The CAFO Summit 2026 is a major annual gathering hosted by the Christian Alliance for Orphans (CAFO), scheduled for September 23–25, 2026 at First Baptist Atlanta in Georgia, USA.

This article examines the largely hidden reality of children and teenagers in the United States who take on significant caregiving responsibilities for ill, disabled, or aging family members, often stepping into adult roles with little recognition or support.

The article reports that thousands of unaccompanied immigrant children in the United States could lose access to legal representation after the Trump administration cut funding and ended key contracts with legal aid organizations.

Kinship placements are associated with achieving permanency but “progress moves” into kinship settings may disrupt stable placements, which are also beneficial. This study used event history models to compare rates of permanency among children transitioning between kinship and non-kinship foster placements immediately after being taken into care in the United States.

This technical brief examines how the meaningful participation of children and young people with lived experience (PWLE) in alternative care can strengthen child protection systems, improve service quality, and influence policy reform. It presents international examples from Ireland, Scotland, the United Kingdom, Moldova, Kenya, Romania, Albania, and the United States, illustrating how children and care leavers contribute to individual case planning, service design, regulatory monitoring, advocacy, and national care reform.

This study explores the challenges child welfare professionals face in addressing child neglect in Ontario, Canada, identifying barriers related to bias, the nature of child welfare practice, limited family resources, and government standards. It highlights the need for stronger prevention services, culturally responsive training, and policies that better align child welfare systems with the needs of children, families, and practitioners.

This Canadian study engaged youth with lived experience, caregivers, and service providers to identify top research priorities on child maltreatment using a national priority-setting process. The resulting priorities emphasize prevention, improved services, culturally responsive approaches—including Indigenous perspectives—and addressing systemic and intergenerational factors to better inform research, policy, and practice.

Chapin Hall is conducting a mixed-methods, longitudinal evaluation of the Cash with Care pilot, a 12-month direct cash pilot implemented by Covenant House New York. This document summarizes baseline data from the pilot. These data points establish the starting point for understanding how direct cash assistance and care may shape participants’ trajectories over time.

Growing up and living with albinism in rural Nigeria was tough for Aisha*. She and her two siblings with the condition were shrouded in stigma and lived in constant fear of being mutilated or killed.

This article highlights the importance of kinship care and explains how placing children with relatives or fictive kin can reduce trauma, preserve family and community connections, and improve long‑term well‑being outcomes.