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Ask the Center
Capacity Building Center for States (Center) child welfare experts have a deep understanding of the issues and challenges facing child welfare jurisdictions based on years of experience at the local, state, and federal levels. Our Center experts can assist you with your practice needs in a variety of areas.
Schedule your free 25-minute virtual meeting to discuss your professional or agency needs with a Center expert one on one.
Below are steps to help you schedule your meeting!
Step 1:
Review our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page to determine the right service for your needs. In addition to the Ask the Center service, we also offer an Information Requests service; alternately, you may consider getting in touch with our Tailored Services Liaisons or exploring the Center’s Peer Groups or Resource Library. If you still have questions, please contact the Center at info@childwelfare.gov.
Step 2:
If Ask the Center is right for you, determine if your current needs fall within the areas of supported expertise currently offered. Users can connect with our experts on the following child welfare practice areas:
- Change and implementation
- Child and Family Services Review
- Comprehensive Child Welfare Information Systems
- Family First Prevention Services Act
- Permanency
- Prevention
- Workforce development
Step 3:
Find Out More About How the Center Can Help You!
Submit an Information Request.
Connect with your Tailored Services Liaison.
Explore our Center’s Peer Groups or our Resource Library.
Information Services
The Center for States offers child welfare agencies research assistance on child welfare topics and responds to information requests on building capacity in child welfare.
The Center has access to the largest library of resources relevant to the child welfare field through its partnership with the Child Welfare Information Gateway! We provide curated scholarly research, technical assistance resources and tools, briefs, reports, Center products, program and policy information, and jurisdictional examples relevant to any child welfare topic.
Requests can take approximately 8 to 10 business days to complete but the timeframe varies based on complexity of the request and information needed. Requests for information can be submitted via email at info@childwelfare.gov or by clicking on the Information Request link on the Center’s website.
The Center for States has made a strong commitment to infuse family and youth voices in all of its capacity building projects. To achieve this goal, the Center works to ensure that parents and youth are involved in Center projects from the start and have many opportunities to contribute their expertise and knowledge. Paula Buege and Austin Regnerus provide general oversight of the Center’s Family Consultants and Young Adult Consultants. If you have questions for a Center Family Consultant or Young Adult Consultant, please email the Center at capacityinfo@icfi.com.
Meet the experts:
National Family Consultant
National Young Adult Consultant
The Center for States works with the Children’s Bureau to build the capacity of child welfare agency professionals to effectively use well-defined change and implementation approaches to address identified problems and make sustainable changes that lead to improved outcomes. The Center also works to ensure that staff and consultants are recognized as experts and trusted advisors in change management and implementation. If you have question related to change and implementation, please email the Center at capacityinfo@icfi.com.
Meet the experts:
National Authority Consultant
Director, Change Management
The Center for States provides services to assist agencies with improving policies and practices that protect children and keep them safe. Strategies include the development and distribution of tools and guides to increase knowledge and awareness of best practices, peer network development and support for best practice exchange, and learning experiences for knowledge exchange and skills development. If you have a question related to child protection, please email the Center at capacityinfo@icfi.com.
Meet the experts:
National Authority Consultant
National Authority Consultant, CPS and In-Home Services
Child welfare information systems are a critical tool to help support management and tracking of child welfare programs and effective delivery of services to children and families, collection and maintenance of data used for federal reporting, and measurement of the effectiveness of child welfare programs. The Center for States helps build capacity in state and territorial child welfare programs in the use of automated child welfare information systems. If you have a question about CCWIS, please email the Center at capacityinfo@icfi.com.
Meet the experts:
Program Area Lead, CWIS
National Authority Consultant
The Center for States helps child welfare agencies build capacity to improve performance, enhance cross-system collaboration, and improve service array by using continuous quality improvement (CQI) and implementation best practices. Resources include learning experiences, peer networking opportunities, practical guides, and tools that highlight systematic, evidence-informed ways to improve child welfare practice and the functional components of CQI systems. If you have a question about CQI and data, please email the Center at capacityinfo@icfi.com.
