A quick review of what we’ve learned so far:

  • In the 1800s, prevention services involved providing a safe place for children to reside, where they would no longer experience abuse (read the blog here)
  • In the 1910s-1960s, prevention services grew to include keeping children in low-income families with their parents (read the blog here)
  • In the 1970s-2000s, prevention became removal of children from their homes (read the blog here)

Prevention in the 2010s-present: Prevention begins to focus on preventing unnecessary removals of youth from their homes

What caused the shift?

  • Young leaders with experience in foster care began speaking out about their experiences of being unnecessarily removed from their homes, and continued to speak out as Congress discussed policy solutions1

What did this look like?

  • CAPTA was reauthorized in 20102
  • The Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA): Passed into law in 2018, FFPSA (more commonly referred to as the Family First Act or FFA), provided funding for prevention services such as: (1) Mental health, (2) substance abuse, and (3) in-home parent skill-based programs. These services are available for youth who are likely to become involved with foster care, pregnant or parenting youth currently in foster care, as well as the parents or kin caregivers of these youth3
    • *Important note: FFPSA did more than fund prevention services. However, that is outside of the scope of this blog

A Summary of Prevention Services from the 1800s to present:

  • In the 1800s, the problem was abusive fathers and the solution was removing children and placing them in a safe living environment
  • In the 1910s-1960, the problem was poor parents giving up their children or having their children removed and the solution was providing those parents with financial support to help them provide for their children
  • In the 1970s-2000s, the problem was abusive and/or neglectful parents and the solution was the removal of those children from the home and placement in foster homes
  • In the 2010s-present, the problem is parents not receiving important supports, which results in unnecessary removals. The solution is funding prevention services to help keep families together, when it is safe to do so

Sources:

1Examples of this: 

2Timeline of Major Child Welfare Legislation

3Title IV-E Prevention Program

Check out the whole series!

Part 1: 1800s

Part 2: 1910s-1960

Part 3: 1970s-2000s

Part 4: 2010s-Present