1. Center for the Support of Families
A Division of SLI Global Solutions LLC
Partnering with Child Welfare Agencies to Improve Futures for Children and Families

2. Current Issues Impacting Child Welfare
Unstable Workforce
Lagging Permanency
Unmet Needs
Staff turnover ranges from 20-40%*, leading to increased time in out-of-home care**
The number of children exiting care has decreased 17.6% from FY2006-FY2015***
About 70-85% of children in child welfare with mental health needs do not receive needed services****
I picked some of the more salient ones, but of course there are others….
*National Child Welfare Workforce Institute. (2011). Child welfare workforce demographics ( ): Snapshot of the frontline child welfare caseworker. Albany, NY. Retrieved March 7, 2017 from **Strolin-Goltzman, J., Kollar, S., & Trinkle, J. (2009). Listening to the voices of children in foster care: Youths speak out about child welfare workforce turnover and selection. Social Work, 55(1), ***Trends in Foster Care and Adoption: FY FY 2015( Based on data submitted by States as of June 8, 2016) Source: AFCARS data, U.S. Children's Bureau,Administration for Children, Youth and Families. ****Williams, M.E., Park, S., Anaya, A., Perugini, S.M., Rao, S., Neece, C.L., & Rafeedie, J. (2012). Linking infants and toddlers in foster care to early childhood mental health services. Children And Youth Services Review 34, doi: /j.childyouth

3. Measurable and sustainable improvements must address the underlying causes for not achieving positive outcomes
Permanency
Child Safety
Child and Family
Well Being
CSF’s experience in working with child welfare agencies suggests there are common underlying causes that often impede an agency’s achieving its desired outcomes.
Underlying Causes

4. Underlying Cause: Lack of fit between solutions and the underlying causes of the problems.
While the number of evidence-based interventions in child welfare is limited, we have more information now than ever before about how trauma affects children and families and how to help them heal, be safe, and achieve permanency and well being.

5. Underlying Cause: Lack of effective strategies to implement interventions as intended.
Common problems include a lack of:
Thoughtful intervention planning
Testing
Understanding the supports needed such as fidelity, leadership, and coaching
Even evidence-based interventions will not be successful if they are not implemented effectively.

6. Underlying Cause: Leadership turnover in public agencies and changing directions before interventions have a chance to succeed
The top levels in child welfare agencies are often subject to political changes and differing philosophies. Promising efforts often fail in the long term because of the lack of planning for sustainability on the front-end.

7. Underlying Cause: Lack of alignment between funding requests and the approaches needed to achieve sustainable improvements.
Funding requests are often not aligned with strategies and approaches that are proven to be effective.
Effective (long-term) solution-focused planning to improve the functioning of the overall system, for example:
Family oriented long-term substance abuse treatment options
Child-specific recruitment activities
Leadership development and support
Crisis driven (short-term) planning, for example:
More foster care workers
More emergency shelter beds
General recruitment activities

8. Underlying Cause: Lack of a problem-solving approach to correctly diagnose problems and their causes, match the best solutions to the problems, and implement solutions successfully.
Child welfare agencies often skip to implementing a solution without understanding the problem. They may have heard about a new intervention and quickly move to replicate it without knowing whether the intervention is a good match to their specific problem or whether they are prepared to implement it.
Court-ordered settlement decrees can also dictate outcomes for child welfare agencies without providing a clear pathway to achieving them.

9. CSF utilizes a 5 step THEORY OF CHANGE in partnering with child welfare agencies to make fundamental changes that bring about measurable and sustainable improvements
Change Behavior & Interventions
Better Outcomes for
Children & Families
Less trauma
More permanencies
Greater safety and stability
Stronger families
A more competent workforce 
Same Behaviors = Same Results
Implement Effectively
Training ≠ Implementation
Align Solution with Values & Supports
Isolated project or integrated changes?
Identify the Right Solution
What is the evidence? How will it resolve the root causes?
Understand the Problem
Identify root causes, not symptoms
Common Underlying or Root Causes to Child Welfare Challenges
Lack of knowledge about the approaches and interventions proven to be effective
Lack of experience and expertise needed to implement effective approaches and interventions
Turnover in leadership in public agencies and different directions for changes before interventions can have a chance to succeed
Lack of knowledge about the type of funding requests that are more likely to result in desired system changes
Lack of strategic planning and problem solving in order to correctly diagnose problems and their causes, match the best solutions to the problems, and implement them successfully

