Training Archives

Ask the Center/FAQS
Connect With Us!

About
Knowledge Hub
- Knowledge Hub Selection Criteria
- Knowledge Hub Selection Criteria
Technical Assistance (TA)
News & Events
- News
- Blog
- Events
- Webinars
- Newsletter Archive
- News
- Blog
- Events
- Webinars
- Newsletter Archive

Join our email list!

Want to make an impact today?

Become a C.A.S.E. Children's Champion

English
- Español

Join our email list!

Knowledge Hub

You have found the “go-to” repository of knowledge, best practices, models of intervention, and evidence-informed services to build the capacity of States, Tribes, territories, child welfare, and mental health professionals to offer comprehensive adoption competent mental health services. This hub is dynamic and will be regularly updated to align with your informational needs.

Access to Mental Health Services

51

2023 State Legislation Issue Brief Series: Trends in State Policy: Youth Mental Health
A Family-Based Mental Health Navigator Intervention for Youth in the Child Welfare System: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial
A National Agenda for Children’s Mental Health
Access to Care Ranking 2024
Acute Care Children’s Hospital Survey
Advancing mental health parity to ensure children’s access to care
Arizona Mercy Care
Behavioral Health Services Outcomes That Matter Most to Caregivers of Children, Youth, and Young Adults with Mental Health Needs
Blueprint for Transformation: A Vision for Improved Behavioral Health Care for Illinois Children
Caring for Each Other: What it Takes to Promote Mental Health and Well-Being
Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs)
Children’s Mental Health: Chapter Action Kit
Developing an innovative pediatric integrated mental health care program: interdisciplinary team successes and challenges
Exploring Barriers to Mental Health Care in the U.S.
Exploring Barriers to Mental Health Care in the US
FACT SHEET: President Biden to Announce Strategy to Address Our National Mental Health Crisis, As Part of Unity Agenda in his First State of the Union
Foster Youth and Alumni Priorities on Mental Health
Healthy Outcomes: Key takeaways from the 2024 National Council for Mental Wellbeing Conference
Improving Access to Children’s Mental Health
Many States Face Shortage of Mental Health Providers
Many States Face Shortage of Mental Health Providers
McIntyre v. Howard, Progress of Kansas Department of Children and Families, Kansas Department of Aging and Disability Services, and Kansas Department of Health and Environment (January 1, 2023 – December 31, 2023)
Mental Health Care Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs)
Mental Health Promotion and Prevention
National Needs Assessment: Mental Health Services for People with Intellectual Developmental Disabilities
Over one-third of Americans live in areas lacking mental health professionals
Overview of the Behavioral Health System in the United States
Project Aware: school-based mental health program
Promoting Mental Health and Well-Being in Schools
Proportion of US Counties and Population Served by Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics
Protecting Youth Mental Health: Part II–Identifying and Addressing Barriers to Care
Redesigning Medicaid: The Key to Solving Our Children’s Mental Health Crisis
Social Determinants of Health in Rural Communities Toolkit
State Policies that Impact the Design of Children’s Mental Health Services: A Modified Delphi Study
Study Reveals Lack of Access as Root Cause for Mental Health Crisis in America
The Biggest Barriers to Accessing Youth Mental Health Care
The Future of Behavioral Health Services for Youth with Foster Care Experience
The State of Mental Health in America
Top (and Bottom) 10 States For Behavioral Health Staff Shortages
Transforming and Expanding Access to Mental Health Care in Urban Pediatrics
Trauma Screen Time Training
Understanding the U.S. Behavioral Health Workforce Shortage
Youth Mental Health
Youth Mental Health Academy
Medicaid

