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Access to Mental Health Services

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 human-centered vision for improving the mental health care ecosystem
A National Agenda for Children’s Mental Health
Access to Care for Medicaid-Enrolled Youth in Foster Care
Access to Care Ranking 2024
Acute Care Children’s Hospital Survey
Advancing Access to Mental Health Services through Single Session Interventions (Overview Sessions)
Advancing Child Welfare and Medicaid Alignment: Opportunities for Collaboration
Advancing mental health parity to ensure children’s access to care
Arizona Mercy Care
Behavioral Health in Colorado: Putting People First
Behavioral Health Services Outcomes That Matter Most to Caregivers of Children, Youth, and Young Adults with Mental Health Needs
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
Braiding Federal Funding to Expand Access to Quality Early Care and Education and Early Childhood Supports and Services: A Tool for States and Local Communities
Care at Home for Children with Serious Emotional Disorders
Caring for Each Other: What it Takes to Promote Mental Health and Well-Being
Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs)
Child Mental Health Initiative (CMHI) Needs Assessment Template and Guidelines
Child Welfare Financing in Colorado: Current Landscape and Recommendations
Childhood Trust Events Survey and Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire
Children’s Services: Mississippi Department of Mental Health
Children’s Mental Health: Chapter Action Kit
Colorado’s I Matter Program-Youth Mental Health
Community Health Worker and Peer Support Specialist Workforce Policy
Connecticut Plan 4 Children
Creating Mental Health Connections for Children and Youth in Foster Care
Developing an innovative pediatric integrated mental health care program: interdisciplinary team successes and challenges
Does mental health screening and assessment in child welfare improve mental health service receipt, child safety, and permanence for children in out-of-home care? An evaluation of the Gateway CALL demonstration
Enforcing Mental Health Parity: State Options to Improve Access to Care
Exploring Barriers to Mental Health Care in the U.S.
Exploring Barriers to Mental Health Care in the US
Facilitating a Referral for Mental Health Services for Children and Their Families
Facilitating Mental Health Service Use for Caregivers: Referral Strategies among Child Welfare Caseworkers
Five-Year Trends in US Children’s Health and Well-being, 2016-2020
Foster Youth and Alumni Priorities on Mental Health
Healthy Outcomes: Key takeaways from the 2024 National Council for Mental Wellbeing Conference
Helping Children Thrive: Strategies to Support Children’s Mental Health
HHS Hub About Telehealth
How can child protection agencies use telehealth to increase service access for children and families?
How can Tribal health, Medicaid, and child welfare partner to support traditional healing and behavioral health services?
How Medicaid is Making a Difference for Kids with Complex Behavioral Health Needs
How Medicaid Supports Parents in Crisis, Children in or Youth Aging out of Foster Care, Relative Caregivers, and Adoptive Families
How State Medicaid Programs Serve Children and Youth in Foster Care
Improving Access to Behavioral Health Through Removing Barriers–Utah
Improving Access to Children’s Mental Health
Improving Access to Mental Health Services in Low-Income Communities
Improving Medicaid Reimbursement for Children’s Mental Health Services in Virginia
Increasing Access to Behavioral Health Services: Opportunities at the State and Federal Level
Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Funding Compendium
Investing in School Mental Health: Strategies to Wisely Spend Federal and State Funding
Leveraging telehealth to provide equitable pediatric mental health care
