This guide is designed to support administrative leaders in states and other jurisdictions in using data to assess and identify ways to improve their service array.

The FELA resources listed on this guide can be used alone or together to help agencies build individual, team, and agency capacity to engage and collaborate with families.

Learn the definition and find information about normalcy and the reasonable and prudent parent standard in the PL 113-183.

Read about the services available under two federal programs and how to use them to improve outcomes for pregnant or parenting youth in out-of-home care.

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.

The videos and activities in this guide can be a vehicle to build mutual understanding and spark change across the child welfare system. Training managers can integrate the content into training for child welfare workers or for cross-system training of court and child welfare personnel.

Explore how independent verification and validation services for title IV-E agencies are used for child welfare information systems projects.

Explore how data reported in AFCARS about youth who run away from state custody can be used to inform interventions.

Adapt proven strategies from this publication to improve specific areas of culture and that support collaborative development of an effective service array.

Adapt strategies from this publication to improve specific areas of culture and climate to support partnering with families after conducting an assessment.

Get guidance, tips, and strategies for assessing agency culture and climate. 

Use this guide for tips, and strategies concerning the critical role leadership plays in creating and sustaining positive organizational culture.

Explores how to design, integrate, and implement financial capability services into existing programs targeted at youth who are transitioning out of foster care to help them manage their financial resources and avoid chronic financial instability. 

Explore how child welfare professionals and organizations can build capacity for implementing the reasonable and prudent parent standard (RPPS) for children and youth in foster care. 

Learn about the identified five dimensions of capacity, browse examples of each, and find out why each dimension is important to an organization.