1. July 26, 20061 Improving Child Welfare Outcomes Through Systems of Care Grant Cluster – An Overview Children’s Bureau “All-Hands” Meeting Wednesday, July 26, 2006

2. July 26, 2006 Children's Bureau/ACYF 1250 Maryland Avenue, SW, 8 th Fl Washington, DC 20024 202-205-8618 Email: systemsofcare@childwelfare.govsystemsofcare@childwelfare.gov 2 Presentation Goals  To gain a greater understanding of systems of care for children and families involved with child welfare  To hear lessons learned from the NC grantee on development of their SoC planning and infrastructure development  To learn information gleaned from the base-line evaluation and technical assistance support to grantees National Technical Assistance and Evaluation Center on Systems of Care: Building Integrated Service Systems for Child Welfare

3. July 26, 2006 Children's Bureau/ACYF 1250 Maryland Avenue, SW, 8 th Fl Washington, DC 20024 202-205-8618 Email: systemsofcare@childwelfare.govsystemsofcare@childwelfare.gov 3 National Technical Assistance and Evaluation Center on Systems of Care: Building Integrated Service Systems for Child Welfare National Context for the Improving Child Welfare: Outcomes Through Systems of Care Demonstration Initiative  Change in focus on results and outcomes of child and family services in state child welfare systems  Clear indication of needed change from first round of Child and Family Service Reviews Many states had difficulty achieving consistently positive outcomes in areas of safety, permanency, and child and family well-being  Emphasis on system change and accountability for state child welfare and its partner agencies

4. July 26, 2006 Children's Bureau/ACYF 1250 Maryland Avenue, SW, 8 th Fl Washington, DC 20024 202-205-8618 Email: systemsofcare@childwelfare.govsystemsofcare@childwelfare.gov 4 National Technical Assistance and Evaluation Center on Systems of Care: Building Integrated Service Systems for Child Welfare Prime Objective of the Improving Child Welfare Outcomes Through Systems of Care Demonstration Grant Program This demonstration program seeks to answer one central question –  Does a system of care approach have merit in helping achieve positive outcomes for children and families involved with child welfare and its partner agencies?

5. July 26, 2006 Children's Bureau/ACYF 1250 Maryland Avenue, SW, 8 th Fl Washington, DC 20024 202-205-8618 Email: systemsofcare@childwelfare.govsystemsofcare@childwelfare.gov 5 National Technical Assistance and Evaluation Center on Systems of Care: Building Integrated Service Systems for Child Welfare Grantee Overview  In FY2003 the Children’s Bureau funded nine (9) grants through the Improving Child Welfare Outcomes Through Systems of Care Demonstration Grant Initiative  Sites are awarded up to $500,000/yr for five years  Grantees were funded to do a year of strategic planning  Grant applicants focused on developing intra-/inter-agency infrastructure to support and maintain a local system of care for children and families in child welfare

6. July 26, 2006 Children's Bureau/ACYF 1250 Maryland Avenue, SW, 8 th Fl Washington, DC 20024 202-205-8618 Email: systemsofcare@childwelfare.govsystemsofcare@childwelfare.gov 6 National Technical Assistance and Evaluation Center on Systems of Care: Building Integrated Service Systems for Child Welfare Family-to-Family System of Care Contra Costa, CA Connecting Communities for Kids Jefferson County, CO Family-Centered Systems of Care KS (multi-county site) Caring Communities Demonstration Project Clark County, NV The Community Taking Responsibility for Assisting in Developing Life and Empowerment Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, NY Improving Child Welfare Outcomes Through SoC NC (multi-county site) Medicine Moon Initiative (MMI) to Improve Tribal Child Welfare Outcomes Through Systems of Care ND (multi-tribal site) Improving Permanency Outcomes Project OR (multi-county site) Locally Organized Systems of Care for Children in Pennsylvania PA (multi-county site)

