Abstract
Permanency for children and youth in the child welfare system can take many forms, involving biological family members, relatives, fictive kin, adoptive families, or long-term foster families. When the decision is made to remove a child from parents who are unable to provide essentials of life or safety, it is important to keep in mind what many parents offer to their children. The strong affection that many parents feel for their children is a positive emotion that can form the basis for parental behavior changes necessary in order to maintain or create a safe environment for the child. These changes may sustain family preservation or enable family reunification.
Reunification, legal guardianship (with and without subsidy), and adoption all provide permanency options for young people that can promote a long-term sense of connectedness. Post-placement services and aftercare can provide concrete support and assurance to youth and families by increasing opportunities for stability. Community-wide interventions can address the larger systemic support necessary for all families and children to grow and thrive. However, it is clear that none of these placements, services, or efforts at larger scale community building can flourish in the absence of a committed federal effort to reorganize child welfare financing. Only with adequate federal funding can child welfare agencies direct resources toward early intervention, offer services to maintain the bonds of connection between children and families when possible, and provide both concrete and instrumental resources that ensure the well-being of youth and their caregivers.
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Donohue, C., Bradley-King, C., Cahalane, H. (2013). Permanency. In: Cahalane, H. (eds) Contemporary Issues in Child Welfare Practice. Contemporary Social Work Practice. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8627-5_4
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