10. Step 1. Understand the Problem
CSF uses an individualized, problem-solving approach with agencies
Systematic problem solving is closely connected to using an evidence-based approach, integrating and aligning initiatives, and using a research-based implementation process
Understanding the root causes of a problem is key to resolving it
A well-defined theory of change, with appropriate measures at key steps in the process, can help an agency move from understanding the problem to achieving desired outcomes
Problem-solving processes include matching solutions to the problems, addressing implementation drivers and barriers, and monitoring and adjusting implementation processes along the way

11. Step 2. Identify the Right Solution
CSF uses an evidence-based and evidence-building approach with agencies
Matching problems to effective interventions is essential to success
When available and matched to the problem, evidence- based approaches take the guesswork out of identifying effective interventions
Because so few evidence-based interventions are available in child welfare, evaluating success and building evidence are crucial activities
Evidence-based approaches are important for both the interventions being implemented and for the implementation strategies

12. Step 3. Align Solutions to Agency Values
CSF works with agencies to integrate and align leadership priorities, caseworker practice, monitoring, measuring and implementation efforts
Designing new interventions to be integrated with supportive or other closely-related functions and interventions is important to success
Implementation strategies should also be consistent with agency values, families’ voices, fidelity to the intervention and desired outcomes
Alignment should ensure consistency across the agency’s capacity to measure, monitor and evaluate performance
Practice model components should be particularly aligned with Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) functions and areas of monitoring

13. Step 4. Implement Effectively
CSF has experience using Implementation Science and relies on it when working with child welfare agencies
The implementation process is critical to ensuring that improvement initiatives are put into practice with fidelity to the desired initiatives or designs, that the groundwork and planning to support the initiatives are in place, and that the process of implementation occurs at a pace that allows for monitoring and adjustments along the way.
Although a rigorous implementation strategy may seem time consuming initially, investing in a carefully considered strategy will help to avoid pitfalls later associated with lack of readiness or capacity to implement or lack of clarity about what is to be implemented.
CSF partners with agencies to align their core practices to outcomes, specifically:
Case Practice Fidelity – Strategizing with agencies to maintain fidelity in implementing their practice model
Key Performance Indicators - Identifying core practices and measuring effectively
Qualitative Case Review Data – Using case record review data to monitor the quality of services being provided
Outcomes – Ensuring the achievement of desired outcomes
* As defined by the National Implementation Research Network (NIRN), implementation is a specified set of activities designed to put into practice an activity or program of known dimensions.

14. CSF Approach to Aligning Practice and Outcomes
Practice Oriented
Evidence Informed
Continuously Measuring, Monitoring, and Adjusting to
Achieve Results
Case Practice Fidelity
Key Performance Indicators
Qualitative Case Review Data
Achieving Positive Outcomes for Children & Families
Results – What it’s all about!
Always doing the essentials
Staying true to your practice model
Quality - Doing the essentials well

15. Step 5. Change Behavior and Intervention
Unless agency staff make changes to their interactions with families and children, they are not likely to see improved outcomes. These include the day-to-day interactions that agency leadership and supervisors have with their staff that support effective casework practices
Changing behavior requires staff to learn and apply new skills, requiring an emphasis on application of learning and feedback as opposed to traditional “training”
Ensuring that staff work with families and children in fidelity to the agency’s preferred practice model is critical to successful implementation of changes

16. We want to partner with you
The Center for the Support of Families (CSF) is a nationwide leader in consulting and program redesign for health and human services agencies. Working at the local, state, and federal levels, CSF integrates new strategies and technologies into social services. CSF has played key roles on some of the largest and most important child support and child and family services initiatives in the country.
Experienced Partners in Child Welfare
Workforce development and coaching
Practice models
Continuous Quality Improvement
Use of data
Implementation Science
Assessment and evaluation
Performance-based contracting
Foster parent retention and recruitment
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Center for the Support of Families
A Division of SLI Global Solutions LLC
th Street, Suite 800
Silver Spring, MD  20910
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