Workforce
Explore our Questions from the Field resources to learn more about the child welfare workforce.
Healthy organizations
We believe that a skilled and stable child welfare workforce supported by quality-focused agency environments are key to improved outcomes for children and families. Leaders from the field have asked for resources on building healthy organizations. The documents featured here reflect responses to inquiries about developing an effective workforce and building data-informed infrastructure so that child welfare agencies function at their best.
How can mindful organizing promote a safety culture in child protection agencies?
Mindful organizing supports better decision-making and service delivery, which lead to better child safety and improved family well-being.
How can child welfare leaders safely decrease investigation backlogs?
Learn how several agencies successfully reduced backlogs that resulted from overdue child protective services investigations.
How does mindful organizing support better outcomes for children and families?
In two videos, Tiffany Goodpasture explains how mindful organizing is being used at the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services.
How does Sweetser’s residential treatment approach promote family engagement and inclusion in Maine?
Learn how a residential treatment program for children with behavioral health challenges shifted its practice toward parent engagement.
How can child protection agencies deepen partnerships with birth parents to advance systems change?
In this Q&A, David Sanders is interviewed about how child welfare agencies can improve their partnerships with birth parents.
How can fathers and other constituent leaders inform Family First and other system change efforts?
In this Q&A, Timothy Phipps describes the importance of involving parents, especially fathers, in designing the child welfare system.
How does Children’s Village reflect the components of a Qualified Residential Treatment Program?
Learn how a residential treatment program changed its business model, practice, and culture to better serve youth and families.
How was Safety Organized Practice implemented in San Diego County?
San Diego County’s Safety-Organized Practice model builds partnerships between families and child welfare using a strengths-based approach.
How do parent partner programs instill hope and support prevention and reunification? (APPENDIX)
This appendix provides a brief summary of the research on individual parent partner programs.
How do parent partner programs instill hope and support prevention and reunification?
Parent partners can guide parents through a difficult time and instill hope. Learn more about parent partner programs in this issue brief.
How did Connecticut expand Family-Based Recovery using a social impact bond?
Pay for Success expands a recovery program that allows children to remain at home with parents undergoing treatment for substance use.
How did Allegheny County advance a kin-first approach?
Learn how Allegheny County achieved a kin-first culture shift in this Q&A with Marc Cherna, director of Department of Human Services.
How has stable, skilled leadership driven change in Allegheny County?
This Q&A with Marc Cherna describes how he developed his leadership style to achieve his vision and drive change in Allegheny County.
What is Connecticut’s trauma-informed approach, CONCEPT?
Connecticut has integrated trauma-informed practices throughout its child welfare system by way of an innovative approach called CONCEPT.
How can safety culture contribute to a reduction in turnover?
This video underscores the importance of supporting staff so they can focus on what matters most: being responsive to children and families.
What are some ways to cultivate staff support when building a safety culture?
These two brief videos highlight the importance of building trust with staff when developing a safety culture.
How can an organization become more responsive to staff needs?
These brief videos describe why establishing feedback loops for staff to provide input on policy and practice changes helps build trust.
How can we prioritize constituent voice and choice?
Families involved with child welfare systems can offer critical insights and feedback. Learn to design systems driven by their expertise.
How can becoming a data-driven agency help to prioritize work and measure impact?
These two brief videos underscore how being a data-driven system can help staff with decision-making and prioritization.