7. July 26, 2006 Children's Bureau/ACYF 1250 Maryland Avenue, SW, 8 th Fl Washington, DC 20024 202-205-8618 Email: systemsofcare@childwelfare.govsystemsofcare@childwelfare.gov 7 National Technical Assistance and Evaluation Center on Systems of Care: Building Integrated Service Systems for Child Welfare  Defining a System of Care “A system of care approach is based on the development of a strong infrastructure of interagency collaboration, individualized care practices, culturally competent services and supports, child and family involvement in all aspects of the system and measures of accountability.” Stroul, 2001

8. July 26, 2006 Children's Bureau/ACYF 1250 Maryland Avenue, SW, 8 th Fl Washington, DC 20024 202-205-8618 Email: systemsofcare@childwelfare.govsystemsofcare@childwelfare.gov 8 National Technical Assistance and Evaluation Center on Systems of Care: Building Integrated Service Systems for Child Welfare System of Care Guiding Principles/CFSR Practice Principles  Family Involvement  Community-Based Resources  Individualized Strengths-Based Care  Cultural Competence  Interagency Collaboration  Accountability  Family-Centered Practice Strengthen and empower families to protect and nurture their children  Community-Based Practice Support the needs of children within the context of their families and communities  Individualizing Services Tailor interventions to meet specific needs of children & families served  Strengthening Parental Capacity Promote parent’ strengths and self-esteem by emphasizing partnership with service providers

9. July 26, 2006 Children's Bureau/ACYF 1250 Maryland Avenue, SW, 8 th Fl Washington, DC 20024 202-205-8618 Email: systemsofcare@childwelfare.govsystemsofcare@childwelfare.gov 9 National Technical Assistance and Evaluation Center on Systems of Care: Building Integrated Service Systems for Child Welfare System of Care Concept Philosophy Infrastructure Services & Supports

10. July 26, 2006 Children's Bureau/ACYF 1250 Maryland Avenue, SW, 8 th Fl Washington, DC 20024 202-205-8618 Email: systemsofcare@childwelfare.govsystemsofcare@childwelfare.gov 10 National Technical Assistance and Evaluation Center on Systems of Care: Building Integrated Service Systems for Child Welfare Infrastructure Components  Planning  Governance  System Management  Coordination of Services and Service Array  Communication  Policy  Finance  Continuous Quality Improvement  Human Resources and Staff Development

11. July 26, 2006 Children's Bureau/ACYF 1250 Maryland Avenue, SW, 8 th Fl Washington, DC 20024 202-205-8618 Email: systemsofcare@childwelfare.govsystemsofcare@childwelfare.gov 11 National Technical Assistance and Evaluation Center on Systems of Care: Building Integrated Service Systems for Child Welfare Alamance County, NC Child and Family Team One Family, One Team, One Plan

12. July 26, 2006 Children's Bureau/ACYF 1250 Maryland Avenue, SW, 8 th Fl Washington, DC 20024 202-205-8618 Email: systemsofcare@childwelfare.govsystemsofcare@childwelfare.gov 12 Reorganization of Alamance Child-Serving Committees Children’s Executive Oversight Committee School CFT Support Team Community Collaborate Juvenile Crime Prevention Council Partnership for Children Com Child Protection Care Review Subcommittees Education Publicity Events MonitoringNeeds AssessmentMembershipFunding National Technical Assistance and Evaluation Center on Systems of Care: Building Integrated Service Systems for Child Welfare

13. July 26, 2006 Children's Bureau/ACYF 1250 Maryland Avenue, SW, 8 th Fl Washington, DC 20024 202-205-8618 Email: systemsofcare@childwelfare.govsystemsofcare@childwelfare.gov 13 Lessons Learned in Alamance County, NC  IV-B Training funds do not support SOC framework  Have to have dedicated staff  Creating a culture of family centered practice is a long term accomplishment  Must get it “right” in own agency before moving into community  Cannot be another “initiative” has to be a change in philosophy  Use data and be clear on outcomes National Technical Assistance and Evaluation Center on Systems of Care: Building Integrated Service Systems for Child Welfare

