Transforming child welfare through research & policy

OUR WORK IN CHILD WELFARE
Partners for Our Children (P4C) is a research and policy center at the University of Washington School of Social Work. P4C aims to eliminate inequities and promote inter-generational family well-being by advancing research, evaluation and evidence-informed policy and practice.

Partners for Our Children (P4C) aims to eliminate inequities and promote inter-generational family well-being by advancing research, evaluation and evidence-informed policy and practice.

Our Projects

Partners for Our Children links research, practice, and policy. We conduct collaborative, equity driven research — co-created with, and guided by, those with lived expertise in the child welfare system.

Extended Foster Care
Strive
Joshua Foundation
Training Evaluation
Systems Assessment Final Report - September 2023

Systems Assessment of Extended Foster Care in Washington State

Partners for Our Children conducted a systems assessment of Extended Foster Care (EFC) in Washington State in collaboration with the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF), the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) Research and Data Analysis Division (RDA), Sam D. Martin Consulting, and an Advisory Group of young people who experienced or were eligible for EFC. This study was informed by DCYF staff and community service partners who participated in focus groups and interviews.

The resulting report synthesizes data across multiple sources to provide a systems assessment of state and federally funded services and benefits for young adults who have enrolled in EFC. The report offers a set of policy and practice recommendations to improve supports for the EFC population to promote successful transitions to early adulthood.

Download the Report

Highlights

Anti-Racism Statement

At Partners for Our Children, we commit to working to dismantle institutional and structural racism as individuals and as an organization. As a Center within the School of Social Work, we support the School’s social justice mission and join the social work discipline’s grand challenge of eliminating racism. As an organization, our first work is to look inward and critically examine our roles in those institutional structures that perpetuate anti-Blackness and that reinforce racism, oppression, and inequities.

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LATEST BRIEFS

Low-income, Poverty

Guaranteed Basic Income

Guaranteed Basic Income (GBI) is typically understood as an unconditional cash transfer to individuals or households on a periodic basis. This research brief summarizes findings from GBI pilots to date. In general, the research shows direct cash alleviates the stress associated with the experience of economic hardship, supporting foundational needs, higher quality of life, and an increase in feelings of hope and belonging.
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  • Brief

Child welfare, Foster care, Poverty, State policy

The Impact of Poverty on Children and Families (2023)

Policies aimed at reducing childhood poverty can yield positive benefits for Washington in terms of improved individual and family functioning, and increased economic self-sufficiency for future generations.
Download PDF
  • Brief

Child welfare

Strive two-pager overview, October 2021

Strive Overview: Partners for Our Children (P4C) at the University of Washington has been working in close collaboration, since 2014, with the Washington State Department of Children Youth and Families (DCYF), and over 100 stakeholders to develop and test the Strive Supervised Family Time program. Strive is a parent education and support program that aims to engage parents in the visitation process, assist parents in preparing for high quality family time with their children, and promote child safety.
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  • Brief

Child welfare

Strengthening Family Connection for Incarcerated Parents

More than 50% of incarcerated people are parents at-risk of permanently losing parental rights. Federal policy (TPR) has inequitable impacts on Black, Indigenous, and other POC, low-income families, and women. The brief outlines recommendations.
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  • Brief

Foster care

Foster care alum who lived in group homes could benefit from systems change

New brief from Think of Us and PFC documents experiences of foster care alumni who have lived in group homes and their experiences including lower degrees of well-being and greater barriers to college access and completion of higher education programs, all made worse from the impact of the pandemic. Specific recommendations are outlined in the brief.
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  • Brief

Adoption

The Multi-Ethnic Placement Act (MEPA) needs reform to reduce racial inequities in foster care and adoption

MEPA prevents consideration of children’s race and culture at placement, resulting in many White families adopting transracially without adequate training. P4C’s new policy brief provides a number of suggested policy solutions to enhance equity for children and prospective foster/adoptive parents of color.
Download PDF
  • Brief
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