Three pioneering initiatives funded by the Children’s Bureau yielded the
quotes above. Together, these initiatives have been instrumental in the
development of formal knowledge and understanding regarding the
centrality of emotions in child welfare. The first initiative, completed in the
late 1990s, focused on child welfare practice with families manifesting cooccurring
needs, especially substance abuse, depression, domestic
violence, health disparities, and under the newly implemented Temporary
Assistance to Needy Families initiative, employment challenges. The
second was a child welfare workforce retention grant. The third, now in
the launch phase, will develop “trauma-informed child welfare systems” in
American Indian communities.