Child Welfare
The child welfare system is a group of services designed to promote the well-being of children by ensuring safety, achieving permanency, and strengthening families to successfully care for their children. The child welfare system provides a variety of services such as:
- Preventive services to build stability in families at risk of entering the child welfare system
- Foster care services to keep children in safe, nurturing environments in times of crisis
- Group home and residential care services for children in need of specialized care and attention
Recent Advocacy: FPWA is actively advocating for a Foster Care Higher Education Scholarship (FCHES) to help bridge the cost for Foster Care youth to attend post-secondary school. To learn more about this exciting pilot, please see the Overview. Are you a foster care youth who is struggling or struggled to pay for school? Do you want to share your story to help support the FCHES? Click to share your story. Recent Publications: Policy Matters: Analysis of Projected General Preventive Slots December 2009 I Policy Matters-projected loss of general preventive slots pdf (61735 bytes) Recommendations:
- Provide families in need with preventive services that strengthen the family structure and keep children safely at home when possible.
- Ensure that all children who enter the child welfare system are treated with care and moved quickly and efficiently towards permanency.
- Recognize the valuable role of foster care and preventive services agencies and assist them in providing high-quality services to families, including measures that support improved service delivery and promote the child welfare workforce.
- Address the needs of youth aging out of the foster care system with services that help them in transitioning into adulthood.
Portfolio Expert: Nicole Lavan, PhD

Fact Sheet: Key Facts on Child Welfare pdf (28587 bytes)
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