1 in 6 children in the U.S. face housing insecurity, and in 2024, inadequate housing contributed to more than 24,000 foster care placements. A new policy bulletin at the bottom of this page shows how housing supports help keep families together: https://tinyurl.com/mvjv5rab

#Prevention pays off. Early family support promotes stability, builds stronger communities, and reduces the need for costly crisis response. Spread the word with this Prevent Child Abuse America toolkit: https://preventchildabuse.org/resources/primary-prevention-toolkit/

Happy 5-year anniversary to Policy Analyst Katrina Dorse! Katrina supports projects across Maryland, Connecticut, Illinois, and California, with a gift for facilitation, writing, and creating great icebreakers. Katrina, thank you We appreciate you! https://www.chapinhall.org/person/katrina-dorse/

New Mexico's Blueprint for Change will turn community input into #Policy improvements: - fairer eligibility rules - stronger workforce supports - better crisis services - respectful help for families seeking assistance Explore what communities had to say: https://tinyurl.com/ymjdyjz8

#NewMexico residents named barriers they face reaching services: complex eligibility rules, long applications, limited hours, and transportation gaps. Chapin Hall and the Anna, Age Eight Institute turned those accounts into community-generated solutions to inform change: https://tinyurl.com/ymjdyjz8

Happy 5-year anniversary to Policy Fellow Kristin O'Connor! Kristin puts implementation science into practice on Family First work in Michigan, Maryland, North Carolina, Georgia, and Nebraska. Kristin, thank you for all you do. We appreciate you!  https://www.chapinhall.org/person/kristin-oconnor/

New project finds leaders in 13 #ChildWelfare jurisdictions saw few children enter their systems directly after a parent's detention or deportation. Most believed relatives and trusted adults are stepping in and emphasized the value of community supports for caregivers: https://tinyurl.com/yffawtxb

What stands between New Mexico families and the services they need? More than 490 residents and providers across seven counties shared their experiences to shape a statewide Blueprint for change.  Explore the research findings: https://tinyurl.com/ymjdyjz8 #HumanServices #NewMexico

New Chapin Hall interviews with 13 jurisdiction leaders highlight the opportunity to increase staff awareness of ICE's Detained Parents Directive, which sets policies for ICE to accommodate parental interests and arrange child custody.   Read more: https://tinyurl.com/yffawtxb #ChildWelfare

Senior Policy Analyst Richard Foltz has been a grounding presence on every team he supports, with deep data expertise—especially on IL DCFS. He helps us find and apply useful administrative data and documentation across projects. Thank you, Richard! https://www.chapinhall.org/person/richard-foltz/

Community Network Anchors across IL are building regional ecosystems that connect families to behavioral health resources. Last week, anchors gathered in Champaign to share best practices on this work, part of the state's Blueprint for Transformation. They provided essential guidance for next steps!

Every quarter, staff at Chapin Hall nominate "Chapin Hallstars," individuals and teams who go above and beyond in their work and represent excellence at our organization. Check out who was recognized with this award this month. A big congratulations to our awardees! 🎉

Happy 5-year anniversary to Amanda Griffin, Researcher at Chapin Hall! Amanda's evaluations have supported youth and families experiencing homelessness across New York, New Mexico, Arizona, and beyond. Amanda, thank you. We appreciate you!  https://www.chapinhall.org/person/amanda-griffin/

To learn how your human service organization can transform its practices through continuous quality improvement, watch this webinar with experts from Chapin Hall, the Connecticut Department of Children and Families, and Ada S. McKinley Community Services: https://tinyurl.com/yfrmkvae #CQI

Enjoy the videos and music that you love, upload original content and share it all with friends, family and the world on YouTube.

