Listen as people with lived experience in child welfare share their experiences and perspectives on growing toward personal healing while working in child welfare. 

Identify data sources to explore service array and resource development.

Examine the Promoting Safe and Stable Families Program's purpose, objectives, history, funding, and requirements. 

Learn strategies to address the mental health needs of children, young people, and families.

Learn about the range of practices comprising the continuum of youth engagement to youth empowerment.

Explore tips to help promote youth mental health and wellness services, jurisdictional highlights, and links to relevant resources and tools.

Explore strategies for redesigning the child welfare service array to meet the needs of youth and young adults currently and formerly in foster care.

Find out where evidence-based programs and services are being implemented to prevent children from entering foster care.

Explore tools, resources, and strategies to build a continuum of behavioral health care for children and youth involved with child welfare. 

Available on CapLEARN; registration required.

Watch and discuss what you hear from firsthand accounts of resource parents sharing the impact of support and collaborative partnerships when working with children, youth, and their families. Agencies can use the videos and discussion guide to explore the impact of agency staff, peer, family, and community support structures on resource parents. 

Highlights the beneficial role of agency support and encouragement to caregivers in ensuring effective foster parenting and successful reunification measures. In this video, a foster parent discusses the importance of communication and trust between caregivers and biological family members, along with agency training and resources, for successful reunification.

This video is a part of the Empowering Caregivers, Strengthening Families Video Series. It demonstrates key aspects of agency support to caregivers, including the importance of quality personal contact, training, and resources to empower caregivers through the process of moving from foster parenting to adoption.

Demonstrates the power of positive caregiver perspective alongside child welfare agency encouragement and support. In this video, caregivers share the concerns they had about becoming foster parents and discuss the resources that helped them become committed and effective foster parents.

Emphasizes the need for agency assistance and openness toward creative therapeutic services such as music lessons and highlights the need for a strong caregiver support group. This video shares one caregiver’s positive experience working with older youth with special needs in therapeutic foster care.

Exhibits the effect of committed caregivers throughout the process of foster parenting to adoption and demonstrates the power of strong families in promoting positive outcomes and permanency for children. In this video, an adoptive parent shares her reflections on her relationship with her daughter on the day of her adoption.