Frankie is 14 years old and lives with his sister, brothers, and moms. He and his sister were adopted when they were 2 years old and 4 years old, respectively. He loves spending time with his aunts, uncles, and cousins and loves being part of a big family.

Browse the themes and key takeaways from the How We Partner With the Community to Improve Service Options podcast series.

Learn about the importance of successful collaboration and engagement for implementing prevention-focused systems.

Listen to child welfare agency leaders in the District of Columbia, service providers, partners in community collaboratives, and sister agencies talk about how they coordinate service planning and delivery, are culturally responsive to the community, and provide seamless services to families.

Listen to child welfare agency leaders in the District of Columbia talk about how they work with partners to use their different data lenses to understand the needs of families and to structure a set of services to best meet the full spectrum of needs. In Kentucky, child welfare agency leaders describe the process of finding the story behind the numbers to transform their system.

Watch this video to learn how community-based partnerships strengthen families and see what jurisdictions are doing to build lines of collaboration and trust.

Explore the process of transitioning to a prevention-focused child welfare system from several perspectives, including those of a mother and son with lived experience and leaders who set the tone and direction for putting families at the center of child welfare work.

Learn about the challenges faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) families involved with the child welfare system and ways to help them.

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

Explore the efforts agencies, community collaborative organizations, and others are making to bring families, youth, and communities to the table as they strive to improve the child welfare system in this podcast. 

Explore the types of simulation training available, the benefits, costs, and other considerations, when setting up a simulation training program.

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 how child welfare professionals and family leaders can use the Parent Partner Program Navigator, a web-based, interactive resource that offers guidance for designing and implementing parent partner programs at child welfare agencies.

In this episode leaders from the District of Columbia child welfare agency and a community collaborative organization discuss their longstanding partnership. The commissioner for Kentucky's child welfare agency describes the agency’s strategic communication plan and considers the role of the agency as part of the larger child welfare system.

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.