Policy & Practice | Summer 2023

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Kati Mapa is the Director of Public Policy at the Child Welfare League of America. Jill Duerr Berrick, Ph.D ., is a Distinguished Professor of Social Welfare at U.C. Berkeley. Footnote 1. These figures are derived by dividing the total dollars collected (OCSE, 2021, Table P-12) by the number of children in care in 2019 (KidsCount, 2019). We recognize this as a rough estimate as some child support collections occur after a child has returned home or moved to another permanency arrangement. The purpose is to simply offer a general sense of state variability. References Cancian, M., Cook, S.T., Seki, M., & Wimer, L. (2017). Making parents pay: The unintended consequences of charging parents for foster care. Children and Youth Services Review, 72 , 100–110. Chellew, C., Noyes, J.L., & Selekman, R. (2012). Child support referrals for out-of home placements: A review of policy and practice. Institute for Research on Poverty. Hatcher, D.L. (2009). Collateral children: Consequence and illegality at the ensure a youth’s time in these settings is reduced, and they can move to the appropriate setting for services as quickly as possible. Moreover, NH designed CAT to fit into a constant service-array evaluation. As a result, the state continually uses program data to identify not only what services are needed, but where they are needed. Capturing this information provides a powerful tool to drive policy and service delivery decisions. Conclusion The COVID-19 pandemic acceler ated and exacerbated the gaps in getting U.S. children and adolescents the mental health supports they need, leading to an unprecedented and historic crisis for an entire generation CAT PROGRAM continued from page 13 a hospital setting. The CAT provides expedited assessments for NH to

intersection of foster care and child support. Brooklyn Law Review, 74 (4), 1333–1380. Hook, J. L., Romich, J., Lee, J. S., Marcenko, M. O., & Kang, J. Y. (2016). Trajectories of economic disconnection among families in the child welfare system. Social Problems, 63 (2), 161–179. Kang, J.Y., Romich, J., Hook, J., Lee, J., & Marcenko, M. (2019). Family earnings and transfer income among families involved with child welfare. Child Welfare, 97 (1), 61–83. Kids Count Data Center (2020). Children in poverty by race and ethnicity in the United maltreatment risk as a function of poverty and race/ethnicity in the USA. International Journal of Epidemiology, 47 (3), 780–787. Marcenko, M. O., Lyons, S. J., & Courtney, M. (2011). Mothers’ experiences, resources and needs: The context for reunification. Children and Youth Services Review, 33 (3), 431–438. National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well Being. (2005). CPS sample component Wave 1 data analysis report. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Administration for Children and Families. Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE). (2021). Preliminary Report, 2021. OCSE. of young people. While much work is still necessary to fully address the children’s mental health crisis, NH’s CAT program, in conjunction with the entire System of Care development, provides a promising model for other states to follow. By leveraging public- and private-sector partnerships, employing data-driven strategies, and dismantling barriers between stake holder agencies, states can deliver a comprehensive and coordinated response to the mental health needs of children and families. Through col laboration between public–private partnerships, com munities, and families, we can help increase access to the care and support children need to thrive. States. The Annie E. Casey Foundation. https://datacenter.kidscount.org/topics Kim, H., & Drake, B. (2018). Child

Orange County Department of Child Support Services (OCDCSS). (2019). Child support and foster care. Pelton, L. H. (1994). The role of material factors in child abuse and neglect. In G. Melton & F. Barry (Eds.). Protecting children from abuse and neglect (pp. 131−181). Guilford Press. Putnam-Hornstein, E., & Needell, B. (2011). Predictors of child protective service contact between birth and age five: An examination of California’s 2002 birth cohort. Children and Youth Services Review, 33 (11), 2400–2407. Shapiro, J. (January 19, 2023). In some states, an unpaid foster care bill could mean parents lose their kids forever. National Public Radio. Skophammer, T. (2017). Child support collections to offset out of home placement costs: A study of cost effectiveness [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Hamline University. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS). (2022). The AFCARS Report, #29 . Administration for Children and Families, Children’s Bureau. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS). (2012). Child Welfare Policy Manual. Wulczyn, F. (2020). Foster care in a life course perspective. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 692 (1), 227–252. Reference Notes 1. Leeb, R. T., Bitsko, R. H., Radhakrishnan, L., Martinez, P., Njai, R., & Holland, K. M. (2020). Mental health–related emergency department visits among children aged <18 years during the COVID-19 pandemic — United States, January 1–October 17, 2020. MMWR Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 2020 ;69:1675–1680. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr .mm6945a3 2. https://www.aap.org/en/advocacy/ child-and-adolescent-healthy-mental development/aap-aacap-cha-declaration of-a-national-emergency-in-child and-adolescent-mental-health/?_ ga=2.189625771.1276893893.1675105107 1950534109.1675105107 3. https://gencourt.state.nh.us/rsa/html/ X/135-F/135-F-mrg.htm 4. https://praedfoundation.org/tcom/tcom tools/the-child-and-adolescent-needs-and strengths-cans

Joanna K. Morgan is the Senior Clinical Program Director at Maximus.

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