Child Welfare Mental Health Competence

93

“Everything started when…”: Illuminating Rupture as a Sensemaking Catalyst in Formerly Fostered, Emerging Adults’ Narratives
A Need to Know: Enhancing Adoption Competence among Mental Health Providers
A Systematic Review of the Impact of Placement Instability on Emotional and Behavioral Outcomes Among Children in Foster Care
A Village Apart: Lummi Nation Creates a Unique Community to Support Families
ACEs: Adverse Childhood Experiences
Addressing the Impact of Trauma Before Diagnosing Mental Illness in Child Welfare
Addressing the Mental Health Effects of Foster Care
Adoption an Extended Family Network
Adoption and Therapeutic Help
Adoption Competency: A Brief Introduction
Adoption Competent Mental Health Professionals: An Overview
Adoption Competent Therapy and Trauma-Informed Care
Adoptive Parent Competencies
Behavioral Health Services Outcomes That Matter Most to Caregivers of Children, Youth, and Young Adults with Mental Health Needs
Brainspotting: The Preferred Power Therapy for Adoption
Building an Adoption Competent Workforce
Building Partnerships: Conversations with Native Americans about Mental Health Needs and Community Strengths
Child Welfare Trauma Training Toolkit
Counseling for Adopted Adults and Children
Directory of Therapies
Effects of the Training for Adoption Competency (TAC) on Treatment Quality and Effectiveness, a Brief Summary
Effects of Training for Adoption Competency on the Quality and Effectiveness of Treatment with Adoptive Families
Emotional Wellness Checklist
Engaging and Supporting Native Fathers Resource List
Examining the mental health indicators and service needs of children living with foster families
Exploring Medication for Adopted Children
Family preservation services for adoptive and guardianship families
Finding and Working With Adoption-Competent Therapists
Getting on the Right PATH: Promoting Attachment and Trauma Healing
Helping Children and Adolescents Cope with Traumatic Events
Helping Children and Youth Thrive During and After Natural Disasters: Toolkits for Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice Agencies
Helping Children Form Attachments
How can we improve placement stability for children in foster care?
How do we start preventing adoption and guardianship disruption?
How Tribal Placements Benefit Native Children placed in Foster Care
Increasing Permanency: Seven Principles for Building Emotionally Stable Foster & Adoptive Families
Information about the Three NTI curriculums
Introduction to Complex Trauma
Learn More About Trauma
Mandated Report on Therapeutic Foster Care
Meeting the Complex Needs of Youth Exiting Foster Care
Mental and Behavioral Health Needs of Children in Foster Care
Mental Health
Mental Health Considerations
Mental Health Services for Children Placed in Foster Care: An Overview of Current Challenges
Mental Health Training Tipsheets
NTDC Classroom: Separation, Grief and Loss
NTI Child Welfare Professionals’ Competencies
NTI Mental Health Professionals’ Core Competencies
NTI Transfer of Learning Guide for Mental Health Professionals in Private or Group Practice
Oklahoma Adoption Competency Network
Oversight of Psychotropic Medications Prescribed to Children in Foster Care
Positive Identity Formation and Community Connectedness for Children and Youth
Protecting Childhood: Understanding Traumatic Stress and its Impact on Children’s Mental Health
Protecting Youth Mental Health: The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory
Psychologists work to support children and parents in the child welfare system, but more is needed
Screening for trauma and behavioral health needs in child welfare: Practice implications for promoting placement stability
Self-taught
Separation, Grief, and Loss
Steps Toward Change: Replacing Trauma Bonds with Healing Relationships
Supervisor Coaching and Activity Guide for Mental Health Professionals
Supporting Foster Youth and Their Family Connections: Policy and Practice Recommendations
The 3-5-7 Model—Helping Children Work Through Grief
The Case for Adoption Competency
The Effects of Child Welfare Workforce Turnover on Families
The Future of Behavioral Health Services for Youth with Foster Care Experience
The Impact of Adoption
The Impact of Placement Stability on Behavioral Well-Being for Children in Foster Care
The Importance of Adoption Competent Services
The Importance of Birth Parent and Foster Caregiver Partnerships
The Inclusive Family Support Model: Facilitating Openness for Post-Adoptive Families
The Trauma Therapist podcast
The Value of NTI for Tribes
Therapy Chat podcast
Tip Sheet on Responding to Youth and Young Adult Mental Health Needs-Division X
Trauma
Trauma Informed Parenting
Trauma-Informed Practice Strategies to Support Indigenous Transition-Aged Youth
Treatment Foster Care of Oregon
Tribal Communities and Family Resilience Today
Truth, Healing, Reconciliation Community Forums
Twenty Ideas for Helping Youth Keep Connections to Who They Are
Understanding Trauma and Healing in Adults
Understanding Trauma-Informed Care to Build Parent Resilience
Using Clinical Assessment to Enhance Adoption Success
What Impacts Placement Stability
Why Child Welfare Professionals Need NTI Training
Why NTI Training is Important for Mental Health Professionals
Young People and Families Share Insights to Mental Health Professionals
Your Guide to Behavioral Health
Youth In Crisis: Supporting Youth Through School and Clinic-based Mental Health Programs
Youth Mental Health and Well-being in Faith and Community Settings: Practicing Connectedness

Children and Youth Resources

10

An Interactive Video for Supporting Your Friends with A.S.K.
Resources for Children
Self Care
Somethings: Free Mental Health Support for Teens in North Carolina
Take Control of Your Mental Health
Teen Mental Health First Aid
The Impact of Adoption
Your Voice is Your Power podcast
Your Voice is Your Power Resource Hub
Youth and Young Adult Resources

