Welcome to the North American Resource Center for Child Welfare

The North American Resource Center for Child Welfare (NARCCW) is an umbrella organization of agencies working to achieve best practice in child welfare by providing professionals with the resources necessary to help children and families.

NARCCW houses four collaborative agencies which include:  The Institute for Human Services, Center for Child Welfare Policy, Family Trust Clinic and TRAINet.

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Polish Social Work Text to Publish Chapter Written by IHS Director and Program Director

IHS Director, Ronald Hughes and Program Director, Judith Rycus, have written a chapter entitled "Assessing Risk in Child Protective Services" to be included in a Polish social work textbook.  The book, Between America and Poland: Opole Sociological Studies, is edited by Professors Krzysztof Frysztacki and Anna Sliz from the Jagiellonian University in Crakow, Poland and will be published in 2012 by the Nomos Publishing House, Cracow. 

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International Training Continues in Belarus

Through a collaboration with Christian Children’s Fund Belarus, the Institute for Human Services provided nine days of training on adoption practice to 36 adoption practitioners in Minsk, Belarus.  Participants included the National Adoption Center staff, CCF Belarus staff, university social work professors, and others supporting adoption work in the country of Belarus.  The trainers were Betsy Keefer Smalley and Jayne Schooler.  The trainings were offered in three rounds:

Round 1:  Oct 30, Nov 1, 2, 2011

• Adoption Recruitment
• Family Assessment
• Adoption Placement
• Post Placement Support to Adoptive Families

Round 2:  Dec 6, 7, 8, 2011

• Child Assessment and Matching
• Preparing Children for Adoption
• Post Finalization Adoption Services
• Openness in Adoption

Round 3: Jan 9, 10, 11, 2012

• Understanding Child Trauma
• Assessing and Preparing Families to Parent Traumatized Children

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Ohio Child Welfare Leaders Participate in Russian-American Child Welfare Forum

 

“We not only need a ‘reset’ button between the American and Russian governments, but we need a fresh start between our societies – more dialogue, more listening, more cooperation in confronting common challenges.”

Barack Obama, President of the United States of America, the U.S.-Russia Civil Society Summit (Moscow, July 7, 2009)

“One can judge a society’s maturity and developmental level from the way it treats its children.  We need a standardized system for the protection of children in all senses of the word.”
Dmitry Medvedev, President of the Russian Federation.

Recognizing the need to make a fresh start in relations between the United States and Russia, President Dmitri Medvedev and President Barack Obama created the US-Russia Bilateral Presidential Commission in July, 2009, to address shared challenges, to explore opportunities for partnership in areas of mutual interest, and to coordinate activities to solve joint concerns.

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2011 NACAC Activist Award Announced

On August 6, 2011, The North American Council on Adoptable Children (NACAC) presented the 2011 Activist Award to IHS Adoption and Foster Care Program Manager, Betsy Keefer-Smalley, and Jayne Schooler, IHS trainer and consultant, at the 37th Annual Conference in Denver, Colorado. The NACAC Activist Award honors special individuals, groups, and organizations who have contributed their service to promote adoption and improve child welfare.

Ms. Keefer-Smalley and Ms. Schooler received this award for their dedication and support of adoptive families in Ohio and abroad. They have published several books on adoption and foster care and in 2001 received the Center for Child Welfare Policy's Pro Humanitate Literary Award.

For more information on NACAC visit their website

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2011 Pro Humanitate Award Winners Announced

The 2011 Pro Humanitate Award winners were announced at the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children's (APSAC's) 19th Annual Conference which took place July 13-16, 2011 at the Philadelphia Marriott Hotel in Philadelphia, PA. This year's winners included:

Distinguished Service in Public Child Welfare Administration Award

Bryan Samuels, Commissioner for the Administration on Children, Youth and Families in Washington, DC 

A. Clayton Hughes Child Welfare Research Award

Andrea Sedlak, PhD., and Vice President of Westat in Rockville, MD