Chapin Hall

10/08/2026

To create a meaningful alternative to , we have to co-design systems with lived experts. That is what the Doris Duke Foundation’s OPT-In for Families initiative is doing.

But how do lived expert Advisory members experience the co-design process?

Foster America and Chapin Hall asked them to show us using zines, which is both a new research method and a creative way to gather stories.

We learned that the experience is positive but emotionally taxing work for many members. Several Advisory members are “co-authors reviewers” on our new report about the findings: https://www.chapinhall.org/research/zines-reveal-how-lived-experts-experience-co-design-in-opt-in-for-families/

10/07/2026

Meet the creative mind behind this year's T-shirt! Designed by Cynthia from Virginia, this year's artwork brings our theme, "Driven by Experience," to life through the unique perspective of a young person with lived experience.

Cynthia said, “Much like a butterfly goes through stages, my experiences have shaped me into the person I am today. The butterfly represents overcoming challenges, embracing change, and using those experiences as motivation to move forward with purpose and strength.”

A special thank you to for providing T-shirts and sending them to youth and participating agencies across the country! 🎉 Here's to celebrating youth leadership, creativity, and the stories that continue to shape the future.

Explore the importance of this month: https://selflesslovefoundation.org/foster-youth-voice-month/

10/05/2026

A Plan of Safe Care is a voluntary plan developed with a family to connect them to support they need when their newborn is affected by .

When state policies define prenatal substance use as child abuse or require reporting it to child protective services, rates of adequate prenatal and postpartum care are lower and providers make fewer referrals to treatment.

Our new brief shows how a strong Plan of Safe Care community pathway can connect families to services so they get the support they need to be healthy and safe: https://www.chapinhall.org/project/strengthening-plans-of-safe-care-through-community-pathways/

10/02/2026

This , we should recognize how much home visiting programs can support Latino families and their children who are establishing a new life in the United States.

Explore the full video on this research from Aimee Hilado and Reiko Kakuyama-Villaber on the impact of home visiting for immigrant and refugee families: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4gCfm2ms9o

10/01/2026

OPT-In for Families, launched by the Duke Foundation, connects screened-out families with voluntary community-based supports and financial assistance to help families thrive and avoid intervention.

Advisory members with lived experience are helping co-design these systems at multiple demonstration sites.

and Hall asked Advisory members to tell us about their experiences using zines, handmade booklets that let them express their stories in their own words and images.

We learned that their participation felt meaningful and that they also want more transparency around how their contributions are making a difference: https://www.chapinhall.org/research/zines-reveal-how-lived-experts-experience-co-design-in-opt-in-for-families/

09/30/2026

In , school districts with similar test scores can be navigating very different conditions.

It is essential for decision makers to understand these conditions if they are going to address barriers to student success.

With funding from the Illinois State Board of Education, Chapin Hall researchers Holly White-Wolfe, Cody Oltmans, Kiljoong Kim, Reiko Kakuyama-Villaber, Madeline Youngren, Mike Stiehl, and Ali Karaduman grouped all 834 Illinois districts by the combination of community adversity, academic performance, geography, and financial conditions they operate in.

An interactive map and two new briefs show how those conditions cluster across the state, giving school administrators and policymakers a clearer basis for improving their schools: https://tinyurl.com/6p83jrvw

09/29/2026

Since 2018, federal law has pushed agencies to invest in preventing families from reaching a crisis in the first place, rather than only stepping in after one happens. But that only works if families can actually find and receive those services.

In a new piece for American Public Human Services Association - APHSA's Policy & Practice magazine, Chapin Hall's Alana Barr, Jennifer O'Brien, and Yolanda Green-Rogers explore "community pathways," networks that connect families to support through schools, doctors' offices, and community organizations they already trust, instead of requiring them to go through the child welfare system first.

They also break down what's getting in the way: disconnected data systems, fragmented referrals and manual coordination methods. Modern, closed-loop referral systems, provider engagement, and fidelity or outcomes tracking, they write, are some of the missing pieces that can make this work in practice.

Read the full piece in Policy & Practice: Policy & Practice (starting on page 8, continuing on page 44): https://trayinc.cld.bz/Policy-Practice-Fall-2026/

Policy & Practice | Fall 2026

09/25/2026

Far too many children are separated from their siblings through traditional . When children are placed with kin, they are much more likely to stay together.

caregivers who step up to care for children should be given the support to do so. Explore these resources from the Child Information Gateway on this topic: https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/permanency/kinship-care/

09/24/2026

What happens after a newborn is identified as affected by prenatal substance exposure? Federal law requires a Plan of Safe Care, a voluntary plan that connects families to the support they need.

But states get little federal guidance or funding for these plans, so approaches vary widely, and providers can confuse the need to create a Plan of Safe Care with being required to report possible child maltreatment.

Chapin Hall's Jenny Keefe, Katie Rollins, Charlotte Goodell, and Yasmin Grewal-Kök lay out a blueprint for a Plan of Safe Care community pathway that connects families to true support: https://www.chapinhall.org/project/strengthening-plans-of-safe-care-through-community-pathways/

The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA), as amended by the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA), requires states to ensure a Plan of

09/23/2026

What does co-designing an alternative to the system ask of lived experts?

That is what America and Chapin Hall asked Advisory members for the Duke Foundation’s OPT-In for Families Initiative. Using zines (handmade booklets combining drawings, collage, photographs, and handwritten text), 54 members showed us what was working and what parts of co-design take a toll.

Explore the top findings from this research and the full report to learn how to improve co-design with lived experts: https://www.chapinhall.org/research/zines-reveal-how-lived-experts-experience-co-design-in-opt-in-for-families/