14. July 26, 2006 Children's Bureau/ACYF 1250 Maryland Avenue, SW, 8 th Fl Washington, DC 20024 202-205-8618 Email: systemsofcare@childwelfare.govsystemsofcare@childwelfare.gov 14 Lessons Learned Continued…  Waivers like IV-E Waiver provide flexible funding that supports SOC culture  Engage schools early, they are a key partner  Child and Family Teams are such a positive vehicle for families  Must work on all four levels in the system: State, within local agency, interagency collaboration, and family level National Technical Assistance and Evaluation Center on Systems of Care: Building Integrated Service Systems for Child Welfare

15. July 26, 2006 Children's Bureau/ACYF 1250 Maryland Avenue, SW, 8 th Fl Washington, DC 20024 202-205-8618 Email: systemsofcare@childwelfare.govsystemsofcare@childwelfare.gov 15 North Carolina is Building a SOC Infrastructure  Mental Health has committed a full time person for each office dedicated solely to SOC  Social Services has implemented Multiple Response which incorporates CFT’s statewide  State Legislative Study Commission has identified seven Legislative Responsibility Goals concerning SOC and child safety, permanence and well being  Governor has developed and implemented a School- based Child and Family Team Initiative in 100 schools National Technical Assistance and Evaluation Center on Systems of Care: Building Integrated Service Systems for Child Welfare

16. July 26, 2006 Children's Bureau/ACYF 1250 Maryland Avenue, SW, 8 th Fl Washington, DC 20024 202-205-8618 Email: systemsofcare@childwelfare.govsystemsofcare@childwelfare.gov 16  Center – combines technical assistance and evaluation Provides “full service” support for grantees Evaluation and TA inform each other Strengthens ability to learn and disseminate  Presentation draws on both National Technical Assistance and Evaluation Center on Systems of Care: Building Integrated Service Systems for Child Welfare

17. July 26, 2006 Children's Bureau/ACYF 1250 Maryland Avenue, SW, 8 th Fl Washington, DC 20024 202-205-8618 Email: systemsofcare@childwelfare.govsystemsofcare@childwelfare.gov 17 National Technical Assistance and Evaluation Center on Systems of Care: Building Integrated Service Systems for Child Welfare Evaluation framework SoC activities: Collaborative partnership Practice, policies & procedures Case management Changes in the safety, permanency & well-being of the child welfare population Changes in case planning for the target population Changes in service receipt for the target population Changes in the safety, permanency & well- being of the target population

18. July 26, 2006 Children's Bureau/ACYF 1250 Maryland Avenue, SW, 8 th Fl Washington, DC 20024 202-205-8618 Email: systemsofcare@childwelfare.govsystemsofcare@childwelfare.gov 18 National Technical Assistance and Evaluation Center on Systems of Care: Building Integrated Service Systems for Child Welfare Baseline data collection  Site visits conducted at the conclusion of the sites’ planning phase  Baseline findings based on Collaborative member interviews Supervisor interviews Focus groups with child welfare and partner agency staff

19. July 26, 2006 Children's Bureau/ACYF 1250 Maryland Avenue, SW, 8 th Fl Washington, DC 20024 202-205-8618 Email: systemsofcare@childwelfare.govsystemsofcare@childwelfare.gov 19 National Technical Assistance and Evaluation Center on Systems of Care: Building Integrated Service Systems for Child Welfare Baseline evaluation findings: Interagency collaboration Key stakeholders Grantees (Project Director, Project Coordinators) Local Evaluators Family Partners System Partners Community Partners Youth Locally Organized Systems of Care (Dauphin County, PA) Awakening a sleeping giant in the community – bringing the faith- based community to the table. The faith-based sub-committee raised money to support a summer youth camp. Local school system and local organizations support the summer camp. Co-chair of the youth sub- committee is on the implementation team.

