New Report: Reimagining Child Welfare

We are pleased to share Ascend at the Aspen Institute’s newest report – Reimagining Child Welfare and Realizing a Networked Approach to Family Well-Being. Tapping the expertise and experience of families, Ascend Fellows, and the Ascend Network, this report is the result of our effort that began in 2020 to interrogate the systems, practices, and policies that work against children, families, and communities and contribute to disparities and poor outcomes. More specifically, Ascend launched the Two-Generation Prenatal-to-Three Learning and Action Community (2GP3 LAC) with that goal in mind.

The 2GP3 LAC set out to reimagine the child welfare field’s approach to child protection to reflect a preventive, strengths-based, whole-family orientation by drawing on provisions of the Family First Prevention Services Act and local, state, and tribal efforts to align early childhood and health funding, systems, and services more effectively. The 2GP3 LAC culminated its work by making four recommendations for practitioners and policymakers:

• Center equity, prioritize prevention, and ensure better outcomes for families who interact with child welfare and early childhood systems of care;
• Ensure that both the child welfare system and the larger system of care and education are culturally congruent and responsive;
• Invest in workforces across systems of early care, learning, and child protection to ensure they are best equipped to meet the needs of their communities; and
• Consider the potential for impact, flexibility, and sustainability in leveraging new and existing resources to support children and families.

The report explores each of these recommendations and provides concrete action steps for moving them forward as well as examples of where these approaches are already working to create a path forward that builds on the inherent strength and resilience of young children, caregivers, families, and the communities and cultures in which they live for better outcomes.

Reimagining Child Welfare

A Networked Approach to Family Well-Being 

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