{"id":31976,"date":"2022-04-07T15:39:20","date_gmt":"2022-04-07T15:39:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/caseyfamilyv2.wpengine.com\/virtual-engagement-covid\/"},"modified":"2026-05-13T18:58:59","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T18:58:59","slug":"compromiso-virtual-covid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casey.org\/es\/virtual-engagement-covid\/","title":{"rendered":"\u00bfQu\u00e9 est\u00e1n aprendiendo las agencias de protecci\u00f3n infantil sobre la participaci\u00f3n virtual con las familias y el personal?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Summary<\/h3>\n

This brief highlights the best ways to use virtual tools in child welfare, based on real-world lessons from parents and staff.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \n \n \n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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The COVID-19 pandemic required child protection agencies to\u00a0pivot quickly, identify new ways of working with children and families, and seize on opportunities for innovation that previously seemed impossible. Agency leaders\u00a0leveraged opportunities for virtual engagement<\/a>\u00a0to maintain connection and support the well-being of children and families, and to attend to the needs of their staff so they could deliver services effectively during such a difficult stretch of time. A desire exists among families, agency staff, and other stakeholders to carry forward many of the strategies that supported effective virtual engagement during the pandemic. This brief shares lessons learned and key considerations offered by parents, caseworkers, supervisors, administrators, and resource caregivers, including both foster and relative caregivers, for incorporating virtual engagement into practice in ways that best support children and families.1<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \n \n \n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Engaging families<\/h2>\n \n \n \n

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Supplementing in-person family time\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/h3>\n

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In the first few months of the pandemic, parents and their children in out-of-home care who were used to having regular in-person visits experienced loss and disruption of that special time. Some agencies were able to safely maintain in-person family time, and then build on what they were learning about virtual engagement to supplement it with virtual family time, thereby enhancing the amount of family connection within a given month.<\/p>\n

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Faced with an urgency to do things differently, Wisconsin\u2019s Division of Safety and Permanency<\/b><\/span> quickly learned how to overcome some of the challenges with virtual visits, particularly around privacy and security. Leadership found that engaging children and families about their needs and preferences should guide decision-making about the best ways for each family to experience meaningful and frequent contact<\/span><\/a>, with virtual visits used to supplement \u2014 not replace \u2014 in-person visits whenever possible.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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By planning with families, caseworkers were able to address barriers to both in-person and virtual contact, and develop an approach to family time that supported enhanced connection and timely reunification. For example, older youth expressed that touching base with their parents through texting and video phone calls felt natural; on the other hand, younger children had difficulty bonding and meaningfully interacting with parents through virtual platforms. Further, some youth with special needs also had challenges when asked to visit virtually.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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In some instances, adding virtual contact between siblings, outside of family time, was helpful in maintaining relationships when siblings could not live together. Resource caregivers also were engaged in supporting virtual family time, as their flexibility and assistance are key to the success of virtual visits. Caseworkers helped resource caregivers who did not typically facilitate family time prior to the pandemic to understand the importance of frequent contact between children and their parents, both virtual and in-person.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \n \n \n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Certainly we had always believed before (the pandemic) that in-person was just the gold standard and there was nothing else. Now we\u2019re learning that virtual can be successful and we\u2019re looking at how we continue to include virtual visits as a supplement moving forward.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

— Mary Havick, Deputy Division Director of Child Welfare, Georgia Division of Family & Children Services<\/cite><\/figcaption>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n
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Supplementing caseworker visits<\/b><\/h3>\n

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The logistical benefits of virtual caseworker visits are evident. Since travel isn\u2019t required, virtual visits allow caseworkers to cover a much larger geographic area and be more flexible on meeting times. These benefits also translate into additional opportunities for supportive connection with families. For example, Casey Family Programs, which offers direct services to children and families through our community-based offices in five states, provided more families with coaching, post-permanency supports, and caregiver support groups virtually than when providing these services in-person. In Marathon County, Wis.<\/b><\/span>, caseworker visits were increased from one in-person visit per month prior to COVID to three to four virtual visits per month during the pandemic, to better engage and support families.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Of course, in-person engagement is recommended, whenever possible, to set the stage for strong relationships between children, families, and caseworkers. Agency guidance can help caseworkers understand how best to use the initial in-person contact so that future contacts, information gathering, and assessments may occur virtually when appropriate.2<\/sup><\/a> It is also important to use initial visits to assess the parent or child\u2019s comfort with virtual technology and, if needed, provide training and support if virtual contact is going to be added on a monthly basis.3<\/sup><\/a> Not all families have adequate technology or are comfortable using it for virtual contacts. This digital divide<\/span><\/a> can be addressed through partnerships and financial support of community providers that can provide resources that families need to connect, such as laptops, cell phones, and Internet access.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \n \n \n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Parents and caseworkers engaged with children on virtual platforms in a number of ways, including:<\/h4>\n