Collaboration Between Systems and Coordination of Services

29

Children with High Acuity Needs Project
Access in Brief: Behavioral Health Services for Youth in Foster Care
Addressing Mental Health Among Children, Staff and Families in Tribal Early Childhood – Tribal Early Childhood Development Webinar Series
Building Cross-System Collaborations in Tribal Nations
Caregiver-relevant perspectives from a multi-stakeholder collaborative advisory board on adapting a child mental health intervention to be delivered in child-welfare settings
Center for Workforce Solutions: Crosswalk of National Behavioral Health Workforce Recommendations
Child and Family Service Reviews: A Factsheet for Mental Health Professionals
Collaborating Between Child Welfare and Mental Health
Glossary for State-level Data for Understanding Child Welfare in the United States
How can child protection agencies collaborate to prevent foster care and support family well-being?
Implementation and Mental Health Outcomes of a Service Cascade Linking Child Welfare and Children’s Mental Health: A Case Study of the Gateway CALL Demonstration
Indiana Behavioral Health Commission
Interdisciplinary Collaboration in Child Welfare
Mental Health and Cross-System Collaboration
Mental Health Challenges in Caring for American Indians and Alaska Natives
National Care Coordination Standards for Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs
Navigating a Broken System: The State of Mental Health in Child Welfare
Partnering for Success: Factors Impacting Implementation of a Cross-Systems Collaborative model Between Behavioral Health and Child Welfare
Perceptions among child welfare staff when modifying a child mental health intervention to be implemented in child welfare services
Points for Parents: Considering Residential Care
Research-Practice Partnerships for Implementation of Evidence-Based Practices in Child Welfare and Child Mental Health: A White Paper
School-Based Mental Health Professionals Training
Science for Behavioral Health Systems Change: Evolving Research-Policy-Public Partnerships
Specifying cross-system collaboration strategies for implementation: a multi-site qualitative study with child welfare and behavioral health organizations
The Value of NTI for Child Welfare and Mental Health System Collaboration
Utilizing HOPE and Strengthening Families within systems
Washington State Children and Youth Multi-System Care Project
What Is Child Welfare? A Guide for Behavioral and Mental Health Professionals
What Is Child Welfare? A Guide for Health-Care Professionals

Crisis Response and Suicide Prevention

43

“A Friend Asks” App
A population-based examination of suicide and child protection system involvement
Ask Suicide-Screening Questions (ASQ) Toolkit
Attachment-Based Family Therapy Training (ABFT)
Best and Promising Practices for the Implementation of Zero Suicide
Building Capacity Around Suicide Prevention in Tribal Child Welfare Programs
Cognitive Therapy for Suicidal Patients (CT-SP)
Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality (CAMS)
Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale
Comparison of suicidal ideation, suicide attempt and suicide in children and young people in care and non-care populations: Systematic review and meta-analysis of prevalence
Development of Culture Forward: A Strengths and Culture-based Tool to Protect Our Native Youth from Suicide
Dialectical Behavior Therapy
Foster Care Providers: Helping Youth at Risk for Suicide
Health Services Use by Children in the Welfare System Who Died by Suicide
Increases Found in Preteen Suicide Rate
Interactive Screening Program
Legal Issues Regarding Suicidality of Young Children in Foster Care
Lock to Live
Mental Health Crisis Planning for Children: Learn to Recognize, Manage, Prevent and Plan for Your Child’s Mental Health Crisis
Mental Health First Aid
National Strategy for Suicide Prevention
Pediatric and Suicide Prevention Experts Partner to Create Blueprint for Preventing Youth Suicide
Preventing Suicidal Behavior Among Youth in Foster Care
Preventing Suicide Among Foster Care Youth: A Training for Foster, Adoptive, and Other Out-of-Home Caregivers
Risk of suicide attempt in adopted and nonadopted offspring
SAMHSA Suicide Prevention Resources
Screening and Assessment of Suicidal Behavior in Transition-Age Youth with Foster Care Involvement
Suicidal Ideation
Suicide in Foster Care: A High-Priority Safety Concern
Suicide Prevention in Child Welfare
Suicide Prevention in Children and Youth
Suicide Prevention Organizations
Suicide Prevention Resource Center
Suicide Prevention Resource Center-Foster Care
Suicide Prevention with Foster Youth
Supporting Your Child During Cutting and Self-Harm Episodes
Talking to Parents About Depression
The Role of Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics in Crisis Services and Systems
The Urgent Need to Recognize and Reduce Risk of Suicide for Children in the Welfare System
Tribal Listening Session on the 2024 National Strategy for Suicide Prevention
Warning Signs of Suicide
Wellness: Mind, Body, Spirit: Signs & Symptoms of Suicide Ideation
Zero Suicide Resource Collection

