This session explores how research, evaluation, and continuous quality improvement (CQI) efforts can help you strengthen practice to achieve a common goal of all child welfare professionals: becoming more effective in your work and being better able to ensure that children are safe, in healthy and intact families, and thriving.

Explore tips and strategies to effectively engage and sustain the involvement of families and youth at the agency level. 

Get guidance for completing the CQI self-assessment instrument, see suggested sources for local assessment data, and learn to rate assessment results.

Learn about applications that can make information gathering more efficient, increase useful data, and help you better understand those you serve. 

Helps public child welfare agencies understand the purpose of and context for the Creating LGBTQ Affirming Agencies video and how the video can be used to support lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) children, youth, and families who are involved in the child welfare system.

Learn about adolescent brain development, trauma-responsive care, and the importance of normalcy.

Examine a five-step framework that helps organizations promote youth engagement in normalcy conversations about the youth’s own care.

Learn how to build capacity in each of four component areas to promote a culture and climate that encourages youth engagement at all levels of an organization.

Get practical guidance for building organizational capacity and for implementing flexible and innovate programs for youth engagement.

Explore the four thematic pillars necessary for organizational capacity that supports engagement with young people currently and formerly in foster care.

Learn the characteristics and results that describe the right people to engage youth and get guidance for recruiting, hiring, and retaining these employees.

Learn how to create an agency organizational culture that is inclusive and knowledgeable about the unique needs of LGBTQ children, youth, and families.

See statistics on increased risks for LGBTQ youth and learn how child welfare systems can use healthy approaches when working with LGBTQ children and youth.

Examine new software and technology innovations, which provide better, more integrated services and cut costs for states and jurisdictions.

Get informed about creating normalcy for LGBTQ children and youth in foster care and browse relevant examples.