Meet the experts:
Program Area Lead, Continuous Quality Improvement and Data
National Authority Consultant
National Authority Consultant
Program Area Lead, CQI and CFSR
The Center for States aims to build the capacity for family empowerment in all areas of child welfare service delivery systems to improve the safety, permanency, and well-being of children, youth, and families. Strategies include delivery of training, technical assistance, development of resources, peer networking, and facilitation of shared information and best practices. By leveraging the Center’s pool of Family Consultants, birth families, kinship caregivers, and foster/adoptive parents provide expertise in capacity building activities to model youth empowerment and engagement. If you need more information about family empowerment, please email the Center at capacityinfo@icfi.com.
Meet the experts:
National Authority Consultant
The Center for States supports states and territories as they build their capacity to implement components of the Family First Prevention and Services Act (FFPSA), which is grounded in a shift toward prevention-focused systems. The FFPSA provides an opportunity to enhance components of prevention services and responses within the prevention continuum and increase cross-system collaboration with partners and stakeholders. Center support includes concrete consultation, practical guides and tools, peer-to-peer networking opportunities, and knowledge-and-skills learning experiences. If you need more information about FFPSA implementation, please email the Center at capacityinfo@icfi.com.
Meet the experts:
National Authority Consultant
The Center for States helps child welfare agencies develop, implement, and sustain practices and services that enhance timely and appropriate permanency for children in care, strengthen and maintain the relationships of children in care with their parents, and place children with relatives whenever appropriate. Strategies include improving partnerships with courts, developing data-driven recruitment and retention plans and programs, and working with stakeholders and organizations that offer an array of recruitment, licensing, and permanency support services. If you have questions related to foster care and permanency, please email the Center at capacityinfo@icfi.com.
Meet the experts:
National Authority Consultant, Adoption and Diligent Recruitment
National Authority Consultant
National Authority Consultant, Permanency
Program Area Lead, Permanency
The Center for States builds child welfare agency capacity to provide family services and programs that enable children to safely remain in their own homes and improve permanency. Strategies include development and distribution of skills-building tools and guides; collaboration with key partners; peer-to-peer network development and support; and development of learning experiences to increase knowledge related to best practices and skills development. If you have questions related to in-home services, please email the Center at capacityinfo@icfi.com.
Meet the experts:
National Authority Consultant, CPS and In-Home Services
The Center for States is committed to supporting states and territories as they work toward expanding cross-system collaboration and building their prevention-focused systems to strengthen families, improve well-being outcomes for children and youth, and prevent child maltreatment. Center support includes peer group activities, learning experiences, direct consultation, identification and implementation of best practices and strategies, and development of practical guides and tools to support child welfare practitioners. If you have questions about primary prevention, please email the Center at capacityinfo@icfi.com.
Meet the experts:
National Authority Consultant
National Authority Consultant
The Center for States supports agencies in building the capacity to recruit, train, and retain child welfare workers, enhance organizational health, and grow as learning organizations to improve service provision to children, youth, and families. Strategies include development of products, resources, and services that help agencies develop and implement effective recruitment and retention strategies, create a supportive agency culture, and cultivate long-term employment solutions. If you have questions about workforce development, please email the Center at capacityinfo@icfi.com.
Meet the experts:
National Authority Consultant
National Authority Consultant
Program Area Lead, Workforce Development
The Center for States aims to build the capacity for youth development and authentic youth engagement and empowerment in all areas of child welfare service delivery systems to improve the safety, permanency, and well-being of children, youth, and families. Strategies include delivery of training, technical assistance, development of resources, peer networking, and facilitation of shared information and best practices. Through the Center’s pool of Young Adult Consultants, youth formerly in foster care provide expertise in capacity building activities to model youth engagement. If you need more information about youth development and youth engagement, please email the Center at capacityinfo@icfi.com.
Meet the experts:
National Authority Consultant
National Authority Consultant
The Center for States helps agencies build capacity to advance racial equity and recognize intersectionality in their child welfare systems. Strategies include offering products and events that encourage ongoing conversations, share promising practices, and promote action steps; working with jurisdictions to examine data and assess organizational needs; and developing strategies to address disproportionality and disparities among populations that have been marginalized. The Center strives to advance diversity and inclusion, respond to intersectionality, and raise the voices of youth and families with lived expertise in its products and services. If you have questions about advancing racial equity at your agency, please email the Center at capacityinfo@icfi.com.
Meet the experts:
National Authority Consultant
Connect With Us
Learn how we can help your agency build the capacity to thrive.
Email: info@childwelfare.gov
Phone: 1.800.394.3366
Visit the Center for States' Contact Us webpage for more information.
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