Data

17

Adoption by the Numbers
Behavioral Health Initiatives by State
Child and Family Service Review (CFSR) Information Portal
Child Welfare and Foster Care Statistics
Child Welfare Data and Research
Child Welfare Financing Survey
Child Welfare Outcomes Data Site
Expenditure Data
Health Workforce Shortage Areas
Kids Count Data Book
Kinship Care
SAMHSA Grant Information
State of American Indian and Alaska Native Children and Families Report
State-by-State Children in Foster Care Data
State-by-State Foster Care Data
State-level Data for Understanding Child Welfare in the United States
The State of Mental Health in America

Engagement of Lived Experience

27

A Tool for Youth Engagement and Youth Empowerment
Are We Practicing What We Preach? Family Partnership in Residential Care
Building and Sustaining Effective Parent Partnerships: Stages of Relationship Development
Community Outreach and Engagement: Toolkit for Mental Health-Serving Agencies
Continuum of Family Partnership: What Does it Look Like in Residential Care?
Engaging Families in Child Welfare and Mental Health Services
Engaging Families in Systems of Care
Engaging Young People With Lived Experience in the CFSRs: Key Considerations, Roles, and Recommendations
Experts by Experience: How Engaging People with Lived Experience Can Improve Social Services
Family Empowerment Implementation Manual
Family Engagement in Systems Change: Use of a New Assessment Tool in Quality Improvement
Family Engagement to Support Student Mental Health and Well-Being
Family Engagement: Partnering With Families to Improve Child Welfare Outcomes
Family-Driven Resources
Improving the Wellbeing of Youth in Foster Care 
Improving Youth Engagement and Access to Mental Health Services 
Incorporating Lived Experience into Child Welfare Capacity Building
Incorporating Those with Lived Experience into Your Support Services for Adoptive, Foster, and Kinship Families
Lead Family Coordinators: Roles, Responsibilities, and Opportunities
Lived Experience (LEx) Leadership: Critical to Being Trauma Informed
Office of Individual and Family Affairs
Parenting Engagement in Foster Care Placement Stability and Permanency
Partnering With Families to Improve Child Welfare Outcomes
Prioritizing Youth Voice: The Importance of Authentic Youth Engagement in Case Planning
The Potential for Co-Creation in Implementation Science
Tribal Best Practices for Family Engagement
Tribal Leadership Series: Youth Engagement

Funding

2

Flexible Funds for Concrete Supports to Families as a Child Welfare Prevention Strategy
How are Child Welfare Systems Using Flexible Funds to Support Families and Prevent the Need for Foster Care?

Juvenile Justice

5

Bernalillo County Mental Health Clinic Case Study: A Guide to Juvenile Detention Reform
Crossover Youth Practice Model
Intersection of Juvenile Justice and Child Welfare Systems
Medicaid Opportunities to Support Youth Leaving Incarceration
New Medicaid Opportunities to Support Youth Leaving Incarceration: Building Community Well-Being and Advancing Prevention Efforts

Kinship Care

23

American Indian & Alaska Native Grandfamilies: Helping Children Thrive Through Connection to Family and Cultural Identity
Benefits of Kinship Placement
Diverting Children from Foster to Kinship Care: The Issue and the Evidence
Engaging Kinship Caregivers: Loyalty Issues
Family Ties: Analysis From a State-By-State Survey of Kinship Care Policies
GrandFacts: Fact Sheets for Each State
Guidance for Policy Language: Kinship Services in Tribal Child Welfare – Toolkit Part 2
Health and Well-Being of Children in Kinship Care: Findings from the National Survey of Children in Nonparental Care
Kinship Care and Child Welfare System
Kinship Caregivers Guide: How to Support Older Youth with Foster Care Experience through Co-Regulation
Let’s Talk About It: Supporting Grandfamilies’ Mental Health and Emotional Well-Being
Living and Working with Kin: A Real Life Experience
Policy Issues Overview Part 1: Kinship Services in Tribal Child Welfare
Relative Foster Care Is Increasing Among American Indian and Alaska Native Children in Foster Care
The Hidden Hurdles and Benefits of Kinship Care and Adoption
The Kinship Services in Tribal Child Welfare Policy Toolkit
The Kinship Treatment Foster Care Initiative Toolkit
Training Series: Coping with the Unique Challenges of Kinship Care
Tribal Kinship Care
Understanding ICWA Placements Using Kinship Care Research
Unlocking Foster Care Licensing for More Kinship Caregivers
What should every child protection agency do to ensure that children are placed with kin?
wikiHow for Kinship Foster Care