Leveraging telehealth to provide equitable pediatric mental health care
Linking Child Welfare and Mental Health Using Trauma-Informed Screening and Assessment Practices
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)
Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission
Medicaid Behavioral Health Care Use Among Children in Foster Care
Medicaid for Children with Special Needs
Medicaid Spending by Child Welfare Agencies in SFY 2020
Mental Health Care Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs)
Mental Health Promotion and Prevention
Mental Health Screening
Mental Health Screenings
Moving From Barriers to Action: Launching or Revitalizing Your Mental Health Programs
National Needs Assessment: Mental Health Services for People with Intellectual Developmental Disabilities
National Rural Adolescent and Child Health (NRACH) ECHO Training Center
Organization of State Mental Health Agencies
Over one-third of Americans live in areas lacking mental health professionals
Overview of the Behavioral Health System in the United States
Pediatric ACEs and Related Life-events Screener (PEARLS)
Pediatric Mental Health Care Access Program
Practice-Informed Conversations: Real World Perspectives on Rural Mental Health
Project Aware: school-based mental health program
Promising Practices for Using Medicaid to Address the Needs of Children and Youth in Foster Care
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
Psychotropic Medication and Psychotropic Polypharmacy Among Children and Adolescents in the US Child Welfare System
Raise the Bar for Children’s Mental Health: Strategies to Sustain Innovation and Access to School-based Services
Redesigning Medicaid: The Key to Solving Our Children’s Mental Health Crisis
Right Help, Right Now Program 1-year Update
Rural Health Transformation Program: State Focus on Behavioral Health
School Mental Health Quality Guide Needs Assessment & Resource Mapping
School Mental Health Quality Guide Needs Assessment & Resource Mapping
School Mental Health Referral Pathways
Snapshot: Behavioral Health Integration in Medicaid Managed Care
Social Determinants of Health in Rural Communities Toolkit
State Policies that Impact the Design of Children’s Mental Health Services: A Modified Delphi Study
State Strategies to Support an Aligned Behavioral Health Continuum of Care for Youth
Strengthening CCBHC Workforce Capacity:Partnership with the National Center for Adoption Competent Mental Health Services
Study Reveals Lack of Access as Root Cause for Mental Health Crisis in America
Telehealth for Rural Areas
test Doc
The Biggest Barriers to Accessing Youth Mental Health Care
The Impact of Child Welfare on Youth Mental Health
The kids are not all right: The urgent need to expand effective behavioral health services for children and youth
The New Jersey Pediatric Psychiatry Collaborative
The Role of Specialized Managed Care in Addressing the Intersection of Child Welfare Reform and Behavioral Health Transformation
The State of Mental Health in America
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
Trends in Mental, Behavioral, and Developmental Disorders Among Children and Adolescents in the US, 2016–2021
Understanding the U.S. Behavioral Health Workforce Shortage
Using New Federal Funding to Meet Children’s Behavioral Health Needs in School
Value-Based Payment to Support Children’s Health and Wellness: Shifting the Focus from Short-Term to Life Course Impact
Virginia Mental Health Access Program
Virginia’s Right Help, Right Now Program
West Virginia Children’s Behavioral Health Services
What are examples of Tribal behavioral health and traditional healing programs?
What Makes a Good Mental Health Assessment?
When and How to Refer for Mental Health Care
Youth Mental Health
Youth Mental Health Academy
Youth Mental Health and Child Welfare
Youth Mental Health and Child Welfare
Funding

