June 2022 | Issue 12

The Grantee Connection is a quarterly digest featuring new and noteworthy products, information, and lessons learned from select Children's Bureau discretionary grants to inform research, capacity building, and program improvement efforts.

Featured Grantees

New and Improved Website to Support the Child Welfare Workforce

Project Description: The National Child Welfare Workforce Institute (NCWWI) is a 5-year cooperative agreement, awarded in 2016, to build the capacity of child welfare professionals and improve the organizations that recruit, train, supervise, manage, and retain them.

Project Highlight: NCWWI recently launched a new and improved website to better support the child welfare workforce. With a free NCWWI account, you can now easily save your favorite resources; take online learning trainings that build skills in leadership, workforce development, and change implementation on your schedule; track your progress; earn certificates; bookmark where you left off in any training; view upcoming webinars in your time zone; and much more! Watch this short 30-second video to learn about all the new website features. While you're visiting the new website, be sure to: Download the 2022 Child Welfare Worker Appreciation Week Poster and save the date for the Recognition Event on September 13, 2022 Watch & share the new video showcase, Reflecting on Racial Equity & Inclusion. Each video is less than 60 seconds, includes a reflection question, and links to a resource Take the online self-assessment to discover your strengths and areas for growth and then put a leadership development plan in place to reach your goals Learn More: View additional resources to support child welfare professionals, including webinars, infographics, resource lists, and more. These resources contain tools, guides, assessments, and curricula that are used to increase understanding, facilitate dialogue, deliver training, analyze current policies, and implement sustainable strategies. Graphic from NCWWI

Leveraging Technology to Connect With Youth and Young Adults

Project Description: The Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline’s Prevent Abuse of Children Text & Chat (PACTECH) project was funded in 2018 to develop and disseminate knowledge on utilizing text and chat-based capabilities for child maltreatment reporting and resource sharing.

Project Highlight: Over a three-year period of speaking with youth in relation to child maltreatment issues through a text and chat hotline, several topics and questions came up consistently. A resource page was developed to address these most common areas of discussion to support teens with information and additional resources. An online interactive map (at the bottom of the page) was also developed to provide State-specific information on reporting child abuse, including if online or text reporting is available. Learn More: View qualitative and quantitative research findings to learn more about the PACTECH project over the past three years. Graphic from the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline website

Addressing the Disconnects Between HR and Child Welfare

Project Description: The Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development (QIC-WD), a 5-year cooperative agreement funded in 2016, was developed to implement and evaluate strategies to strengthen the child welfare workforce. In partnership with eight public child welfare jurisdictions, QIC-WD is studying interventions related to job redesign, telework, technology, onboarding, supportive supervision, hiring, organizational culture and climate, and job-related secondary traumatic stress. The website has information about project sites, workforce analytic tools, and tips derived from the expertise and experience of the QIC-WD team.

Project Highlight: As part of QIC-WD’s new series, QIC-Takes (which summarizes key workforce issues, documents what’s happening in the field, and provides recommendations for future action by child welfare decision makers), "Addressing the Disconnects Between HR and Child Welfare" details opportunities for increased collaboration and closer working relationships between human resources (HR) and child welfare leadership so that both departments can better address the child welfare workforce needs and reduce turnover. Learn More: Read other QIC-WD materials related to child welfare workforce turnover, including resources on compensation, the role of organizational environments and context, and more. Image from "Addressing the Disconnects Between HR and Child Welfare"

Enhancing Supports for Resource Families

Project Description: Maryland Department of Human Services (DHS), Social Services Administration (SSA) was awarded the four-year Center for Excellence in Foster Family Development (CfE) grant in partnership with the University of Maryland, Baltimore School of Social Work Institute for Innovation and Implementation (The Institute). The Maryland CfE is implementing a program for the engagement, development, and support of resource families. The goal of the CfE is to promote reunification of children with their families of origin and to minimize congregate care placements by providing resource parents with enhanced support services. 

Project Highlight: The CfE core model (featured on page 2) to support resource families was built on the existing DHS/SSA Integrated Practice Model and is aligned with existing DHS/SSA programs, policies, and practices to achieve comprehensive systemic change and improve outcomes for children, youth, and families. The model highlights the importance of resource parents actively participating in the CfE. The theory of change suggests when resource parents are provided comprehensive preparation and support through additional training and participation in a peer educational and support program, they: Can partner with families of origin and practice shared parenting Feel capable of supporting the children/youth in their homes and their families of origin, even when there are challenges Feel an increased capacity to take care of themselves and the children in their care The anticipated outcomes include: Increased placement stability and child well-being Less utilization of nonfamily-based settings Reduction in retraumatization of resource parents, birth parents, and youth to ensure: Timely and lasting reunification Families have the knowledge and support resources within their communities Resource parents are empowered to seek the support when needed Learn More: Find information about the CfE, engagement materials, evidence-based models, and additional resources at the newly updated CfE website. Image provided by CfE

Grantee Blog:

Educating and Empowering Families: The National Training and Development Curriculum for Foster and Adoptive Parents (NTDC) Available NOW!

