"The U.S. government’s policy of separating migrant children from their families at the southern border is 'cruel, inhuman,' and 'rises to the level of torture,' according to a new academic article authored by a slate of doctors throughout the country," says this article from the San Francisco Chronicle.

"New York City’s Administration for Children’s Services is launching a pilot program to expand the use of parent advocates who have experience dealing with the foster care system and can support mentor parents whose children are currently in foster care," according to this article from NYN Media.

"Lawyers have not been able to reach the parents of 545 children who had been separated from their families by US border officials between 2017 and 2018, according to a Tuesday court filing," says this article from CNN.

Join the Center for the Study of Social Policy and the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work on October 20-21, 2020 from 1-4PM ET for the inaugural convening of the newly launched upEND Movement, which will bring together organizers, activists, scholars, and community leaders to have provocative conversations and strategize innovative ways to create a society in which the forcible separation of children from their families is no longer an acceptable solution for families in need.

The premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada has stated that the government "wants to fix a 'broken' social system that has been criticized by Innu leaders for failing youth," particularly Indigenous children in care, according to this article from CBC News.

Advocates in the U.S. "are hoping to see a bill included that would prevent young people from aging out of foster care during the crisis and allow those who have already aged out since it started to reenter," says the article.

The biennial Together for Families Conference is a unique event that connects various stakeholders from across the U.S. and Canada in the Family Support and Strengthening Field to focus on quality practice. The conference will be held virtually from 13-16 October 2020.  

This article from The Atlantic explores the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on foster care in the United States.

In October, the Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP) will use their regular monthly webinar time to provide a Strengthening Families introduction for people who are new to the protective factors framework and the Strengthening Families approach.

This article from BBC News tells the stories of transracial adoptive families in which parents of color have adopted white children, and the issues they have faced.