Adoption Competent Mental Health

“Everything started when…”: Illuminating Rupture as a Sensemaking Catalyst in Formerly Fostered, Emerging Adults’ Narratives
**Children’s Reactions to Loss
3-5-7 Model Overview
A National Study of the Impact of Outpatient Mental Health Services for Children in Long Term Foster Care
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 Child Trauma
Addressing the Complex Needs of Youth
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 Competence for Tribal Leaders
Adoption Competence Primers for Various Audiences
Adoption Competency and Education
Adoption Competency: A Brief Introduction
Adoption Competency: Building an Empirical Foundation
Adoption Competent Mental Health Professionals: An Overview
Adoption Competent Therapy and Trauma-Informed Care
Adoptive Parent Competencies
All I Did Was Sleep’: Despite Years of Damning Reports, States Across the Country Fail To Rein in Psych Meds for Foster Youth
Assessing Knowledge of Nurse Practitioners on Youth in Foster Care: Results of Nationwide Survey
Brainspotting: The Preferred Power Therapy for Adoption
Building an Adoption Competent Workforce
Building on What Works: Advancing Adoption Competent Mental Health Care Through Existing Child Welfare and Mental Health Policy
Building Partnerships: Conversations with Native Americans about Mental Health Needs and Community Strengths
Building stability for youth: Integrating diligent recruitment and adoption-competent mental health services
Child Welfare Laws that Inform the National Center Work
Child Welfare Training Tipsheets
Child Welfare Trauma Training Toolkit
ChildFirst
Children with Traumatic Separation: Information for Professionals
Co-Parenting Pilot Builds Teamwork Between Parents and Foster Parents
Counseling for Adopted Adults and Children
Designing Rural Responsive Post-Permanency Services
Directory of Therapies
Driving Change in Adoption
Driving Change in Adoption
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
El valor de las ITN para las tribus
Emotional Wellness Checklist
Engagement of Parents as Agents of Healing
Establishing a Level Foundation for Life: Mental Health Begins in Early Childhood
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 a Therapist Who Gets You: A Conversation Guide
Foster Care Centers of Excellence
From ACEs to Action: Why Adoption Competency is a Strategic Intervention for Children and Families Impacted by Child Welfare
From Complexity to Connection: A Toolkit for Transforming Care for Children and Families
Getting on the Right PATH: Promoting Attachment and Trauma Healing
Helping Adoptive Families Thrive
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
Helping Mental Health Providers Achieve the Outcomes That Matter Most
Helping to Heal: Conversations About Trauma Informed Principles
Holistic Strategies for Addressing Complex Needs
Hope and Healing Through Adoption Competent Care
How can parents and caregivers be supported in developing a positive co-parenting relationship?
How can we improve placement stability for children in foster care?
How childhood adversity shapes brain and behavior
How do I talk with my teen when they push me away?
How do we start preventing adoption and guardianship disruption?
How NTI Supports “A Home for Every Child”
How Tribal Placements Benefit Native Children placed in Foster Care
I Spy Helpful Help: How to Find an Adoption-Competent Therapist
Impact of Child Welfare Related Trauma
Improving the Mental Health of Mississippi’s Children & Youth
Increasing Permanency: Seven Principles for Building Emotionally Stable Foster & Adoptive Families
Increasing Permanency: Seven Principles for Building Emotionally Stable Foster & Adoptive Families
Inducement: Adoption Language We Must Understand
Introduction to Complex Trauma
Key Differences Between TAC-Trained and Non-TAC-Trained Clinicians
Learn More About Trauma
Mandated Report on Therapeutic Foster Care
Meeting the Complex Needs of Youth Exiting Foster Care
Meeting the Mental Health Needs of Adoptive and Guardianship Families
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
New York City Stands Out as a Rare Local Agency Tallying Foster Youth on Psychotropics. What Do the Numbers Reveal?
