An Overview of Child Welfare in Mississippi

The overall goal of this project is to provide information that can be used to improve both programming and policies throughout Mississippi’s child welfare system while also spotlighting areas that are working well. This report highlights findings from the major areas of study: 1) research engaging foster youth, biological parents, foster parents, and judges); 2) a special advisory committee on child welfare; 3) public health outreach with Mississippi Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (HSPH); and 4) a scholar-in-residence on child welfare. It concludes with policy/program considerations that can inform ways to elevate and strengthen child welfare programming andservices in Mississippi.