As 2019 is now behind us and we look forward to 2020 - we here at Global Vision Technologies would like to express our thanks to all of the caseworkers, foster care parents, healthcare providers and so many others who have taken responsibility for our country’s most vulnerable resource - children and families.

I have seen first hand how having the right human services software can really make a difference in kids’ lives. How kids that are in the system, for whatever reason, can get better treatment, better understanding and a chance to just be kids.

About a year ago, President Trump signed the Family First Prevention Service Act into law. Social workers engaged in child and family care praised the legislation as the first “prevention” measure to help keep children safely with their families and avoid the traumatic experience of entering foster care. The act emphasized the importance of children growing up in families and helps ensure children are placed in the least restrictive, most family-like setting appropriate to their special needs when foster care is needed.

A new resource guide is available that helps to keep our teens and youth safe.  If you'd like to grab a copy - you can get it here:  https://www.staysafe.org/teens/ 

A resource for finding Federal grants to fund youth programs has been shared with our team.  You can find information on the http://youth.gov website.

Positive Tomorrows, an Oklahoma City non-profit, is opening a private school for homeless children that was designed by the kids themselves. That’s right. A private school for homeless (not privileged) children.

In a recent issue of Social Work Today, Kate Jackson reported this troubling statistic:

The Family First Act has become law! This is a very big deal for our caseworker colleagues who work in teen pregnancy and parenting. It represents the biggest change to the structure of federal child welfare finance since the establishment of the Title IV-E entitlement in 1980.

Came across an interesting guide last week that I wanted to share with you. The Ultimate Parent Guide for Child Safety on the Internet is a concise guide with great tips on protecting our children from the dangers of the Internet and protecting their safety.  As a boy scout leader - we teach the scouts how to be aware of online predators and other people who try to get a hold of your private information.  The guide covers some of those things and more.

The OJJDP-sponsored National Criminal Justice Training Center will hold Child Abduction Response Team Training: January 9–12, 2018 in Niceville, FL.