November 2025: Improving Permanency Through Advancing Adoption Competency
Now What? Tips for teens in foster care who are grieving
NTDC Classroom: Separation, Grief and Loss
NTI Child Welfare Professionals’ Competencies
NTI Mental Health Professionals’ Core Competencies
Oklahoma Adoption Competency Network
Oklahoma’s Journey to Adoption Competency
Oversight of Psychotropic Medications Prescribed to Children in Foster Care
Parent-Child Relationships: The Heart of Post-Permanency Success
Perspectives on Mental Health Services for Birth and Adoptive Parents, Adoptees, and Other Members of Adoption Kinship Networks
Preparing for the National Training Initiative: A Guide for Tribal Nations
Preparing to Implement the NTI Training: A Guide for Tribal Nations
Prevalence and Characteristics of Children Entering Foster Care to Receive Behavioral Health or Disability Services
Prevalence and Characteristics of Children Entering Foster Care to Receive Behavioral Health or Disability Services
Prevalence and Characteristics of Children Entering Foster Care to Receive Behavioral Health or Disability Services
Preventing Child Welfare System Involvement
Promoting Mental Health and Well-Being in Schools
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
Reducing Barriers to Permanency: A Resource For Legal Professionals
Relational Healing for Relational Trauma: Is there anything new the neuroscience can tell us?
Residential Treatment Providers and Adoption Competence
Roadmap to Adoption Competency
Rupture and Repair: Emotions, Attunement, and Attachment
Screening for trauma and behavioral health needs in child welfare: Practice implications for promoting placement stability
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
Strengthening CCBHC Workforce Capacity:Partnership with the National Center for Adoption Competent Mental Health Services
Stress and the Healing Power of Connection
Supervisor Coaching and Activity Guide for Mental Health Professionals
Supporting Families Experiencing Aggression Toward Families/Caregivers in Childhood and Adolescence
Supporting Foster Youth and Their Family Connections: Policy and Practice Recommendations
TAC Effectiveness Study: Participant Feedback
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 Future of Behavioral Health Services for Youth with Foster Care Experience
The Impact of Adoption
The impact of loss, grief and relational connection for youth in foster care
The Impact of Placement Stability on Behavioral Well-Being for Children in Foster Care
The Importance of Adoption Competent Services
The Importance of Adoption-Competent Therapy for Adoptive, Foster, and Kinship Care Families
The Importance of Birth Parent and Foster Caregiver Partnerships
The Inclusive Family Support Model: Facilitating Openness for Post-Adoptive Families
The Inclusive Family Support Model: Facilitating Openness for Post-Adoptive Families
The Need to Prioritize Relational Health
The Trauma Therapist podcast
Therapy Chat podcast
Tip Sheet on Responding to Youth and Young Adult Mental Health Needs-Division X
Tips for Supporting Youth in Foster Care Who Are Grieving
Training for Adoption Competency
Training for Adoption Competency Effectiveness Study-December 2025
Trauma
Trauma & Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)
Trauma & Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)
Trauma Informed Parenting
Treatment Foster Care of Oregon
Trends in Mental and Behavioral Health Risks in Adolescents: 1999-2021
Tribal Communities and Family Resilience Today
Truth, Healing, Reconciliation Community Forums
Understanding Child Welfare
Understanding Permanency Competence for Tribal Nations
Understanding the Complex Mental Health Needs of Children in Child Welfare
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
When Problem Behavior Masks a Learning Disorder
Which Adoption Competency Training is Right for Me?
Whose Job Was It?
Why Child Welfare Professionals Need NTI Training
WonkCast #38: “It’s just loss”
Young People and Families Share Insights to Mental Health Professionals
Young People With Lived Experience in Foster Care Recommend Improvements to Mental Health Supports
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