Latest Articles

3

Meeting the Complex Needs of Youth Exiting Foster Care
Psychologists work to support children and parents in the child welfare system, but more is needed
What Impacts Placement Stability

Parenting Resources

30

ADHD vs Trauma in Foster Children
Attachment
Becoming a Better Me for Them
Behavioral Health: What Parents Should Know
Building Children’s Resilience
Building Relationships Filled with Hope
Building Trust with Children and Youth
Developmental Disruptions
Expanding Your Parenting Paradigm
Family Peer Support Specialist Resources
Finding and Working With Adoption-Competent Therapists
Get Results with Better Conversation
Helping Your Adopted Children Maintain Important Relationships with Family
Helping Your Child Transition from Foster Care to Adoption
Holidays with Extended Family: An Opportunity for Connection
How to Honor Your Child’s Birth Family
Kinds of Assessments, Why Should I Get One, and When Should I Do It?
Parent Guidance
Parenting Children and Youth Who Have Experienced Abuse or Neglect
Parenting Your Adopted Preschooler
Parenting Your Adopted School-Age Child
Parenting Your Adopted Teenager
Relationship-Focused Discipline
Reunification from Foster Care: A Guide for Parents
Strategies for Supporting Youth with Complex Mental Health Needs
Talking About Mental Health: Tips For Parents and Caregivers From Young People
The Good News: What You Do Matters
The Good News: What You Do Matters, A Discussion with Dr. Bessel van der Kolk
The Impact of Social Media on Children
Trauma Informed Parenting-Sequential Engagement

Peer Support

10

Helping a Friend: The Power of Asking and Listening
Medicaid Funding for Family and Youth Peer Support Programs in the United States
Parent Peer Support Activities
Peer Support
Peer support matters: Strategies to incorporate and elevate those with lived experience
Peer Support Services Technical Assistance Center
Promoting Peer Support in Child Welfare
Providing Peer Support for Foster, Adoptive, and Kinship Families
The Emerging Field of Behavioral Health Paraprofessionals
Youth and Young Adult Peer Support Expanding Community-Driven Mental Health Resources

Residential Treatment Programs

11

Building Bridges Initiative
Congregate Care in the Age of Family First
Congregate Care in the Age of Family First: Family Engagement
Congregate Care in the Age of Family First: Trauma-Informed Care
Elements of Effective Practice for Children and Youth Served by Therapeutic Residential Care
Family Engagement in Residential Programs
Family First Implementation: A One-Year Review of State Progress in Reforming Congregate Care
How are some child protection agencies attending to Qualified Residential Treatment Program requirements?
Investing in Community-Based Care for Children and Youth Involved with Child Welfare
Residential Treatment
Safely Reducing the Use of Congregate Care: Considerations in the Age of Family First

Technical Assistance

15

2023 State Legislation Issue Brief Series: Trends in State Policy: Youth Mental Health
Children’s Behavioral Health – Promising Practices in Tribal Communities
Contemporary Attachment and Bonding Research: Implications for American Indian/Alaska Native Children and their Service Providers
Creating a New Narrative: Collaborative and Effective Evaluation in Tribal Communities
Evidence-Based Policymaking and Advocacy
Four Phases of Technical Assistance
Invest Time and Trust in The National Center
Mental Health and Foster Care
Mental Health Resources for American Indian and Alaska Native Communities
National Organizations
Overview of the National Center for Adoption Competent Mental Health Services
Peer Support Strategies for Families in Tribal Communities
Required Elements of Intensive Technical Assistance
State of American Indian and Alaska Native Children and Families Report

Workforce

10

Advancing community health worker models to support youth and families’ mental health
Assessment Tool: Fostering Psychological Safety on Child Welfare Teams
Burnout in Mental Health Services: A Review of the Problem and Its Remediation
Center for Workforce Solutions: Crosswalk of National Behavioral Health Workforce Recommendations
How does turnover in the child welfare workforce impact children and families?
Mental Health and the Child Welfare Workforce
National Center for Workforce Analysis: Behavioral Health Workforce 2023
The Burnout Epidemic: High Turnover in Child Welfare
Top (and Bottom) 10 States For Behavioral Health Staff Shortages
Worker Turnover is a Persistent Child Welfare Challenge – So is Measuring It