Bruce and Brenda have been married for 33 years and have four daughters. From 2006 to 2009, they provided a kinship placement for their four grandchildren. In 2010, the couple adopted Bruce (now 18 years old), Tre’Nae (now 15 years old), Mason (now 13 years old), and Kiaunna (now 10 years old).

Learn to be more intentional about creating opportunities to relate to the staff and families you serve and to infuse more empathy into your agency.

Use the template and instructions provided to develop parent partner program manuals.

Tells the story of the relationship between a youth in foster care and a BraveLife peer navigator. Both talk about the personal sharing and mutual trust that have forged a connection that will last a lifetime.

Browse casework activities to use before, during, and after a caseworker visit with children, youth, and families.

Learn how supervisors and program managers can assist child welfare caseworkers in conducting quality visits with parents.

Browse a list of organizations that offer training activities with defined learning objectives, including self-paced e-learnings, webinars, or videos.

Explore resources related to Intentional Inclusion: Creating Equity in the Workplace video. 

See how listening and relatability helped build trust between a youth and his attorney.

Underscores the importance of consistency and encouragement in trusting relationships. A Fostering Success peer mentor gave impactful advice to the youth she mentored: Stop listening to the people who don’t believe in you.

Hear from a family about the challenges of dealing with an autism diagnosis and other issues while navigating the child welfare system.

Demonstrates how showing up and listening are foundational to developing a nourishing relationship with youth. A young woman describes the constant support she and her family received from a social worker as she evolved from a youth into a teen mom and an advocate.

Explore coaching steps and tips supervisors can use to help workers strengthen skills and meet goals.

Read about the value of collaboration as the key to prevention, safety, and long-term stability for children and families.

Listen to Indiana’s child welfare partners talk about making the shift to an upstream approach to prevention services possible in this short podcast.