2019.
and
The Child Care Crisis Causes Job Disruptions for More Than 2 Million Parents Each Year (Center for American Progress)
“Unsurprisingly, it is mothers’ employment that suffers most when families are unable to find a child care program that suits their needs. The child care crisis not only affects families’ bottom lines; it also costs the economy $57 billion in annual lost revenue, wages, and productivity.”
TexProtects’ Takeaway: Texas policymakers must do more in the upcoming legislative session to ensure low-income families are able to receive child care assistance, which is critical for the parents’ ability to support their families. High-quality child care is also critical for children’s safety and brain development. 16,379 children on wait lists for child care assistance (as of February 2019) is too many.
Frontline for Children | Where Science Meets Policy
Launching our new monthly feature
TexProtects is pleased to launch our latest monthly feature, Frontline for Children. In it, we will share the newest and most noteworthy child protection research and resources to keep you in the know and inform your work. Our new partnership with Child Trends–the nation’s leading nonprofit research organization focused exclusively on improving the lives and prospects of children, youth, and their families–has expanded our ability to ensure that we are able to keep you connected to innovations and data that will inform policy and program to ensure that every child is safe, nurtured, and resilient.
New and Noteworthy – Child Protection Research
Pediatricians and Child Psychiatrists Suggest Comprehensive Approach in Caring for Children who Have Been Maltreated (American Academy of Pediatrics)
“’Ideally, pediatricians work closely with therapists and psychiatrists when treating children who have been maltreated, but we know this is not always possible,’ Dr. Keeshin said. ‘This report offers pediatricians some tools to help children and families address mental health problems that stem from maltreatment.”
TexProtects’ Takeaway: To ensure the most effective interventions for healing and to minimize the use of psychotropic medications, medical, social, and trauma histories should be integrated when working with children who have experienced maltreatment.
Opportunities for States to Improve Infant Health Outcomes (Center for American Progress)
Features an interactive map of infant health outcomes by race and ethnicity, across states. In Texas, the state average infant mortality rate is 5.8 per 1000; however, for African American/black infants the rate is 9.8 per 1000. Similarly, 8.4% of Texas infants are born low birth weight; however, that rate jumps to 12.4% for African American/black infants.
TexProtects’ Takeaway: Infant health outcomes are closely tied to a mother’s health during pregnancy. Texas must do more to ensure equitable access to maternal care and home visiting programs to ensure healthy beginnings for our children, particularly in our rural communities where there are the greatest disparities.
Children with special health care needs are more likely to have adverse childhood experiences
Child Trends analyzed data from the 2016-2017 National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH), which asks parents or guardians to report whether their child has experienced any of nine out of the 10 ACEs. We found that the prevalence of ACEs is higher among children with special health care needs than among their peers.
TexProtects’ Takeaway: Trauma-informed practices should be incorporated into programs and services for these children and their caregivers to mitigate the long term-impacts associated with adverse childhood experiences. Children with SHCN are three to four times more likely to experience abuse and neglect which make up five of the ACEs.
New and noteworthy – Child Protection Policy
Who’s paying now? The explicit and implicit costs of the current early care and education system (Economic Policy Institute)
“The U.S. is already pouring billions of dollars into the current system through government expenditures and parental contributions. And yet the current system is failing parents by stretching family budgets and keeping millions out of the labor force.”
TexProtects’ Takeaway: High quality early childhood education has a positive return on investment in terms of societal benefits as well as increases in revenue and savings for government. Our Prenatal to Three Initiative with Texans Care for Children and Children at Risk has set a policy agenda to further improve this system in Texas.
Impact of $550 Million in Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCBDG) Funding Increase for States (Center for Law and Social Policy)
Offers an estimated distribution of the $550 million increase in CCDBG funds across states in 2020. Texas is estimated to receive $56,939,000 in additional funding.
TexProtects’ Takeaway: CCBDG is the largest source of federal funding for childcare; however, even with this increase, only a fraction of eligible children will have access.
Family First Transition Act passed with bipartisan support
New legislation bolsters support for the foster care system by establishing funds to help states implement prevention pieces of the 2018 Family First Act.
TexProtects’ Takeaway: These funds will allow Texas to invest in family preservation by offering high risk families evidence-based mental health, substance use, and parenting programs. The Family First Prevention Services Act is an unprecedented opportunity that should be a top priority for agencies and lawmakers involved in child protection.