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

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

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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 16 - 30 of 42 resources
PDF

Hear about the challenges and experiences of an adoptive family and how they created belonging, healthy development, and normal experiences.

PDF

Illustrates the four shifts that need to occur at the organizational and practice levels to establish a youth welfare system that meets the needs of youth in foster care.

Video

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

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). 

PDF

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

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).

PDF

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

PDF

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

PDF

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

PDF

Offers guidelines and practical suggestions for shifting from a child-focused system that is often reactive, case plan-driven, and protection-focused to a youth-focused system that is proactive, youth-driven, developmentally framed, and normalcy focused.

Video

Watch this short, animated video to examine how changing the language and messaging we use can support a shift to a more prevention-focused child welfare system.

Webinar

Learn about the Indiana Department of Child Services’ upstream prevention approach to training and development, expanding the service array, and collaborating with system partners and providers in this recorded webinar.

Podcast

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

PDF

Engage staff and partners with activities in this guide to start a dialogue and create a vision for a more prevention-focused child welfare system.

Video

Learn about the relationships and partnerships that support developing a comprehensive prevention plan related to the Family First Prevention Services Act.