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Work in #ChildWellbeing? Sign up for ChapInsights, Chapin Hall's monthly newsletter, for rigorous evidence and resources from our experts. We keep it short and sweet so you can get back to solving problems for children and families.  Sign up here: https://tinyurl.com/4khh5pzu

What supports help Black children & their families thrive and prevent contact w/ child welfare? A new Chapin Hall literature review points to kin-first practice, family engagement, and community-based services: https://www.chapinhall.org/research/black-afam-families-lit-review   #FamilyPreservation

Research is shaped by the researcher. The #Equity First Summer Associates program helps prepare researchers who are committed to improving the lives of children and families. Check out this video to see what this experience meant to last year's scholars:

Inside Chapin Hall's Equity First Summer Associates Program

For 40 years, Chapin Hall has worked to document and address racial...

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What does the evidence say about strengthening Black families & preventing child welfare involvement? A new Chapin Hall literature review finds supports span economic, concrete, relational, and cultural needs: https://www.chapinhall.org/research/black-afam-families-lit-review   #FamilyPreservation

"What advice would you give leaders in jurisdictions who want to make housing central to their family well-being efforts?" See what leaders in 4 states had to say at our webinar. We dig into a cohort to stabilize housing for families and keep them out of child welfare:

Enjoy the videos and music that you love, upload original content and share it all with friends, family and the world on YouTube.

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Ashley Maldonado is using her lived experience of the child welfare system and years of working in the field to help organizations meaningfully engage lived experts in changing services for the better. Read her spotlight for her philosophy: https://www.chapinhall.org/project/neutralizing-the-power/

What does it take to keep Black families together and thriving? A new Chapin Hall lit review synthesizes the evidence on culturally responsive strategies that strengthen African American families & prevent #ChildWelfare involvement: https://www.chapinhall.org/research/black-afam-families-lit-review

We are very excited to welcome our 2026 Equity First Summer Associates to Chapin Hall! 🎉 They are participating in six weeks of intensive professional development to learn the complex realities of conducting culturally responsive and racially equitable research in applied settings.

Working toward a shared goal and need a structured, community-centered way to get there? The Blue Sky Possibilities Framework can help. See how it could support your work: https://www.chapinhall.org/project/blue-sky-possibilities-framework/   #LivedExpertise

Building a kinship navigator program or implementing an existing one? Chapin Hall's new two-pager lays out ways our experts can partner with you, from design to evaluation: https://tinyurl.com/2p352wab   #KinshipCare

Continuous Quality Improvement helps child welfare/human services organizations learn what's working and make it better. On 9/17, Chapin Hall’s Yolanda Green-Rogers & Claire Kimberly are offering a hands-on, 30-person Plan-Do-Study-Act workshop. Express interest: https://tinyurl.com/ChapinHallPDSA

Do you know that LGBTQ+ youth are more than 2x as likely to experience homelessness compared to non-LGBTQ+ peers?  Visit our page to download homelessness statistic explainers like this one to help you communicate the housing challenges facing young people: https://tinyurl.com/msrc6ys7

The Blue Sky Possibilities Framework brings together communities, systems, and nonprofits to build equity-centered partnerships for change, with lived experts leading the way. Explore the framework: https://www.chapinhall.org/project/blue-sky-possibilities-framework/  #JuvenileJustice

On Sept. 17, Chapin Hall's Claire Kimberly and Yolanda Green-Rogers are offering a hands-on, 30-person #CQI workshop for practitioners who want deeper, applied learning on the Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle. Express interest here: https://tinyurl.com/ChapinHallPDSA

Fewer than half of eligible kinship families receive Medicaid or SNAP support. #Kinship navigator programs can help close that gap so children and their kin caregivers can thrive. See how Chapin Hall can help build and sustain these programs in our new two-pager: https://tinyurl.com/2p352wab

Most #CQI efforts fall short because of common, preventable pitfalls. On Sept. 17, Chapin Hall’s Yolanda Green-Rogers and Claire Kimberly are offering a 30-person workshop on the Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle to help practitioners get it right. Express interest here: https://tinyurl.com/ChapinHallPDSA