Resource Library

The Center for States designs products, services, and learning experiences to increase understanding and awareness, and build knowledge and skills. The Center focuses its attention on developing products and resources on several core organizational and practice topics.

If you are interested in our series and learning experiences, please use our search bar or explore our topics.

Explore our resources below and filter them as you need.

Library and Information Services

Woman in front of a computer

The Center for States provides research assistance and responds to information requests on building capacity in child welfare.

Connect With Us

Sign Up for News and Updates

Learn how we can help your agency build the capacity to thrive.

Email: capacityinfo@icfi.com 
Phone: 1.844.222.0272

Visit the Center for States' Contact Us webpage for more information.

Showing 46 - 60 of 64 resources
PDF

Learn about the definition and calculation of the CFSR statewide data indicator reentry to foster care.

Publication Year 2022
Video

Explores the task of developing plans to stage and scale up an intervention for implementation on a larger scale in a sustainable way.

Publication Year 2019
Video

Explores the tasks of routine monitoring and checking in with identified benchmarks or short-term outcomes.

Publication Year 2019
Video

Highlights the importance of recognizing the foster family as an extension of a child’s biological family and the role of effective communication between caregivers and biological family members. This video shares the experience of one caregiver who found that successful collaboration with biological family members, along with agency assistance to promote family engagement, proved effective for family reunification.

Publication Year 2021
Webinar

Discover how the reasonable and prudent parent standard (RPPS) has been implemented in one state to promote normalcy for children and youth in foster care.

Publication Year 2015
Webinar

Explore how child welfare agencies, legal and judicial stakeholders, prevention partners, and communities can work together to build prevention-focused systems, starting with jurisdictions' 2020–24 Child and Family Services Plans (CFSPs). 

Publication Year 2019
PDF

Use this brief to help your agency coordinate strategic and long-term planning, monitoring, and reporting processes—such as the Child and Family Services Plan (CFSP) and Child and Family Services Review (CFSR)—with agency continuous quality improvement (CQI).

Publication Year 2022
PDF

Use this brief to explore actionable strategies for meaningful partner engagement in child welfare agency strategic planning, monitoring, and review processes.

Publication Year 2022
PDF

Find meaningful and actionable connections among your agency’s strategic planning, review, and CQI efforts using this toolkit.

Publication Year 2024
PDF

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

Publication Year 2019
Video

Highlights motivating factors for caregivers serving children with therapeutic needs, including the value of caregiver support networks, continuous training, and a commitment to strengthen families within the caregiver’s community. This video shares a foster mother’s experiences collaborating with biological families toward positive outcomes for the children in her care.

Publication Year 2021
Video

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.

Publication Year 2021
Infographic

Illustrates the four thematic pillars necessary for organizational capacity supporting engagement with young people currently and formerly in foster care. Each of the four segments succinctly defines an element of organizational capacity building for youth engagement.

Publication Year 2021
PDF

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

Publication Year 2017
PDF

Explains the importance of sustained involvement of young people currently and formerly in foster care in meaningful organizational activity. 

Publication Year 2017