Buzzwords: Moving to Behavioral Descriptors doodle video is a short, animated video that follows a child involved in a child welfare investigation. The video describes what buzzwords are and illustrates the impact they can have on children and families. It also demonstrates how to recognize buzzwords and offers strategies for transforming buzzwords into objective, behavior-based descriptors.

This publication looks at buzzwords in the context of words or phrases commonly used in child welfare reporting and documentation that can be subjective or carry negative connotations, and offers strategies to minimize their negative impact.

Learn about Catherine’s journey recovering from trauma and addiction to be successfully reunified with her daughter.

Reflect on past results to inform plans for future improvements.

Explore considerations for monitoring and evaluating new interventions and applying findings to make adjustments aligned with equity and inclusion. 

Explore considerations for planning and building capacity for equitable implementation of new programs and practices. 

Explore considerations for equitable, inclusive, and data-driven problem exploration.

Explore considerations for convening a diverse team of partners, including people with lived expertise, to support equitable change and implementation efforts.

Explore considerations for collaboratively developing an equitable theory of change.

Explore considerations for selecting, designing, and adapting effective and equitable interventions. 

Explore considerations for assessing readiness as part of an equitable and inclusive change and implementation process. 

Explore considerations for testing, piloting, and staging new programs and practices with attention to equity and inclusion. 

Explores how the factors of motivation, general capacity, and intervention-specific capacity influence agency readiness for change. This video provides examples of and considerations for conducting readiness assessments.

Explores the first task of team building: identifying the team’s purpose by developing mission goals and objectives. This module helps the team write a mission statement as part of a change and implementation process at a child welfare agency.

Consider whose perspectives are represented on your team.