What Is the Collaborative?

The Child Welfare Capacity Building Collaborative (the Collaborative), a service of the Children’s Bureau, is a partnership among three centers:

• Center for States
• Center for Tribes
• Center for Courts

The Collaborative helps public child welfare agencies, Tribes, and courts build the necessary capacity to meet federal standards and requirements, improve child welfare practice and administration, and achieve safety, permanency, and well-being outcomes for children, youth, and families.

What Does the Collaborative Do?

The purpose of the Collaborative is to help agencies build capacity to improve outcomes for the communities they serve. The Collaborative also works to advance the Children’s Bureau’s priorities, which highlight the importance of families, prevent unnecessary removals, and work to achieve safety, permanency, and well-being for children, youth, and families. The following video introduces the Collaborative and describes its work with agencies, Tribes, and courts to build capacity, enhance practice, and improve outcomes for children, youth, and families.

View related resources and ADA video

The Collaborative’s Services

All states, territories, and Tribes that receive title IV-E or IV-B funds administered by the Children's Bureau and jurisdictions with title IV-E waiver demonstrations are eligible for services from the Collaborative.

All three Centers provide the following services:

• Providing coaching and consultation to help jurisdictions assess their needs, improve performance, and achieve better outcomes for children and families. Contact your State Liaisons for more information.
• Developing and disseminating products and online learning courses on a variety of topics to increase awareness and understanding of child welfare topics.
• Supporting peer networking to enhance knowledge, skills, and relationships among groups of professionals and peers.