20. July 26, 2006 Children's Bureau/ACYF 1250 Maryland Avenue, SW, 8 th Fl Washington, DC 20024 202-205-8618 Email: systemsofcare@childwelfare.govsystemsofcare@childwelfare.gov 20 National Technical Assistance and Evaluation Center on Systems of Care: Building Integrated Service Systems for Child Welfare Baseline evaluation findings: Interagency collaboration Needs  Divergent philosophies makes collaboration challenging  Large caseloads and administrative duties are barriers to being able to collaborate (lack of resources)  Key decision-makers at the table Assets  Prior SoC Experience  Pre-Existing Collaborations and History of Interagency Collaboration  Committed and Motivated Staff

21. July 26, 2006 Children's Bureau/ACYF 1250 Maryland Avenue, SW, 8 th Fl Washington, DC 20024 202-205-8618 Email: systemsofcare@childwelfare.govsystemsofcare@childwelfare.gov 21 National Technical Assistance and Evaluation Center on Systems of Care: Building Integrated Service Systems for Child Welfare Baseline evaluation findings: Interagency collaboration Cross-site Activities  Strategic Planning: An Interagency Effort  Collecting county-wide statistics to better understand the needs of the target population  Conducting needs assessments to evaluate project progress, identify emerging trends, gaps in service delivery  Extending Outreach  Social Marketing (KS)  Engaging Public Officials Connecting Communities for Kids (CO) Data-driven service integration using geo-mapping technology to map service providers and foster home families to see if they correspond with the high need areas. Maps to be shared with agency partners. Spring 2006 Resource Fair: 45 different child and family serving agencies/organizations presented. Enhanced relationships among agency partners. SoC grant funds have helped to offset the costs of this service to better identify the needs of families involved in the child welfare system.

22. July 26, 2006 Children's Bureau/ACYF 1250 Maryland Avenue, SW, 8 th Fl Washington, DC 20024 202-205-8618 Email: systemsofcare@childwelfare.govsystemsofcare@childwelfare.gov 22 National Technical Assistance and Evaluation Center on Systems of Care: Building Integrated Service Systems for Child Welfare Baseline evaluation findings: Family involvement Needs  Workers felt that family involvement was sometimes token and not always appropriate in certain cases  Sustainability of family involvement in collaborative work  Training for family members Assets  Family involvement at the case planning level  Parent partners help families negotiate the system  Engagement of extended and non- traditional family members

23. July 26, 2006 Children's Bureau/ACYF 1250 Maryland Avenue, SW, 8 th Fl Washington, DC 20024 202-205-8618 Email: systemsofcare@childwelfare.govsystemsofcare@childwelfare.gov 23 National Technical Assistance and Evaluation Center on Systems of Care: Building Integrated Service Systems for Child Welfare Baseline evaluation findings: Family involvement Cross-site Activities  Family involvement in collaborative committees and workgroups  Expanded role of parent partners and advocates  Family Involvement Summit Improving Permanency Outcomes Project (OR) Parent partners are key leaders and role models for parents involved in the system. The Improving Permanency Outcomes Project (IPOP) offers parent leadership training and the family’s guide to CW training. These trainings provide parents with the tools to be able to communicate more effectively with professionals from other partner agencies. Family partners are co-presenting with project team members at professional conferences and PIP trainings. SoC grant funds have helped to offset the costs of these trainings and conferences as well as highlights the importance of the family voice in such system- change initiatives.

24. July 26, 2006 Children's Bureau/ACYF 1250 Maryland Avenue, SW, 8 th Fl Washington, DC 20024 202-205-8618 Email: systemsofcare@childwelfare.govsystemsofcare@childwelfare.gov 24 National Technical Assistance and Evaluation Center on Systems of Care: Building Integrated Service Systems for Child Welfare Baseline evaluation findings: Cultural competency Needs  Language barriers  Staff culturally reflective of community served  Multiple underserved communities  Link training to practice Assets  Introductory Training  Leadership recognition of cultural competence needs and willingness to address them  Recruitment methods for new staff

25. July 26, 2006 Children's Bureau/ACYF 1250 Maryland Avenue, SW, 8 th Fl Washington, DC 20024 202-205-8618 Email: systemsofcare@childwelfare.govsystemsofcare@childwelfare.gov 25 National Technical Assistance and Evaluation Center on Systems of Care: Building Integrated Service Systems for Child Welfare Baseline evaluation findings: Cultural competency The CRADLE (NY) Partnership with the NY chapter of the National Association of Social Workers and the People’s Institute to provide TA and develop training Training will focus on cultural competency and racism Training designed to develop more analytical, culturally-rooted and effective community organizers Goal is to provide quarterly training for all child welfare staff SoC grant funds have helped to offset the costs of these trainings and provide an incentive for key partnering agencies. Cross-site Activities  Training  Agency-wide cultural competence assessments

