Child welfare is a continuum of services designed to ensure that children are safe and that families have the necessary support to care for children successfully. These services are provided by a range of entities; public child welfare agencies often collaborate with private agencies, community-based organizations, and other public agencies to ensure that families receive the services they need, such as supportive child care, parenting classes, in-home family preservation services, mental health services, and substance abuse treatment. FPG's work in child welfare encompasses biological, environmental, and other factors related to ensuring the safety and well-being of children and families.
Featured FPG News Story
A commitment to vulnerable populations and the systems designed to assist them is shared by FPG Implementation Specialist Lena Harris and FPG Senior Implementation Specialist Robin Jenkins. This is reflected in their work providing implementation support to The Center for Trauma Recovery and Juvenile Justice at the University of Connecticut Health Center.
Featured Publication
States have many policy levers to build civil rights infrastructure to codify children’s civil and human rights. This begins with adding explicit protections to state constitutions and statutes, but can continue through legislation appropriating funding to defend civil rights and vigorous civil rights oversight and enforcement by state-level offices. A recent report reviews these and other state and local levers to protect the civil rights of children.
Featured Person
Lena Harris, MSW, is an implementation specialist with The Impact Center at the UNC Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute (FPG). She has been a strong advocate for children and youth in foster care for several years. She is passionate about empowering children and families to achieve improved wellbeing outcomes, with a focus on those involved with the child welfare system and the systems that interact with it.