American Indian/Alaska Native Tribal Nations

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Positive Childhood Experiences (PCEs) in American Indian and Alaska Native Communities
Culture is Healing
Hawaii’s Child Welfare and Mental Health Efforts
Healing of the Canoe Curriculum for Youth
How can Tribal health, Medicaid, and child welfare partner to support traditional healing and behavioral health services?
How do Tribal health, Medicaid, and child welfare systems interact?
Mālama ʻOhana Working Group
National American Indian and Alaska Native Childhood Trauma Treatment Center
Preparing for the National Training Initiative: A Guide for Tribal Nations
Preparing to Implement the NTI Training: A Guide for Tribal Nations
Red Lake Nation “Uplifting Our Relatives”
What are examples of Tribal behavioral health and traditional healing programs?
White Earth Behavioral Health Programs

Children and Youth Resources

‘All I Wanted Is to Be Healed’: Alternatives to Psych Meds for Foster Youth with Mental Health Issues
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
We Think Twice: Mental Health Resources for Teens
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

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
An Introduction to the Child Welfare Community Collaborations Grantees and Strategies
Approaches to Collaborative Partnerships in the Child Welfare Community Collaborations Initiatives
Building and Sustaining a Comprehensive Mental Health System of Care
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
CCBHC & Managed Care Collaboration: A Guidebook for State & Managed Care Leaders
Center for Workforce Solutions: Crosswalk of National Behavioral Health Workforce Recommendations
Child and Family Service Reviews: A Factsheet for Mental Health Professionals
Child Health and Development Institute
Collaborating Between Child Welfare and Mental Health
Collaboration strategies affecting implementation of a cross-systems intervention for child welfare and substance use treatment: a mixed methods analysis
Cross-system Collaboration MOU
Cross-System Collaboration to Support Children and Youth With Behavioral Health Needs and Their Families
Cross-Systems Collaboration
Data Sharing for Child Welfare Agencies and Medicaid Toolkit
Data Sharing Resources for Health and Housing Partnerships
Data Sharing: Courts and Child Welfare
Do School-Based Health Models Expand Your Community Reach? Yes!
Establishing and Using Bidirectional Data Sharing
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?
How can child protection agencies partner to address behavioral health?
How can data sharing across child- and family-serving systems be implemented effectively?
How do Tribal health, Medicaid, and child welfare systems interact?
How does New Hampshire’s system of care approach support families involved with child welfare?
How does New Jersey’s system of care approach support families involved with child welfare?
How does Ohio’s system of care approach support families involved with child welfare?
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
Improving Information Sharing for Youth in Foster Care
Indiana Behavioral Health Commission
Indiana Children with High Acuity Needs Project
Indiana’s Children with High Acuity Needs Project
Integrated Care for Kids Model
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
Sample Memorandum of Agreements
School-Based Mental Health Professionals Training
Schools at the Center of Care
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
Specifying cross-system collaboration strategies for implementation: a multi-site qualitative study with child welfare and behavioral health organizations
State Learning and Action Collaborative
Strategies for Partnering with Child Welfare Agencies
The Center for Communities That Care
The Five Tenets of Effective Cross-System Collaboration
The Five Tenets of Successful Cross-System Collaboration
The National Center and Cross-system Collaboration
The Value of NTI for Child Welfare and Mental Health System Collaboration
The Workforce Report:Bridging the Mental Health Care Gap
Trauma-Informed Cross-System Collaboration
Utilizing HOPE and Strengthening Families within systems
Virginia Safe and Sound Task Force
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

Competencia en salud mental

Encontrar y trabajar con terapeutas competentes en adopción

Crisis Response and Suicide Prevention

“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 Guidelines for Child and Youth Behavioral Health Crisis Care
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 conversation starters for parents of kids and teens
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
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
Wellness: Mind, Body, Spirit: Signs & Symptoms of Suicide Ideation
Zero Suicide Resource Collection

Data

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 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 Impact of Child Welfare on Youth Mental Health
The Long-Term Impact of Parental Mental Health on Children’s Distress Trajectories in Adulthood
Youth Mental Health and Child Welfare
Youth Mental Health and Child Welfare

Engagement of Lived Experience

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 Part One
Engaging Families in Child Welfare and Mental Health Services Webinar Part Two
Engaging Families in Systems of Care
Engaging Fathers
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 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
Guide for Developing Family Councils
Improving the Wellbeing of Youth in Foster Care 
Incorporating Lived Experience Into Child Welfare Capacity Building
Incorporating Lived Experience Into Child Welfare Capacity Building
Incorporating Those with Lived Experience into Your Support Services for Adoptive, Foster, and Kinship Families
Key Programmatic Elements of Father Engagement to Promote Self-Sufficiency (KEEP Fathers Engaged)
Lead Family Coordinators: Roles, Responsibilities, and Opportunities
Leading with Lived Experience
Lived Experience (LEx) Leadership: Critical to Being Trauma Informed
Methods and Emerging Strategies to Engage People with Lived Experience
Office of Individual and Family Affairs
Parenting Engagement in Foster Care Placement Stability and Permanency
Partnering With Families to Improve Child Welfare Outcomes
Rhode Island DCYF Listening and Learning Tour
The Potential for Co-Creation in Implementation Science
Tribal Best Practices for Family Engagement
Tribal Leadership Series: Youth Engagement
What are some strategies for engaging fathers in child welfare?
Young People in Advocacy: How We Can Help Elevate Youth Voices in Mental Health Advocacy
Young People With Lived Experience in Foster Care Recommend Improvements to Mental Health Supports
Youth Advisory Boards

Funding

Flexible Funds for Concrete Supports to Families as a Child Welfare Prevention Strategy
Vermont Mental Health Payment Reform

Juvenile Justice

At the Intersection of Child Welfare and Juvenile Legal System Involvement: Research Strategies for Policy and Practice Change
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

American Indian & Alaska Native Grandfamilies: Helping Children Thrive Through Connection to Family and Cultural Identity
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

Child Welfare Laws that Inform the National Center Work
From ACEs to Action: Why Adoption Competency is a Strategic Intervention for Children and Families Impacted by Child Welfare
Impact of Child Welfare Related Trauma
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
The National Center and Cross-system Collaboration
What Impacts Placement Stability

