State Policy Advocacy & Reform Center

This post originally appeared on the Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children blog. In observance of National Adoption Month, Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children Development Director Audrey Eisenberg shares her perspective on making the needs of children in foster care a priority … The other night, my caseworker called to cancel our final...

SPARC Peer Learning Network member organization Massachusetts Law Reform Institute recently released a comprehensive set of recommendations for sustained reform of the Massachusetts child welfare system following a high profile death of a child under the department’s supervision. If Not Now, When? A Call to Action for Systemic Child Welfare...

SPARC has launched a podcast series spotlighting leaders in the field of talking about the issues child welfare advocates care about. Listen and engage.

The Affordable Care Act improved health care access former foster youth. This brief by the Urban Institute’s Dina Emam and CLASP’s Olivia Golden identifies best practices states can adopt to effectively implement the ACA’s former foster youth provisions.

Child welfare advocates are uniquely positioned to influence debates that impact the safety and well-being of our kids. SPARC is designed to help state child welfare advocates make an even bigger impact. We are proud to be supported by the Annie E. Casey Foundation and Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative....

State child welfare advocates are a powerful force for change for America’s abused and neglected children.

One component of The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 passed by Congress on February 9 and signed by President Trump that received very little media attention was the Family First Prevention Services Act (“Act”). Some touted this legislation as “historic” because it represents a fundamental change in the way state child welfare systems can use federal...

This is a brief to summarize the 2017 activities around the Going Places Campaign (a SPARC initiative). Teens in foster care as well as youth who age out of care often face significant barriers to obtaining a driver’s license. Without a driver’s license, young people in foster care often miss out on age-appropriate adolescent...

The House passed American Health Care Act (AHCA) or Trumpcare would impose $834 billion in cuts and arbitrary caps to the Medicaid program and negatively impact the coverage, benefits, and care for all 37 million children covered by Medicaid. Unfortunately, although often overlooked, it is the hundreds of thousand of vulnerable children in foster care...

In April 2017, SPARC released Child Welfare Primer: A Guide for Advocates, Policymakers, and Others Interested in Child Welfare Policy Reform. Although the child welfare field has made significant strides over the past few decades, advocates, policy makers, and other leaders across the country continue to push for new reforms to lead to better outcomes...

Youth aging out of the foster care system face unique challenges that can inhibit their ability to thrive and succeed as adults. Recognizing this, Congress included a provision in the Affordable Care Act that allows youth who age out of foster and enrolled in Medicaid to remain eligible for Medicaid coverage until the age of...