Building Capacity for Disaster Preparedness at a Child Welfare Agency

The following resources provide information on the materials and technologies that can support programs and practice improvements in disaster preparedness.

• Knowledge Management Research: Telework in Child Welfare
  Supports child welfare agencies in transferring select operations online and out of a central worksite (Center for States).
• Knowledge Management Research: Virtual Meetings in Child Welfare
  Helps child welfare agencies better understand available technologies and best practices for holding virtual meetings (Center for States).
• Inventory of Innovations: Innovations in Software and Technology
  Explores ways to use recent developments in software and technology in child welfare to potentially save costs while allowing workers to provide better, more integrated services (Center for States).
• Virtual Visitation Resources
  Provides information on the use of virtual visitations in child welfare and other fields (Child Welfare Information Gateway).

The resources below can help agencies develop policies, frameworks, and operating procedures to be more flexible in their response to disaster and disaster planning.

• Caring for Children in a Disaster
  Lists information, tools, and additional resources to keep children and families safe during disasters (Centers for Disease Control webpage).
• Knowledge Management Research: Disaster Preparedness, Response, and Communication Planning
  Helps child welfare agencies respond to the need to alter practice and communication routines when “normal” child welfare services have been disrupted and better prepare agencies for future disruptions (Center for States).
• Children and Disasters
  Provides information and tools to assist families in responding to natural and man-made disasters (American Academy of Pediatrics).
• COVID-19 Resources
  Presents current guidance and resources on addressing various parts of the child welfare system and practice impacted by pandemics (Children’s Bureau).
• Coping With Disasters and Strengthening Systems: A Framework for Child Welfare Agencies
  Helps managers think through what they might put in place to cope with disasters and highlights how taking these steps can improve systems for serving children and families (National Child Welfare Resource Center for Organizational Improvement, Muskie School of Public Service).
• Disaster Planning for Child Welfare Agencies
  Outlines the reasons child welfare agencies should develop disaster plans, provides an overview of plan development, points to resources for creating preparedness plans, and highlights state and local examples (Child Welfare Information Gateway).
• Disaster Technical Assistance Center (DTAC)
  Helps states, territories, tribes, and local providers plan for and respond to behavioral health needs after a disaster (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration).
• Disasters
  Provides information, tools, and resources to support families in the case of natural disasters and help them to address the potential traumatic effects (National Child Traumatic Stress Network).

The following resources can guide child welfare workers at all levels in disaster planning and response, as well as help build an effective organizational climate for disaster preparedness.

• ASPR Technical Resources, Assistance Center, and Information Exchange (TRACIE)
  Provides resources to meet the information and technical needs of healthcare and related staff working in the areas of disaster preparedness and response (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services).
• Becoming a Family-Focused System: Improving Culture Begins With Leaders
  Presents strategies to initiate, promote, and sustain improved organizational culture through adaptive leadership and modeling collaboration (Center for States).
• The Child Welfare Worker Safety Guide
  Examines current research regarding child welfare worker safety, the laws and policies states have used to address the issue, and the strategies that agencies and workers can use to enhance workers’ safety and well-being in the workplace (Center for States).
• Resource List: Free, Online Training for Child Welfare Staff
  Supports the increased need for child welfare staff to be able to receive training virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This resource list identifies organizations that offer training activities with defined learning objectives that may include a range of modalities, such as self-paced e-learnings, webinars, or videos (Capacity Building Center for States and NCWWI).
• Virtual Workforce Supports Resource Collection
  Offers resources for child welfare staff to help them work from a home environment safely and effectively (National Child Welfare Workforce Institute).
• Virtually Supervising Child Welfare Professionals During a Pandemic
  Offers strategies for virtual supervision to help support staff, encourage team cohesion, and ensure work continuity (National Child Welfare Workforce Institute and QIC-WD).

Constituency groups can help connect child welfare professionals working on disaster preparedness and planning. Visit the Center’s Constituency Group webpage for more information or to join a constituency group to help you plan for coordinating and sharing information with peers and colleagues during disasters.

The Center offers tailored services to states and jurisdictions to help build agency capacity for disaster preparedness and review existing disaster plans to support continuous quality improvement (CQI). For more information contact your Tailored Services Liaison.

Visit the Center for States Events page to learn about upcoming events focused on building capacity for disaster preparedness.