Moving Child Welfare Forward
Achieving Positive Outcomes for Children, Youth and Families

Introduction

This course focuses on the recent emphasis in child welfare on achieving positive outcomes for children, youth and families and explores the impact of performance measurement on child welfare management, supervision and practice. The syllabus, as written, is a forty five hour three credit course, although you can select topics, assignments and in-class activities to tailor the content material into a fifteen hour, one credit course on child welfare if that is more suited to your needs.

Organized into nine classes, material in the syllabus is appropriate for graduate level social welfare classes in Organizational Policy or Child Welfare. While aimed at social welfare programs, you will find that some or all of this content material can be pulled out of the syllabus and included in courses in public administration, research methods, sociology, human services or management.

The nine classes in this syllabus are:

• An Overview of Child Welfare in America: examines the evolution of child welfare in America including how the passage of recent legislation is changing child welfare management and clinical practice.
• Serving Children, Youth and Families -- Practice Perspectives: introduces current practice models, including permanency planning, kinship care, concurrent planning, family preservation and family centered services, aimed at achieving safety, permanency and well being for children, youth and families.
• Adolescent Services -- Fostering Connections: explores the specific needs of adolescents in the child welfare system and practice strategies for youth transitioning out of care.
• The Child Welfare Team: introduces approaches to and strategies for building effective partnerships with individuals and organizations in the child welfare network.
• Court and Agency Perspectives on Child Protection: presents opportunities, challenges and conflicts faced by the child welfare agency and the courts as they carry out their required activities in child protection cases.
• Implementing Change in Child Welfare -- Strategies, Tools and Tactics that Work: enhances skills in building commitment to change on an individual client, team or organizational level.
• Understanding Child Welfare Data -- Tools and Tips: builds skills in analyzing, interpreting and applying child welfare data to improve performance.
• Using Child Welfare Data to Measure Performance: builds skills in the use of Child and Family Services Review (CFSR) results, measures and data to evaluate the agency’s performance in achieving positive outcomes for children, youth and families.
• Advocacy in Child Welfare: explores the role of advocacy in child welfare at the casework, organizational, community, state and national levels.

The material for these classes came from a variety of sources, including advice from child welfare educators, trainers and practitioners, proven syllabi from relevant courses and recent training curricula.

Reference syllabi:

• Becker, Irene. (Spring 2003) Social Work 702D, Seminar in Social Welfare Policy and Services. San Diego, CA: San Diego State University, School of Social Work.
• Becker, Irene. (Fall 2003) Social Work 400, Social Work Practice in Child Welfare. San Diego, CA: San Diego State University, School of Social Work.
• St. Onge, Anita, J.D. and Sahonchik, Kris, J.D. (Spring 2004) PPM 627: Child and Family Policy and Law. Portland Maine: University of Southern Maine, Muskie School of Public Service.
• Wehrmann,K. (Spring 2003) Social Work 324: Topics in Contemporary Child Welfare Practice. Normal, IL: Illinois State University, School of Social Work.

Reference training curricula:

• Bringing Together the Child Welfare Team, developed as part of a project funded by the Children's Bureau, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under Section 426 of the Social Security Act, published September 27, 2002, Portland, ME: University of Southern Maine, Edmund S. Muskie School of Public Service. Available on the internet at: (http://www.muskie.usm.maine.edu/asfa).
• Collaboration with the Courts, developed as part of a project funded by the Children's Bureau, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under Section 426 of the Social Security Act, published July 2004, Portland, ME: University of Southern Maine, Edmund S. Muskie School of Public Service. Available on the internet at: (http://www.muskie.usm.maine.edu/asfa).
• Using Information Management to Support the Goals of Safety, Permanency and Well Being, developed as part of a project funded by the Children's Bureau, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under Section 426 of the Social Security Act, published September 27, 2000, Portland, ME: University of Southern Maine, Edmund S. Muskie School of Public Service. Available on the internet at: (http://www.muskie.usm.maine.edu/sacwis)

You may find it helpful to refer to these curricula for detailed learning objectives, activities, instructor’s notes and sample materials. The curricula can be viewed/downloaded from the noted websites or can be ordered from the Clearinghouse, National Child Welfare Resource Center for Organizational Improvement, University of Southern Maine, One Post Office Square, 400 Congress Street, P.O. Box 15010, Portland, ME 04112. Phone: (207) 780-5813; Fax: (207) 780-5817; e-mail: clearing@usm.maine.edu.

Introduction

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