“I was really blown away by just seeing the understanding of it and that it wasn't just me, that it was a lot of other people's story too. It can ... I can relate to everything so much and so much clearer now.” —Melissa, NTDC Parent from the "NTDC Available Now" video.

With the pilot period complete and evaluation of the National Training and Development Curriculum (NTDC) winding down, the curriculum will be available to the public at no cost starting June 30, 2022.  This state-of-the-art resource is based on research and input from experts, families who have experience with fostering or adopting children, and former foster and adoptive youth. It provides potential foster, kinship, and adoptive parents with the information and tools needed to parent children who have experienced trauma, separation, or loss.  

NTDCs self-assessment, classroom-based trainings, and right-time trainings are: 

Expanding the Parenting Paradigm Perhaps one of the biggest areas of difficulties that parents who foster encounter is understanding their role related to reunification and specifically how they are supposed to engage with the child’s family.  NTDC offers transformational training experiences that help foster, adoptive, and kinship families build new and necessary parenting skills in this area. 

Relatable for Families NTDC content is informed by the personal experiences of members of foster, adoptive, and kinship families, to ensure that parenting strategies are practical and relevant.  Participants learn from young adults and hear directly from families.

Trauma-Informed Featuring world-renowned expert Dr. Bruce Perry, NTDC addresses the impact of separation, loss, grief, and trauma and gives families the tools they need to provide a nurturing environment that promotes healthy child development.

Current/Modern Packaged for various adult learning styles, NTDC’s multi-media curriculum addresses present day needs of families through a combination of self-assessment, facilitated training, and 24/7 access to asynchronous podcast and video content.  

Culturally Relevant NTDC provides straight talk on tough topics as well as parenting insights and strategies to address the complexities of families comprised of different cultures, races, ethnicities, and gender identities.     

Flexible/Multi-use NTDC’s comprehensive yet flexible design allows sites to adapt the curriculum to meet the unique needs of the families they serve as well as their system’s training requirements. 

Learn more about the curriculum here. 

The NTDC team is ready, willing, and able to assist States, American Indian/Alaska Native Tribal Nations, territories, counties, and private agencies with:

• Train The Trainer opportunities
• Support and assistance with:
  • Walking you and your teams through how the curriculum works
  • Sharing tips and lessons learned from pilot sites
  • Connecting you to other sites that have already implemented or are currently implementing NTDC

Contact Sue Cohick for more information.

ACCESS THE CURRICULUM

Answering Your Frequently Asked Questions

Thank you to everyone who completed the recent Grantee Connection survey! Below are answers to frequently asked questions based upon your feedback:

Where do I find information on applying for Children’s Bureau grants? Visit the How to Apply for a Grant web section to learn about the complete process—from finding notices of funding opportunities (NOFOs) to writing and submitting a strong application.

Where can I learn about other grants and/or grant recipients? Visit the Children's Bureau Discretionary Grant Awards page to find grant awards by fiscal year. When available, each award includes a link and description of the expired NOFO, a list of grant recipients, and a link to their project abstracts. Additionally, you can search the Children's Bureau Discretionary Grants Library to find information, products, and tools from a specific grant or view resources by topic, document type, or State.

Where do I find additional information on a specific child welfare topic? Visit Child Welfare Information Gateway, a service of the Children’s Bureau, to access a catalog of print and electronic publications, resources organized by topics spanning the continuum of child welfare, databases, and online learning tools for improving child welfare practice, including resources that can be shared with families.

Resources From

Child Welfare Information Gateway

Episode 76: "Building Parenting Skills to Address Trauma, Grief, and Mental Health" Listen to the podcast.

Frequently Asked Questions From LGBTQ+ Prospective Foster and Adoptive Parents Read the publication.

Reunifying Families Visit the webpage.

Grantee News & Updates

• The Minority Professional Leadership Development Program (MPLD) at AdoptUSKids is accepting applications for the upcoming cohort through September 26. The cohort is expected to start in January 2023. To learn more about how to apply for the MPLD program, visit adoptuskids.org. 
• Interested in supporting the Children’s Bureau discretionary grant process? Apply today to be a grant reviewer!

Are you a Children's Bureau grantee? SUBMIT YOUR UPDATES AND RESOURCES!