To ensure the safety of vulnerable children, state leadership is essential to mobilize the resources and efforts of critical public and private stakeholders. Governors can communicate a vision of shared responsibility for child safety and well-being that begins with the state child welfare agency but ultimately engages many family- and child-serving agencies. With an eye toward both child well-being and systems efficiency, governors have the opportunity to strategically work with their agencies on safely reducing the number of families affected by the foster care system. Governors can increase the safety and well-being of children by increasing efforts to address and prevent the child safety issues that many families face. For those children who do come into foster care, child-serving agencies can provide the necessary collaborative leadership to move these children to permanency as quickly as possible.
Older youth who age out of foster care are more likely than non-foster care youth to experience compounding socioeconomic hurdles. Governors can make a difference for older youth through measures to ensure these youth experience strong transitional connections to system supports in education, job training, housing, health, mental health, family planning and financial literacy.
Child Safety
The Three Branch Institute is a multi-year partnership between the NGA Center and the National Conference of State Legislatures, with support from Casey Family Programs. The Institute is designed to bring the three branches of government together to develop an action plan to address child welfare issues. This is accomplished with national convenings of all participating governors’ teams, as well as regular onsite meetings among the three branches of state government. The purpose of the Three Branch Institute is to help participating states and territories to develop and integrated and multi-disciplinary approach for improving the safety of children who are known to the child welfare system, or at risk of child welfare involvement, by coordinating with the governor’s office and aligning the work of the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government. To learn more about The Three Branch Institute and the NGA Center’s work with governors in the child safety arena, please see below.
Related Content
State Child Welfare Financing Strategies
Supporting Foster Youth Transitioning to Adulthood
Learning Network on Improving Outcomes for Youth Transitioning Out of Foster Care
The Fostering Connections Act: Building Supportive Pathways for Older Youth
The Fostering Connections Act: Ensuring Educational Success
Foster Care Transitioning Focus of Year-Long NGA Policy Academy
NGA Policy Academy on Youth Transitioning Out of Foster Care
Three Branch Institute
2017: Meeting Summary: Three Branch Institute on Improving Child Safety and Preventing Child Fatalities
2016: Improve Child Safety and Prevent Child Fatalities
Three Branch Institute to Improve Child Safety and Prevent Child Fatalities Cross-State Convening policy academy
2014: Child Social and Emotional Well-Being
Three Branch Institute Child Social and Emotional Well-Being policy academy
2013: Child Social and Emotional Well-Being
Three Branch Institute on Child Social and Emotional Well-Being Cross-State Convening policy academy
2012: Safe Reduction of Children and Adolescents in Care
Three Branch Institute on Safe Reduction of Children and Adolescents in Care: Learning Lab
2011: Safe Reduction of Children and Adolescents in Care
Three Branch Institute on Safe Reduction of Children and Adolescents in Care: Meeting Summary
2009: Achieving and Sustaining a Safe Reduction in Foster Care
2008: Reducing Number of Children in Foster Care
Webcast Series: Safely Reducing the Number of Children in Foster Care
Three Branch Institute on Safely Reducing the Number of Children in Foster Care Cross-State Convening policy academy
2007: Improving Outcomes for Children and Youth in the Child Welfare system
A Three-Branch Approach to Child Welfare Reform in The Chronicle for Social Change
Safe Reduction of Children and Adolescents in Foster Care
State Efforts to Safely Reduce the Number of Children in Foster Care
Nine Things Governors Can Do to Build a Strong Child Welfare System
The Transition to Adulthood: How States Can Support Older Youth in Foster Care
State Policies to Help Youth Transition Out of Foster Care
Evidence-based Strategies to Advance a Safety Culture in Child Welfare
Within our Reach: A National Strategy to Eliminate Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities
Webinar: Child Welfare Financing Strategies
Coordinating Foster Care Across the 3 Branches of Government
NCSL: Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities
NCSL blog post: States Called on to Review Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities in National Report, 2016
Commission to Eliminate Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities, 2012-2016
National Center for the Review & Prevention of Child Deaths, U.S. CDR Programs, Individual State CDR Programs
U.S. GAO Report: Child Maltreatment: Strengthening National Data on Child Fatalities Could Aid in Prevention
NCPCA: Child Fatality Review Teams
