National Child Welfare Resource Center
for Organizational Improvement
A service of the Children's Bureau, a member of the T/TA Network
 
 
New on this site

Improving Child Welfare/ Court Collaboration is the subject of the Summer/Fall 2009 issue of our newsletter, Child Welfare Matters. (07/06/09)

2007 Agencies and Courts Meeting general sessions videos (07/01/09)
Watch the videos of the 2007 Agencies and Courts Meeting general sessions
- Solutions for Impacting Workforce Development
- Collaboration to Achieve Outcomes
- Agency, Court and Youth Collaboration

Building A Framework and Model for Child Welfare Supervision
The National Resource Center for Family-Centered Practice and Permanency Planning and the National Child Welfare Resource Center for Organizational Improvement created this document to examine the responsibilities and needs of supervisory staff and develop an organizational framework to support effective child welfare supervision. This resulting document is intended to serve as a road map for agency leaders as they think through ways to build and sustain effective child welfare supervision in their agencies. It is a state of the art compendium of an emerging model of supervision in child welfare and ideas and practices that, if implemented by agency leadership, can radically improve the ability of supervisors and the agencies that employ them to serve the needs of children and families. (04/30/09)

Recommendations and Suggested Models for Colorado’s Court Improvement Program Training Evaluation System
This is a report developed in response to a request by the Court Improvement Program in Colorado to review their current system for evaluating their multi-disciplinary training in child welfare. It also makes recommendations for the integration of evaluation as they develop written curricula for their training program. It includes many examples of evaluation instruments and questions that can be used at different stages of a training evaluation.

Report of the ACF Region V Roundtable on Child Welfare Training Systems
In late October 2008, the ACF Region V office hosted a second Roundtable on Child Welfare Training Systems for Region V states. This Roundtable brought together leaders in child welfare training from ACF Region V states and provide opportunities for them to discuss with their peers training issues, challenges and successes. (02/06/09)

2009 Late Winter/Spring Teleconferences
Upcoming teleconference information for the late winter/spring series has been posted! Register today! (12-29-08)

Implementing Change at the Local Level: Strategies for Success is the topic of the Fall/Winter 2008 issue of our newsletter Child Welfare Matters. This issue explores steps agencies can take to engage the local level in change. The main article highlights State and local experiences and explores some key strategies agencies can use to bring about change at the local level. (10-24-08)

2008 Summer/Fall Teleconferences
Upcoming teleconference information for the summer/fall season has been posted! Register today! (08-01-08)

An Introduction to the Practice Model Framework: A Working Document Series
The National Child Welfare Resource Center for Organizational Improvement (NRCOI) has partnered with the National Child Welfare Resource Center for Family Centered Practice and Permanency Planning (NRCFCPPP) to develop the Practice Model Framework series. The purpose of these materials is to help agencies think about and prepare for the creation or modification of child welfare practice models. Each brief contains examples from various child welfare agencies based on interviews with agency staff members and reviews of existing practice models. The first brief contains a thorough explanation and definition of what we mean by the term “practice model”. This conceptual piece will be the foundation for the additional briefs due to be released in August 2008. Those briefs will highlight issues to consider in developing, implementing, and ensuring the effectiveness of a child welfare practice model. We encourage your feedback on this complex subject. We believe there is no one model that will work for all child welfare agencies. Therefore, we hope these materials will provide the child welfare community with some helpful suggestions and resources in tailoring a practice model that will work best for each agency—and the families it serves. If you have suggestions, questions, or comments on our practice model materials, please contact Angie Herrick Bordeaux at 207-780-5822 or abordeaux@usm.maine.edu. (07-22-08)

Building Effective Training Systems for Child Welfare Agencies
The guide provides an analytic framework for child welfare agencies or Tribal leadership teams to build a shared understanding of and commitment to the value, role, capacity, and development of their training systems. (06-13-08)

Child Welfare Matters (Spring/Summer 2008)
This issue of Child Welfare Matters explores the system of care approach and its value in promoting systemic reform in child welfare. The issue provides some basic information on systems of care—what they are, why agencies should consider this approach, and steps to build these systems. (06-12-08)

Service Array Tools and Materials
The National Child Welfare Resource Center for Organizational Improvement (NRCOI) and the National Resource Center for Child Welfare Data and Technology (NRCCWDT) together offer a process and a set of tools child welfare agencies can use in conjunction with community stakeholders to assess and enhance their child and family service array. (04/28/08)

2008 Spring Teleconferences

Upcoming teleconference information for the spring season has been posted! Register today!

We are pleased to make available a new comprehensive systems of care curriculum for child welfare: Primer Hands On-Child Welfare!. (11/19/07)

Strengthening Child Welfare Supervision is the focus of the Fall 2007 edition of our newsletter Child Welfare Matters. This issue provides information and
resources to help agencies strengthen and support the critical role child welfare supervisors play in organizational improvement. Supervision is a complex topic on which expert opinion varies, but we have identified some key steps agencies
need to take to support supervisors.

2007 Fall Teleconferences
Upcoming teleconference information for the fall season has been posted! Register today!

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T/TA Network - Find out which Resource Centers are working in the states - with just a click on our new map feature!

Coping with Disasters: A Framework for Child Welfare Agencies
Across the country, natural disasters, man-made crises, or medical events can affect the routine ways child welfare agencies operate and serve children, youth and families. It is especially important for agencies caring for vulnerable populations—such as abused and neglected children—to do what they can to prepare for these disasters. Fortunately, many of the steps agencies might take to prepare for disasters can also strengthen systems critical to ongoing agency management. This publication has a dual purpose—to help managers think through what they might put in place to cope with disasters, and to highlight how taking these steps can improve systems for serving children and families. Disaster Planning Checklists contain an overview of the document.

Advocating for the Educational Needs of Children in Out-of-Home Care
Materials designed to provide child welfare caseworkers and their supervisors with an understanding of the relevant educational policies, processes, assessments and plans; methods for monitoring outcomes and services; and tools to enable them to advocate for the educational needs of children in the child welfare system. Derived primarily from what youth in care say about their educational experiences and what the research tells us makes a difference in educational outcomes for this population, the curriculum and manual cover educational needs from birth through age 21 and is currently being adapted for use by educators and foster parents. The curriculum includes the showing of a DVD of youth in care talking about their experiences in school. Copies of “Speaking Out” are available from Mary Joseph 207-780-5854.
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updated on 10/13/2009

 

National Child Welfare Resource Center for Organizational Improvement
Edmund S. Muskie School of Public Service
PO Box 9300, 34 Bedford Street, Portland, ME 04104-9300
1-800-HELPKID (435-7543) •
Fax: 207-780-5817TTY: 207-780-5646

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MAINE
Muskie School of Public Service