Policy That Works for Our Most Impacted Communities
Each year, in tandem with our Child Protection Clinic, we teach law students about the policy-making process. During this process, we engage a number of stakeholders in the community including county leaders, state legislators, and other community-based organizations. Students lead and attend stakeholder meetings, conduct research, and even participate in drafting language for our legislative efforts.
Breaking the Cycle
In 2017, more than 16,000 Minnesota children were removed from their homes and placed into foster care because of allegations of abuse or neglect. Many of these children are further traumatized by their interactions with the child protection system and through their time in foster care.
Judges, lawyers, social workers, and advocates agree: whenever possible and safe for the children, families should be kept intact. Providing well-trained and trauma-informed attorneys during the child protection legal process is imperative for ensuring the best possible outcomes for children and their families.
Click on the icons below to understand the standard outcomes and how the Institute to Transform Child Protection (ITCP) is working to break the cycle of trauma by transforming outcomes for children in the welfare system.
Any catalyzing event—such as allegations of neglect, physical or sexual abuse, substance use, or imprisonment of a parent—may lead to involvement with the child welfare system and result in trauma for the child.
Experiencing trauma interferes with an individual’s way of understanding the world—and themselves. Trauma can affect an individual on many levels—physically, emotionally, mentally, relationally, and spiritually.
In response, the child welfare system often removes children from their parents, many times placing them in foster care with non-family members. This creates instability with the child’s living arrangements, school, friends, jobs, and community involvement. Children who are separated from their families feel alone and scared, and don’t know who they can trust or what will happen to them or their parents.
In an overwhelmed system, a child is often re-traumatized with little chance to heal. Social workers, judges, attorneys, and others within the child protection system are often overwhelmed. This can lead to a lack of collaboration with families to find the best services for each child, delays in the scheduling of hearings, the inability of attorneys to provide high-quality advocacy for their clients, and inadequate case management services by the agency. Further, communities of color are disproportionately affected due to the social determinants and systemic racism that results in these communities coming into greater contact with the child welfare system. Additionally, culturally appropriate services are not always prioritized.
In many cases, family separation continues for an extended period of time or becomes permanent. All too often, children who become involved in the child welfare system are subjected to a continued cycle of abuse and trauma. They are at a higher risk of continuing to interact with the court system as juveniles and adults. Additionally, they experience instability in their education, social networks, employment, and living situations; and decreased access to resources and opportunities.
ITCP works to create a system that builds resiliency and fosters healing. This is made possible through policy reform, including:
- Mandatory parent representation
- Family-centered services
- Policies and laws that:
- focus on prevention of neglect and abuse through greater family supports
- do not penalize poverty and are geared toward keeping families together
- allow for due consideration of culture, ethnicity, and background
- Training for professionals working with families surviving trauma
- Training and education for students, the future child protection workforce
- Breaking negative narratives and providing understanding of trauma and challenges faced by families involved in the child protection system
Family engagement and communication are critical for healing. ITCP also advocates for the utilization of non-removal options, kinship support, need-specific services, collaboration among practitioners, and professionals practicing self-care.
Ending the cycle of trauma and abuse results in more favorable outcomes for children and families. This includes stability of education, social networks, and employment, as well as keeping family systems intact and allowing them to thrive.