Child Welfare Information Gateway

“Engaging Fathers – Putting Lessons Into Practice” is a three-part series to share strategies implemented from three of the five State or county agencies: Los Angeles County, California; Hartford, Connecticut; and Prowers County, Colorado. Part one focuses on the strategies developed within Hartford, Connecticut. Topics discussed include the following: -The benefits of including community partners and fatherhood advocates in Connecticut’s improvement team -Why Connecticut chose multiple, small strategies over a single, large-scale strategy to address fatherhood engagement -Successful strategies to impact agency-wide culture and thinking about engaging fathers in daily child welfare practice

This episode focuses on the current reality of reunification across our public child welfare system. Listeners will hear a conversation among child welfare professionals, members of the American Bar Association (ABA) Center on Children and the Law, the Children’s Bureau, and an alumnus of foster care. Topics discussed include the following: • What the data indicate regarding reunifying families involved in the child welfare system • What the Federal government and national partners are doing to increase reunification • The racial inequities, specifically for teen boys of color, within reunification efforts • How local agencies, caseworkers, and communities can shift their mindsets and actions to ensure reunification is treated as the primary goal when children are removed from their families

This episode provides the historical background, strategies, and decision-making the Utah Department of Human Services applied in developing their Title IV-E prevention plan. The information shared may be helpful for jurisdictions developing prevention plans to implement FFPSA, which expands prevention services to help stabilize and strengthen families.

This episode shares the second half of the webinar where CB shared tips to aid prevention plan developers as they shape their plans to align with Family First. Child welfare leaders from Washington, DC and Utah also answer questions submitted during the webinar by participants. The Children's Bureau provides tips that address prevention planning topics including service selection, ensuring child safety, continuous monitoring and evaluation, the systematic review process, and the Title IV-E Clearinghouse.

This episode, 'Building Relationships With State Counterparts', is part of a series featuring the work of Tribal Court Improvement Program grantees. The episode features successful examples from the Sitka Tribe of Alaska and Saint Regis MohawkTribes, told by Tribal social service and court leadership. Some of the topics discussed include the following: What a statewide survey told Alaska's Office of Children's Services about their relationships with Tribes How Tribal social services can be a resource for States to understand ICWA and serve as expert witnesses The benefits of agencies and court officers participating in joint training