Standards of Practice for Lawyers Representing Child Welfare Agencies.
by Mimi Laver.
The standards were written with the help of a committee of practicing agency attorneys and child welfare professionals from different jurisdictions with the goal of raising the quality of agency representation. The standards include fundamental principles, action steps, and commentary.

See also, all Child Welfare Standards of Practice.

Agency Court Collaboration

How to Work with Your Court: A Guide for Child Welfare Agency Administrators (2nd edition).
Helps agency executives and judges set up effective agency-court meetings, addresses joint educational programs, improving federal law compliance, enhancing agency success rates in court actions, dealing with "problem" judges, and helping agencies obtain legal support.

Interdisciplinary Collaboration in Child Protection Cases.
PowerPoint presentation on improving agency-court practice in child protection cases.

Improving Outcomes Together: Court and Child Welfare Collaboration.
by Cecilia Fiermonte, J.D., and the Honorable Nancy Sidote Salyers.

Additional resources on court-agency collaboration are located on the CFSR page.

Privacy

Sharing Information: A Guide to Federal Laws on Confidentiality and Disclosure of Information for Child Welfare Agencies.
by Alice Bussiere, Abigail English, and Catherine Teare, 1997.
This guide helps child welfare agencies identify their responsibilities and develop appropriate policies under the federal laws governing confidentiality. ? Provides an overview of nine federal laws that affect child welfare agencies: child abuse prevention and treatment; foster care, adoption assistance and child welfare services; alcohol and other drug programs; education records; federal welfare reform; Medicaid; HIV/AIDS information; the national criminal history background check system; and the crimes against children and sexual offender registration programs.?

Privacy and Information Sharing in Child Abuse and Neglect Cases.
by Mark Hardin.
Provides a synopsis of legal issues and practice tips regarding privacy and information sharing. Recommendations for agencies, courts and attorneys are included.

Children’s Defense Fund, State Fact Sheets on Child Welfare Funding. State by state information including foster care population, permanency outcomes, and details on foster care funding and expenditures.