This article originally appeared in the March-April 2000 issue of the Children's Advocate newsmagazine, published by Action Alliance for Children.

New Directions in Child Welfare

Resource List

Family Decision Making (see Families Gathering: At "family decision meetings," family and friends work out solutions for troubled families): The American Humane Association provides public education and technical assistance on family decision-making, including a national conference on family decision making to be held June 1-3 in Madison, Wisconsin. Contact Lisa Holguin-Merkel at (303) 792-9900, www.americanhumane.org

Networks of support: Community Partnerships for Protecting Children weave stronger community ties to help troubled families): The Edna McConnell Clark Foundation has provided funds and technical assistance to projects developing this model. Contact Susan Notkin at (212) 551-9100, fdncenter.org/grantmaker/emclark

Family to Family (see Fostering community: With the Family to Family program, foster children stay close to home and their parents gain mentors): The Annie E. Casey Foundation provides grants and technical assistance for community-based foster care projects. Contact John Mattingly at (410) 547-6600, www.aecf.org

Family Resource Coalition of America provides publications and technical assistance on a wide range of approaches to supporting families. The spring/summer 1997 issue of their newsletter features new approaches to child welfare, including models described in this issue. Contact Julia DeLapp at (312) 338-0900

Child Welfare Policy and Practice Group provides training and technical assistance for child welfare reform. Contact Paul Vincent at (334) 264-8300.

Center for the Study of Social Policy has done studies of innovative child welfare practices. Contact Megan Riordan at (202) 371-1565, www.cssp.org

Children's Defense Fund does research and provides information on community-based, family-support approaches to child welfare. Contact Mary Lee Allen at (202) 628-8787, www.childrensdefense.org

Child Welfare League of America provides information, technical assistance, and policy advocacy on a wide range of child welfare issues. (202) 638-2952, www.cwla.org

Parents Anonymous trains parents to lead peer support groups aimed at strengthening families and preventing child abuse. (909) 621-6184, http://www.parentsanonymous.org

California Department of Social Services Office of Child Abuse Prevention provides education on successful child-abuse-prevention strategies. For information on its conference on Home Visiting Strategies, to be held April 10-12 in Los Angeles, call Eileen Carroll or Linda Allen at (916) 445-2771. For information on its conference on Family Strengths, to be held August 28-29 in Sacramento, call Roberta Badal at (916) 445-2771.

Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law does legal and policy advocacy on child welfare issues and published a booklet on Alabama's statewide child welfare reform (see New approaches to protecting kids: A new generation of reform is emerging in child welfare systems across the country), Making Child Welfare Work, How the R.C. Lawsuit Forged New Partnerships to Protect Children and Sustain Families, www.bazelon.org

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