26. July 26, 2006 Children's Bureau/ACYF 1250 Maryland Avenue, SW, 8 th Fl Washington, DC 20024 202-205-8618 Email: systemsofcare@childwelfare.govsystemsofcare@childwelfare.gov 26 National Technical Assistance and Evaluation Center on Systems of Care: Building Integrated Service Systems for Child Welfare Baseline evaluation findings: Individualized strengths-based care Needs  Staff report the approach can be challenging with some cases  Balancing strengths-based approaches with child safety  Modeling strengths-based approaches at all levels within the agency  Limitations of strengths-based assessment tools Assets  Staff have experience providing services from a strengths-based approach  Staff assignments based on staff strengths  Dialogue with clients begins with a discussion of strengths  Data systems and assessment tools focus on strengths

27. July 26, 2006 Children's Bureau/ACYF 1250 Maryland Avenue, SW, 8 th Fl Washington, DC 20024 202-205-8618 Email: systemsofcare@childwelfare.govsystemsofcare@childwelfare.gov 27 National Technical Assistance and Evaluation Center on Systems of Care: Building Integrated Service Systems for Child Welfare Baseline evaluation findings: Individualized strengths-based care Cross-site Activities  Forms updated to capture family strengths  New assessment tools  Training Caring Communities (NV) DFS hired a consultant who has been working with the Child and Family Teams and DFS caseworkers to develop strengths-based case plans. The consultant also models strengths-based approaches that are both hands-on and skills-based. Trainings at joint collaborative meetings are organized around individualized-strengths-based approaches. The SoC initiative has been linked to a culture change within DFS toward more strengths-based approaches in how staff work with each other and with families.

28. July 26, 2006 Children's Bureau/ACYF 1250 Maryland Avenue, SW, 8 th Fl Washington, DC 20024 202-205-8618 Email: systemsofcare@childwelfare.govsystemsofcare@childwelfare.gov 28 National Technical Assistance and Evaluation Center on Systems of Care: Building Integrated Service Systems for Child Welfare Baseline evaluation findings: Community-based resources Needs  Community-based resources often lacking, particularly in neediest areas  Need centralized and comprehensive effort to identify community-based resources  Inconsistency in knowledge among frontline workers Assets  Relationships with community providers  More community-based resources available in some areas  Existing practices for identifying community-based resources

29. July 26, 2006 Children's Bureau/ACYF 1250 Maryland Avenue, SW, 8 th Fl Washington, DC 20024 202-205-8618 Email: systemsofcare@childwelfare.govsystemsofcare@childwelfare.gov 29 National Technical Assistance and Evaluation Center on Systems of Care: Building Integrated Service Systems for Child Welfare Baseline evaluation findings: Community-based resources Cross-site Activities  Increased interagency collaboration has helped identify community-based resources  Presentations to agency staff  Development of resource guides SoC in Mecklenburg County (NC) Development of an on-line resource tool focusing on grassroots and non-traditional services. Community social workers identifying gaps in services and working with communities to fill the gaps. Open houses held with agency staff to orient them to community partners and services available. Interagency collaboration with non-traditional partners may help identify more community- based resources.

