New Foster Care Law Will Improve Outcomes for Children and Youth
On October 7, President Bush signed the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act, which will help families maintain permanence by supporting relative guardianship and adoption, improving education and healthcare, and extending federal support for youth up to age 21. The law also includes support and protection for Native American children. Learn more from Casey Family Services, the Annie E. Casey Foundation's direct services agency.

 Voices of Youth in Foster Care
Casey Family Services' Connections Count newsletter offers resources to connect foster youth with families for life. The latest issue features the voices of youth in foster care talking about their yearning for family.

Still Working Hard, Still Falling Short
Many American families, despite working hard, earn incomes too low to achieve economic security. Still Working Hard, Still Falling Short, a follow-up to a 2004 report, found that an additional 350,000 working families were low-income in 2006 compared to 2002. Written by the Working Poor Families Project and funded in part by the Casey Foundation, the report analyzes U.S. Census data and concludes that more than one out of four working families with children is low-income, and a total of 42 million adults and children struggle to get by. Learn more from the Working Poor Families Project or download the report.

Report Tracks Economic Security of Children Across the Continent
Globalization has contributed to rising incomes in Canada, the United States, and Mexico but has not improved economic security for many vulnerable children across the three countries, according to Growing Up in North America: The Economic Well-Being of Children in Canada, the United States, and Mexico. Despite rising national income, many poor families in the United States slipped deeper into poverty. The study completes a series published by Casey as a partner in the Children in North America Project, which highlights the well-being of children and youth in all three countries. Previous reports have explored health and safety issues and the challenges facing children in an era of globalization. Reports are also available in French and Spanish.

The Critical Importance of Addressing Chronic Absence in the Early Grades
Although students must be present and engaged to learn, thousands of this country’s youngest students are academically at risk because of extended absences in their early school years. Nationally, an estimated one in ten kindergarten and first grade students miss nearly a month or more of school over the course of a year. This report, commissioned by the Casey Foundation, raises awareness of this issue, presents data on the scope of the challenge, and shares emerging insights about how to address it. An executive summary is also available.