NTI

Addressing Especially Challenging Problems with Youth and Families
Adoption Competence Guiding Principles
All the Facts About NTI
Assessing and Addressing Attachment Challenges in Children and Parents
Assessment Through the Adoption/Guardianship Lens
Attachment and Separation – Their Impact on the Development of Children
Child Welfare Professional’s Role in Helping Children and Youth Deal with Loss and Grief
Child Welfare Professional’s Role in Helping Parents and Guardians Support their Child’s Grief
Child Welfare Professional’s Role in Supporting Mental Health Treatment
Child Welfare Professional’s Role in Working with Parents to Address the Impact of Trauma
Child Welfare Professional’s Role with Children, Youth, and Birth Families in Supporting Positive Identity
Child Welfare Role in Working with Children to Support Healthy Attachment
Child Welfare Role in Working with Parents to Enhance Attachment
Child Welfare Role with Community Mental Health Providers
Child Welfare Supervisor Lesson 1
Child Welfare Supervisors Lesson 2
Child Welfare Supervisors Lesson 3
Child Welfare Supervisors Lesson 6
Child Welfare Supervisors Lesson 7
Child Welfare Supervisors Lesson 8
Child, Youth, and Family Adjustment after Adoption or Guardianship
Definition of Adoption Competent Child Welfare Professional
Helping Children and Youth Create Their Life Narrative
Identity Formation During the Adolescent Years
Information about the Three NTI curriculums
Laying the Foundation for Change
Matching Child, Youth, and Family Needs to Postadoption and Guardianship Services
Mental Health Assessment and Treatment Planning Through the Lens of Adoption and Guardianship
Mental Health Professional’s Role in Helping Parents Support Positive Identity Formation
Mental Health Professional’s Role in Supporting Youth Search and Reunion
Mental Health Professional’s Role in Working with Children and Youth to Support Positive Identity Formation
MHP: Achieving and Maintaining Permanence Is Key to Well-Being and Mental Health
MHP: Assessing Trauma Exposure and Its Impact on Children
MHP: Core Clinical Issues in Adoption and their Link to Mental Health
MHP: Course Overview and The Need for Adoption Competency
MHP: Family Life is Paramount in Healing: Engaging and Working with Adoption and Guardianship Families
MHP: Guiding Principles That Support Effective Mental Health Practice
MHP: Impact of Abandonment and Rejection on Children’s Mental Health
MHP: Issues in Diagnosis and Treatment of Adopted Children’s Mental Health Needs
MHP: Maintaining Openness and Connections
MHP: Matching Child and Family Needs After Permanency with Effective Services to Maintain Stability
MHP: Models for Addressing Complex Trauma
MHP: Pathways to Adoption and Guardianship Today
MHP: Post-Adoption Therapeutic Services: Working with Families Across the Life Cycle and Across Systems to Maintain Stability
MHP: Preparing and Helping Parents to Support Their Child’s Grief
MHP: The Big Picture: Understanding the Factors that Shape Children’s Adjustment in Adoptive and Guardianship Families
MHP: The Impact of Ambiguous Loss and Unresolved Grief on Emotional Adjustment and Mental Health
MHP: The Language of Adoption
MHP: Tools and Techniques for Helping Children Integrate Their Life Stories
MHP: Traumatic Experiences of Children Achieving Permanency through Adoption and Guardianship
MHP: Treatment Goals for Remediating the Consequences of Trauma
MHP: Understanding Attachment as the Foundation for Child Development and Mental Health
MHP: Understanding Loss and Grief Issues in Adoption in the Context of Developmental Stages, Emotional Adjustments, and Mental Health of Children & Youth
MHP: Understanding the Impact of Early Childhood Experiences on Mental Health
MHP: Understanding the Impact of Trauma on Children’s Mental Health
MHP: Understanding the Stages of Grief in Adoption and Helping Youth Manage Their Losses
NTI in Practice: What National Data Reveal About Engagement and Impact
NTI Informational Webinar
NTI Office Hour slide deck
NTI Toolkit
NTI Training: A Family Perspective
NTI Transfer of Learning Guide for Mental Health Professionals in Private or Group Practice
NTI-Ed webinar
Overview: Identity Matters
Practice Models for Enhancing Parent-Child Attachment
Practice Models for Working with Parents and their Children to Address Children’s Complex Attachment Challenges
Search and Reunion and Collaboration with Community-Based Mental Health Providers
Supporting Attachment After Children’s and Youth’s Separation from Birth Family
Teaching Self-Regulation Skills through Therapeutic Parenting
The Child Welfare Professional’s Role in Working with Children and Youth to Identify and Address the Impact of Trauma
The Impact of NTI Training on Your Clinical Practice
The Implications of Attachment Challenges in Treatment
The Mental Health Challenges of Children, Youth, and Families After Adoption or Guardianship
The Value of NTI for Tribes
Therapeutic Parenting Strategies for Connecting with Children and Youth Who Push Parents Away
Tipsheet for Mental Health Professionals–NTI Module 3: Attachment, Child Development, and Mental Health
Tipsheet for Mental Health Professionals–NTI Module 4: Impact of Grief and Loss on Children’s Mental Health
Tipsheet for MH Professionals–NTI Module 2: Understanding & Addressing the Complex Mental Health Needs of Children in Adoptive and Guardianship Families
Tipsheet for MH Professionals–NTI Module 2: Understanding & Addressing the Complex Mental Health Needs of Children in Adoptive and Guardianship Families
Tipsheet for MH–NTI Module 1: The Case for Adoption Competency
Tipsheets for Mental Health Professionals–NTI Modules 5-10
Traumatic Experiences of Children Achieving Permanence Through Adoption or Guardianship
Understanding and Addressing Mental Health Needs of Children Moving Towards or Having Achieved Permanence through Adoption or Guardianship
Understanding Loss and Grief Issues in the Context of Developmental Stages, Emotional Adjustments, and Mental Health of Children and Youth
Understanding the Psychological Impact of Trauma and How Children and Youth Cope
Unique Assessment Issues when Working with Relative Caregivers
Utilizing the Assessment in Goal Setting and Treatment Planning and Effective Practice Models with Adoptive and Guardianship Families
Why NTI Training is Important for Mental Health Professionals
Working with Mental Health Providers to Support Attachment
Working with Parents to Address Children’s Mental Health Needs
NTI Curriculum Resources

