A cross-national comparison of private-public collaboration for supporting child welfare-involved youth with disabilities

Youth with disabilities are noted to be over-represented in child welfare systems in both the Russian Federation and the United States due to higher rates of maltreatment and/or abandonment.  Research suggests that youth with... [ view full abstract ]

Youth with disabilities are noted to be over-represented in child welfare systems in both the Russian Federation and the United States due to higher rates of maltreatment and/or abandonment.  Research suggests that youth with disabilities often face worse outcomes as compared to their counterparts without disabilities.  Improving child welfare services for youth with disabilities is an increasingly important concern in both countries.  Child welfare workers are often not prepared to support the needs of youth with disabilities, and often hold many of the stereotypes and stigmas held by general society about disabilities.  Often, separate service systems exist for youth with disabilities and youth who are involved in child welfare system, but the two systems have not often collaborated.  This presentation will address approaches to collaborations between public and private agencies towards the support of youth with disabilities.  In the Russian Federation case, we will discuss the collaboration between state-funded orphanages and the Nastavniki non-governmental organization that results in mentoring for youth with disabilities.  In the United States case, we will discuss training collaboratives between state-funded child welfare case managers and disability non-governmental organizations in order for these case managers to do more effective work with youth with disabilities.  Best practices for public and private collaborations in support of child welfare-involved youth with disabilities will be discussed.