The 2017 OVC Applied Research & Best Practice Symposium will unite top academic OVC researchers with leaders of faith-based NGOs serving children around the world, seeking together to give empirically-validated answers to the question of how we can elevate care for vulnerable children.

The United States is the only member of the United Nations that has not ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and child poverty in the U.S. remains one of the highest amongst developed nations. 

This paper analyzes empirical differences in adoption services of public and private agencies in the United States.

This study from the Special Issue on Kinship Care of the Child Welfare Journal examined the impact of a kinship supports intervention implemented in 16 children services agencies in the US.

This paper from the Special Issue on Kinship Care of the Child Welfare Journal discusses a three-phased service model assessed using Family Group Decision Making (FGDM) conferences with informal kinship caregivers and their families.

In this empirical analysis of kinship caregivers and children from the Special Issue on Kinship Care of the Child Welfare Journal, researchers sought to determine the protective factors that mediate against risks and produce optimal levels of child well-being for children being cared for by kinship caregivers in the US.

This article from the Special Issue on Kinship Care of the Child Welfare Journal explores the Family Connections Discretionary Grant Program in the US.

University at Albany, New York State Kinship Navigator, and the Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) formed a collaborative partnership to plan and host a Kinship Care Summit in Albany, New York in September 2016. The Summit included presentations by authors of kinship manuscripts that were accepted for this Special Issue on Kinship Care of the Child Welfare Journal.

This study from the the Special Issue on Kinship Care of the Child Welfare Journal uses nationally representative survey data to describe differences in characteristics, adverse family experiences, and child well-being among children in kinship care with varying levels of involvement with the child welfare system in the US.

The purpose of this introduction of the Special Issue on Kinship Care of the Child Welfare Journal is to offer a conceptual framework for addressing the challenges involved in developing a coherent set of policies and practices with respect to kinship care in the US.