Parenting Resources

**Age-Related Reactions to a Traumatic Event (from NTI curriculum)
**Children’s Reactions to Loss
**Reframing Behavior Problems as Survival Behaviors
**Talking with Children about Adoption/Guardianship or Aspects of their Past
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 the Right Mental Health Therapist
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
Hope and Healing Through Adoption Competent Care–for Rhode Island families
How do I talk with my teen when they push me away?
How to Honor Your Child’s Birth Family
Kinds of Assessments, Why Should I Get One, and When Should I Do It?
National Training and Development Curriculum for Foster and Adoptive Parents
NTI Training: A Family Perspective
Parent Guidance
Parenting Children and Youth Who Have Experienced Abuse or Neglect
Parenting Strategies for Children with Attachment Issues
Parenting Through Separation: Supporting Your Child’s Mental Health and Your Own
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
SMART Therapy Video Resources
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

Core Competencies for Peer Workers in Behavioral Health Services
Family Peer Support
Helping a Friend: The Power of Asking and Listening
Implementing Peer Supports in Mental Health Services: A Perspective from the Field
Improving Access to Care through Creating Certified Family Peer Specialists Across the Lifespan
Informal and Formal Family Peer Support: The Impact and Evidence
Medicaid Funding for Family and Youth Peer Support Programs in the United States
Medicaid Reimbursement for Peer Support Services A Detailed Analysis of Rates, Processes, and Procedures
Parent Peer Support Activities
Parent Peer Support Programs in In-Home Services
Peer Connect: The First & Only National Youth Peer Support Workforce Certification Training and Accreditation Program
Peer Support
Peer support matters: Strategies to incorporate and elevate those with lived experience
Peer Support Services Technical Assistance Center
Peer support: parent partner programs
Promoting Peer Support in Child Welfare
Providing Peer Support for Foster, Adoptive, and Kinship Families
The Emerging Field of Behavioral Health Paraprofessionals
Utilizing Peer Support to Increase Access to Mental Health Services
Utilizing Peer Support to Increase Access to Mental Health Services

