Health: The Kaiser Family Foundation's Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured has issued its latest update of the interactive Medicaid Benefits: Online Database. Using this tool, Medicaid benefits can be compared across the 50 states, the District of Columbia and the US Territories or by specific service. The online tool contains Medicaid benefits survey data from 2003, 2004 and 2006 with information about benefits covered, limits, co-payments and reimbursement. The tool includes an interactive map, an expandable list of benefits, and the ability to compare data across the three survey periods.

Children's Mental Health: Published by the National Center for Children in Poverty, this four page fact sheet for policy makers on mental health highlights the widespread nature of mental health problems among children and youth and the lack of adequate services. Latino children and youth are less likely to receive services than children and youth of other ethnic groups.

Financing Systems of Care: A Self-Assessment and Planning Guide: Developing a Comprehensive Financing Plan is a technical assistance tool resulting from a 5-year study on financing systems of care. Conducted by the University of South Florida, the study examines cross-agency financing strategies communities can use to build integrated systems of care for children with serious emotional disturbances and their families. During the first year of the study, researchers surveyed financing experts, State and county administrators, Tribal representatives, and others to develop a list of critical financing strategies. The results became the basis of A Self-Assessment and Planning Guide. The guide addresses seven areas to help sites develop strategic financing plans.

Kinship Care Research and Literature: Lessons Learned and Directions for Future Research: The Child Welfare League of America authored this report on kinship care, providing research on kinship care and the outcomes for children. The 2000 Census found that 4.5 million children younger than 18 live in grandparent-maintained households and 1.5 million reside in other relative-maintained households. This newsletter gives a variety of articles on kinship care including upcoming events and information on the National Kinship Advisory Committee.

Stopping the Cradle to Prison Pipeline: The Children's Defense Fund has released a new report called: America's Cradle to Prison Pipeline, Black boys have a one in three lifetime risk of going to jail, and Latino boys have a one in six lifetime risk of the same fate. Tens of thousands of children and teens are sucked into the Pipeline each year.  The report documents the convergence and accumulation of multiple social and economic risks and offers a 9-point agenda for families, communities and policy makers at the local, state and national level to begin to dismantle the Pipeline. The full report, along with related resources and state fact sheets, can be found on the CDF website.

Foster Care Waiver Report: TheNational Council For Adoption (NCFA) has released a new report entitled, Title IV-E Waiver Demonstration Programs: Pointing the Way to Reform. The nine page report summarizes the outcomes of four Title IV-E waiver demonstrations which allowed participating states (Ohio, Indiana, North Carolina, and Oregon) to spend Title IV-E funds on child abuse and neglect prevention services, family rehabilitation services, and family reunification services.  Demonstrable improvements in children's outcomes as found by the waivers' evaluators are presented, and the waivers' implications for child welfare reform are discussed. 

Latino Foster Youth:  TheKids are Waiting Campaign and Generations Unitedhas released a new report entitled, Una Familia para Cada Nino: Supporting Permanent Families for Latino Children in Foster Care.This new report examines the experiences of Latino youth in foster care and shows that more than one-fourth live with grandparents and other relatives -- indicating that family members could be a ready and willing source of permanent families and cultural tradition for many youth if federal government policies were reformed through a subsidized guardianship policy being considered in Congress. State data charts are included. The report can be downloaded in English or Spanish.

Child Welfare Disporportionality: In the past ten years, improved data have helped child welfare leaders and others to recognize the scope of racial disproportionality in child welfare services and respond to it. As a result, states and localities have launched a variety of initiatives to reduce the number of children of color removed from their families and placed in foster care, reduce the length of time a child of color remains in foster care, and generally improve their outcomes. Sponsored by the Center for the Study of Social Policy, this report summarizes the efforts in ten jurisdictions to reduce racial disproportionality and disparity in their child welfare services. Section I provides an overview of selected data about racial disproportionality in child welfare services. Section II summarizes approaches and strategies being implemented by the ten jurisdictions.