GAO, Child Welfare, Federal Action Needed to Ensure States Have Plans to Safeguard Children in the Child Welfare System Displaced by Disasters, Report to the Ranking Minority Member, Subcommittee on Human Resources, Committee on Ways and Means, House of Representatives, Jul. 2006
This study examines the challenges facing state child welfare systems, including the development of plans for dealing with the dispersion of children in the child welfare system due to disasters. The report addresses state child welfare disaster planning, providing information on: 1) the number of states with statewide disaster plans and the primary components of these plans; 2) the extent to which states that experienced federally declared disasters in 2005 had these plans; and 3) how the Department of Health and Human Services supports the states efforts to develop child welfare disaster plans.
Emergency Preparedness in Dependency Courts: Ten Questions That Courts Serving Abused and Neglected Children Must Address, National Center for State Courts
"The Children’s Bureau of the United States Department of Health and Human Services supported a collaborative effort among the American Bar Association’s Center on Children and the Law, the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ), and the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) to examine how lessons learned from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita could be applied to dependency courts and to recommend a strategic approach to ensure that the essential functions of dependency courts are sustained during an emergency or disaster."
Hollee McGinnis, Intercountry Adoption in Emergencies: The Tsunami Orphans, The Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute, Apr. 2005
"This policy brief examines the role of intercountry adoption in situations such as the one caused by the massive tsunami that struck Southeast Asia and the eastern coast of Africa on Dec. 26, 2004 - that is, during natural disasters, armed conflicts, and other complex human emergencies. By outlining some of the unique threats posed to children during emergencies, and examining existing international conventions and the legal framework for intercountry adoption, this brief articulates best practices that incorporate both immediate and long-term needs of children left without parental care - including protection, family reunification, community and family solutions, permanency, and respect for culture."
Educating and Protecting Children, United States Government of Accountability Office, May. 2006
"In August and September 2005, Hurricane Katrina and Rita caused devasting damage to states along the Gulf Coast. In the aftermath of the storms, many questions were raised about the status of the thousands of children living in the affected area. [The GAO] prepared this preliminary information under the Comptroller General's authority to learn more about 1) the number of missing children and the challenges and lessons learned in locating them; 2) the number of foster and other children receiving child welfare services in Louisiana, in particular, who were affected by the storm, and the challenges and lessons learned in locating and serving them; and 3) the number of schoolchildren displaced by the storm, the damage to their schools, and the challenges and lessons learned for educating displaced school-aged children.