For families involved in Philly's child welfare system, this program is building a safety net

Sacramento County's Cultural Broker Program places trained community advocates between Child Protective Services and Black families to prevent children from entering foster care. They work directly with families from the moment CPS gets involved until the case closes. They attend meetings with social workers, translate complex bureaucratic processes and advocate for parents. Of 552 families referred to cultural brokers between 2018-2023, 90% had successful outcomes, meaning children were reunited with parents, adopted, or placed in permanent living arrangements.

Hennepin County implemented a comprehensive overhaul of its child protection system, implementing a multi-pronged approach including increasing the staff and budget, splitting caseloads more evenly among workers, and instituting a two-month training program for new hires with ongoing education throughout their careers. The overhaul ensures families receive more comprehensive support, including therapy and addiction treatment services, reducing repeat cases and improving family outcomes.

Court-appointed special advocates (CASAs) are trained volunteers appointed by a judge to represent a child’s best interests throughout the foster care system and adoption court processes. CASAs spend time with the children to get to know them and their situations, including their medical, psychological and social needs, to advocate on their behalf. The CASA program began in the 1970s; today, there are about 1,000 CASA programs nationwide.

Summit County, Ohio's juvenile court's Multidisciplinary Team Representation assigns a parent advocate and social worker to child-custody cases to help parents reunite with their children much more quickly than the system typically processes cases. The program has just begun in the county, helping a handful of families reunite, but a study in New York City showed the same approach reunited families 43% more often than if just an attorney were helping the family. Parents whose troubles lead to the temporary loss of their children need supports that help them get on firmer ground.

In order to address child abuse and neglect community members got together to form: R.O.C.K Mat Su, a collaborative organization composed of several organizations that has “teamed up with government agencies, schools and judges to develop a comprehensive solution.” So far, they have been able to train 10 schools to become trauma informed schools, trained over 2,000 people in the community, and created an alternative judicial court for children that prioritizes family reunification.

The MYENJAY Hope and Healing Foundation provides mental health awareness and sensitization efforts regarding substance use among young students. Volunteers from the program visit schools to talk to students, providing interventions and educational resources to help them understand the dangers of drug use. School officials say that since the program began talking with students, they have seen a significant increase in good behavior and a reduction in substance use.

A rural school is taking a “try everything” approach to helping students cope with mental health struggles, which were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. From providing various forms of therapy, to school-based clinic services and mental health education, school staff are leaning into more of a public health approach to mental health care. The services are also seeing support from parents and guardians as nearly all who were asked for permission to treat their child agreed, compared to just 70% before the pandemic.

Since 2019, students and staff at Montgomery County Public Schools have been able to take mental health days. They count as sick days, which are excused absences. Mental health days can be taken for a variety of reasons and allow people to take a break when they start feeling overwhelmed. When students take mental health days, staff and school counselors can then connect the family with resources and follow up with students to ensure they’re getting the help they need.

The rampant opioid epidemic tearing through communities across the United States is exacerbated by a rigid court system that fails to address individual needs and a severe lack of comprehensive treatment options, even for those who want to get clean. Family Treatment Court, like the one in Chautauqua County, N.Y., provides parents who are addicts an innovative intervention program that includes a broad range of custom-tailored services to permanently quit their drug use and keep their families together.

The drug crisis has reached new extremes in many parts of the country, as meth and opioids continue to tear families apart and funnel even more children into an already-strapped foster care system. In rural Montana, law enforcement and communities are trying a new approach to battling drug addiction, focusing on supportive family counseling and "drug courts" to help treat - rather than imprison - those struggling with addiction. In Lake County, Family Drug Treatment Courts are working to divert addicts from the vicious cycle and keep more families together.