Model Reforms

Your flagship policy proposals, model legislation, and reform frameworks that policymakers can adopt or adapt.

  • May 1, 2026Model Reforms

    INTRODUCTION For more than 25 years, despite countless reforms, outcomes for America’s abandoned, abused, and neglected children in the foster care system have remained unchanged. Children in foster care face a devastating reality—poor [...]

    <a href="https://www.thecenterforchildren.org/lives-in-the-balance-federal-reforms/" class="stuck-bottom">Read More...

  • April 30, 2025Model Reforms

    On Wednesday, May 7 at 11:30 a.m. ET, the Michigan Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the case of In re Barber/Espinoza—a case that will determine whether a woman who trafficked her 9-year-old daughter can still claim parental rights.

    <a href="https://www.thecenterforchildren.org/michigan-supreme-court-to-decide-whether-trafficked-childs-rights-must-take-precedence/" class="stuck-bottom">Read More...

  • February 29, 2024Model Reforms

    At the Center for the Rights of Abused Children, we protect the rights of children who are victims of abuse and neglect, and we work to ensure every child has a safe and [...]

    <a href="https://www.thecenterforchildren.org/enforcement-of-foster-youth-bill-of-rights/" class="stuck-bottom">Read More...

  • Executive Summary Children have a right to education. However, children in foster care struggle to fully benefit from this fundamental right. In Arizona, children who experience foster care have the lowest on-time graduation [...]

    <a href="https://www.thecenterforchildren.org/special-education-screening-for-all-students-entering-care/" class="stuck-bottom">Read More...

  • Executive Summary Every child deserves a safe and loving home, but far too many live in homes that are unhealthy and unsafe—often from birth. These are children who were born exposed to drugs, [...]

    <a href="https://www.thecenterforchildren.org/expanded-workforce-education-for-abused-and-neglected-children/" class="stuck-bottom">Read More...

  • Executive Summary Youth in foster care face an uphill battle in educational attainment. Abuse, ongoing trauma, and unstable living arrangements contribute to poor outcomes for foster youth. Foster children move from one home [...]

    <a href="https://www.thecenterforchildren.org/students-in-foster-care-credit-transfer/" class="stuck-bottom">Read More...

  • Problem Nationally, over 90% of children in foster care leave the child welfare system via reunification with biological parents, guardianship, kinship placements, or adoption.1 The remaining children – approximately 9% of teens and [...]

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  • Our values

    On behalf of the Center for the Rights of Abused Children (Center), I write in support of AB 1512 (Bryan). This critical initiative protects and preserves federal benefits that belong to the child [...]

    <a href="https://www.thecenterforchildren.org/testimony-preserving-social-security-administration-benefits-for-foster-youth-support/" class="stuck-bottom">Read More...

  • Life-saving reforms

    Overview: Nearly 10% of children in our nation’s child welfare system “age out” of the system, leaving foster care without a family, meaningful adult connections, or adequate support. Outcomes for these young adults [...]

    <a href="https://www.thecenterforchildren.org/reinstatement-of-parental-rights/" class="stuck-bottom">Read More...

  • Serve Pro Bono

    The proposed policy seeks to conserve and maximize a child’s federal benefits within applicable asset limitations and to ensure those benefits are used exclusively for the individual unmet needs and best interests of [...]

    <a href="https://www.thecenterforchildren.org/testimony-a-b-8036-and-s-b-7778/" class="stuck-bottom">Read More...