Recursos en español

Argumentos a favor de la competencia en materia de adopción
Colaboración entre el bienestar infantil y la salud mental
El valor de las NTI para la colaboración entre los sistemas de bienestar infantil y salud mental
Extensión y participación de la comunidad: Herramientas para organismos de salud mental
Hoja de consejos para responder a las necesidades de salud mental de jóvenes y adultos jóvenes
La importancia de los servicios competentes en materia de adopción
Mejorar el bienestar de los jóvenes en régimen de acogida
Mejorar el compromiso de los jóvenes y su acceso a los servicios de salud mental
Normas nacionales de coordinación asistencial para niños y jóvenes con necesidades sanitarias especiales
Participación familiar: Colaboración con las familias para mejorar los resultados del bienestar infantil
Por qué es importante la formación en NTI para los profesionales de la salud mental
Puntos para los padres: Pensar en una residencia
Salud mental y colaboración entre sistemas
Una herramienta para la participación y la capacitación de los jóvenes
Colaboración entre sistemas y coordinación de servicios
Competencia en salud mental
Participación de los jóvenes y las familias

Residential Treatment Programs

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
EQ2 for direct care staff
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
Leading State Priorities and Considerations for Youth Crisis Receiving and Stabilization Facilities
New York Case Study: Supporting Youth Behavioral Health through Crisis Receiving and Stabilization Facilities
Residential Treatment
Residential Treatment Providers and Adoption Competence
Safely Reducing the Use of Congregate Care: Considerations in the Age of Family First
Wisconsin Case Study: Supporting Youth Mental Health through Crisis Stabilization Facilities

Technical Assistance

2023 State Legislation Issue Brief Series: Trends in State Policy: Youth Mental Health
Best Practices and Tools to Establish Implementation Teams
C.A.S.E. Academy for Advancing Clinical Practice
C.A.S.E. Capabilities
Children’s Behavioral Health – Promising Practices in Tribal Communities
Connecting technical assistance to implementation progress in child welfare capacity building efforts
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
Dynamic Implementation Teams: Figuring Out What Works When Working Together
Evidence-Based Policymaking and Advocacy
Four Phases of Technical Assistance
How Important are Relationships for Successful Implementation?
Illinois Child-Parent Psychotherapy Learning Collaborative
Implementation Teams Overview
Invest Time and Trust in The National Center
Learning Collaboratives: a Strategy for Quality Improvement and Implementation in Behavioral Health
Mental Health and Foster Care
Mental Health Resources for American Indian and Alaska Native Communities
National Center Video
November 2025: Improving Permanency Through Advancing Adoption Competency
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
Sustaining Service Delivery
The Five Functions of an Implementation Support Specialist
Tips for Engaging Participants on Calls: Strategies to Support Distance-Learning
Tips for Implementation Teams
Training for Adoption Competency
Using a Collaborative Workspace to Support a Community of Learners
Variety of Teaching Methods: What Works

Workforce

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
Burnout in Mental Health Services: A Review of the Problem and Its Remediation
Center for Workforce Solutions: Crosswalk of National Behavioral Health Workforce Recommendations
Developing the Mental Health Workforce Through Bachelor’s Programs
How does turnover in the child welfare workforce impact children and families?
Improving Access to Behavioral Health Through Removing Barriers–Utah
Mental Health and the Child Welfare Workforce
National Center for Workforce Analysis: Behavioral Health Workforce 2023
The Burnout Epidemic: High Turnover in Child Welfare
The Workforce Report:Bridging the Mental Health Care Gap
Therapist training in evidence-based interventions for mental health: A systematic review of training approaches and outcomes
Top (and Bottom) 10 States For Behavioral Health Staff Shortages
Worker Turnover is a Persistent Child Welfare Challenge – So is Measuring It
Workforce Trends: Behavioral Health in Focus

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Many States Face Shortage of Mental Health Providers

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Updated on October 25, 2024

Article Mental health professionals

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)

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