30. July 26, 2006 Children's Bureau/ACYF 1250 Maryland Avenue, SW, 8 th Fl Washington, DC 20024 202-205-8618 Email: systemsofcare@childwelfare.govsystemsofcare@childwelfare.gov 30 National Technical Assistance and Evaluation Center on Systems of Care: Building Integrated Service Systems for Child Welfare Baseline evaluation findings: Accountability Needs  Balancing performance-based indicators with spending quality time with families  Information feedback from data collection is lacking  More knowledge of the “value added” from data collection needed Assets  Data used to develop new policies and address deficiencies  Data provide information on placements, resources and meetings with multidisciplinary partners

31. July 26, 2006 Children's Bureau/ACYF 1250 Maryland Avenue, SW, 8 th Fl Washington, DC 20024 202-205-8618 Email: systemsofcare@childwelfare.govsystemsofcare@childwelfare.gov 31 National Technical Assistance and Evaluation Center on Systems of Care: Building Integrated Service Systems for Child Welfare Baseline evaluation findings: Accountability Cross-site Activities  Local evaluation plans mapped to project goals  Plans to develop an online documentation system  Local evaluation involvement with strategic planning and implementation activities

32. July 26, 2006 Children's Bureau/ACYF 1250 Maryland Avenue, SW, 8 th Fl Washington, DC 20024 202-205-8618 Email: systemsofcare@childwelfare.govsystemsofcare@childwelfare.gov 32 National Technical Assistance and Evaluation Center on Systems of Care: Building Integrated Service Systems for Child Welfare Family-to-Family SoC (CA) Multidisciplinary evaluation committee Evaluation activities mapped to each project goal and implementation activity and continuously updated Local evaluation data regularly presented to county districts and key stakeholders Local evaluation activities provide regular updates to monitor progress and re-evaluate initiative priorities and activities where indicated. Medicine Moon Initiative (ND) Primary Goal: All ND Tribal child welfare agencies will have an adequate management information system (MIS) to automate case filing. Local ND SoC staff have been involved in all stages of implementation of this MIS with the four participating tribal child welfare agencies  Trouble-shooting  Training  Sustainability The local evaluator provides training and support as well as provides a booster training to tribal child welfare staff during the implementation of the MIS system.

33. July 26, 2006 Children's Bureau/ACYF 1250 Maryland Avenue, SW, 8 th Fl Washington, DC 20024 202-205-8618 Email: systemsofcare@childwelfare.govsystemsofcare@childwelfare.gov 33 National Technical Assistance and Evaluation Center on Systems of Care: Building Integrated Service Systems for Child Welfare Baseline evaluation findings: Implications for ongoing work in the demonstration communities Strategic planning and needs assessment activities have helped guide planning and implementation in many sites. Previous collaborative work has established strong practices around family involvement, strengths-based approaches and cultural competency in several demonstration sites. Fewer accountability activities were identified at baseline as compared to other SoC principles and some sites identified gaps in community-based approaches and cultural competency. A key finding across sites was the perceived gap between frontline workers and supervisors/administrators and challenges to effective collaboration.

34. July 26, 2006 Children's Bureau/ACYF 1250 Maryland Avenue, SW, 8 th Fl Washington, DC 20024 202-205-8618 Email: systemsofcare@childwelfare.govsystemsofcare@childwelfare.gov 34 National Technical Assistance and Evaluation Center on Systems of Care: Building Integrated Service Systems for Child Welfare Information Dissemination: Sharing Lessons and Innovations with the Child Welfare Field  NTAEC on Systems of Care is in the process of finalizing a three- booklet Systems of Care for Child Welfare Toolkit* based on lessons learned from the demonstration sites. It includes: 1. Improving Child Welfare Outcomes Through Systems of Care: A Strategic Planning Guide 2. Building the Infrastructure to Support Systems of Care in Child Welfare and 3. The Good Fit: Selecting the Best Evaluation Partner for Your Program  NTAEC is sharing this work with the CB TTA network, the Federal Interagency Workgroup Systems of Care Subcommittee, and other entities connected to the Children’s Bureau to get this knowledge out to the field. *Documents will be available for download through the Child Welfare Information Gateway.

35. July 26, 2006 Children's Bureau/ACYF 1250 Maryland Avenue, SW, 8 th Fl Washington, DC 20024 202-205-8618 Email: systemsofcare@childwelfare.govsystemsofcare@childwelfare.gov 35 National Technical Assistance and Evaluation Center on Systems of Care: Building Integrated Service Systems for Child Welfare So, what now? Next steps Where to go from here? How can I learn more? I’d like to hear more about… What does it all mean?