Child & Family Well-Being
APHSA’s child and family well-being strategies mobilize public practitioners that administer child care and child welfare services in collaboration with the broader ecosystem of family-strengthening systems to proactively promote well-being. We do this by focusing on primary prevention—investing in families in ways that prevent crises before they happen—and by aligning with other systems such as public and behavioral health, aging, disability, juvenile justice, and housing to advance community well-being.
Embedded across our strategies is a commitment to shift power by centering lived experience, championing strategies to eliminate disparate outcomes, and promoting community-led services and decision-making.
Current Portfolio
Economic and Concrete Supports
The economic and concrete supports body of work includes peer learning, research, and national policy strategy focused on preventing child welfare involvement due to poverty or economic hardship.
Enhancing Child Care Subsidy Programs through Human-Centered Design
In partnership with the Urban Institute, APHSA is hosting a workshop series on creating family- and provider-centered policies to increase access to child care subsidies. These workshops encourage teams to learn and engage with their peers and modify existing policies and practices to better meet the needs of families and providers.
Meetings the Needs of High Acuity Youth
APHSA is supporting state and local agencies in developing and implementing effective strategies to meet the unique needs of high acuity youth by collaborating with child welfare agencies, healthcare providers, and community organizations to promote best practices and innovative solutions. Through technical assistance, policy advocacy, and collaborative initiatives, APHSA works to enhance the capacity of human services agencies to deliver integrated, trauma-informed, and person-centered care. These efforts aim to ensure that high acuity youth receive the support they need to thrive in their communities.
National Collaborative on Transition Age Youth
In collaboration with Youth Villages and FosterClub, The National Collaborative for Transition Age Youth (TAY) is convening public agencies and young people with lived experience to elevate consensus on best practices and model standards of care for TAY in child welfare through the development of a playbook that will be completed by the end of 2024.
System Alignment for Young Families
The System Alignment for Young Families (SAYF) project was a four-year series of activities focused on how state and county leaders can align their human services programs to break down silos and better serve families. In partnership with young parents in their communities, select state and county agencies participated in learning communities and received technical assistance to implement their strategic alignment plans. Learn more on our Aligning for Young Families microsite.
Safely Placing Children Across State Lines
APHSA serves as Secretariat for the Association of Administrators of the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (AAICPC) which oversees the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC). Fifty states, the District of Columbia, and the US Virgin Islands are party to the ICPC and are responsible for assuring that placements of children across member jurisdictions are done as safely and as expediently as possible. ICPC plays an important role in children’s well-being and permanency outcomes. The AAICPC launched the National Electronic Interstate Compact Enterprise (NEICE) in 2014 to speed up the processing of children’s placement information and safety checks. Since then the states, DC, and US Virgin Islands have reduced children’s timelines to permanency by almost 40 percent.
Get Involved
National Association of Public Child Welfare Administrators
The National Association of Public Child Welfare Administrators (NAPCWA), an APHSA affinity group, fosters a national peer community for public child welfare agency leaders and leverages insights to inform federal policy and state and local practice. Learn more on our NAPCWA page.
National Association of State Child Care Administrators
The National Association of State Child Care Administrators (NASCCA), an APHSA affinity group, fosters a national peer community for public child care agency leaders and leverages insights to inform federal policy and state implementation. Learn more on our NASCCA page.
Association of Administrators of the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children
The Association of Administrators of the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (AAICPC) oversees the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC) and receives Secretariat Services from the American Public Human Services Association (APHSA). Learn more on our AAICPC page.
