Quality Matters: Improving Caseworker Contacts With Children, Youth, and Families

Watch the following videos and use the related discussion guides with your team to identify best practices that promote mindful caseworker visits and contribute to improved outcomes for safety, permanency, and well-being.

Engaging With the Father

In the "Biological Father Visit" video, a caseworker talks with a father in the county jail after his children were removed from his home to try to understand what prompted the children's removal. By modeling effective engagement, the caseworker establishes quality contact with the father, identifies strengths to support changes, and pinpoints behaviors needed to create a safe environment for the children. Use the checklist included in the discussion guide to identify best practices that promote father engagement.

Video: Biological Father Visit

Discussion Guide: Biological Father Visit Discussion Guide

Engaging With the Child

In the "Child Visit" video, a caseworker meets with a child at the home of the foster parent soon after placement. The caseworker demonstrates how using age-appropriate questions can guide the assessment of a child's safety, risk, permanency, well-being, and adjustment. Use the checklist included in the discussion guide to identify best practices that promote quality contact with children and lead to better assessments.

Video: Child Visit

Discussion Guide: Child Visit Discussion Guide

Engaging With the Foster Parent

In the "Engaging With the Resource Parent" video, a caseworker visits the foster parent in her home soon after the placement, considers the child's request to visit his father in the county jail, and discusses the foster parent's need for respite care. Use the checklist included in the discussion guide to identify best practices for exploring foster parent concerns and collaborating to find solutions.

Video: Engaging With the Resource Parent

Discussion Guide: Engaging With the Resource Parent Discussion Guide

Engaging With the Mother

In the "Biological Mother Visit" video, a caseworker engages with the mother after her children are placed in foster care and discusses the progress on the mother's case plan. The caseworker models effective engagement skills, identification of barriers, and collaboration for finding solutions. Use the checklist to identify best practices that promote quality engagement with parents and contribute to better outcomes for safety, permanency, and well-being.

Video: Engaging With the Biological Mother

Discussion Guide: Engaging With the Biological Mom Discussion Guide

Engaging With Youth

In the "Youth Visit" video, a caseworker visits a 16-year-old young person at the foster parent's home a few months after placement and uses age-appropriate questions to assess how she is adjusting to her new environment. Use the checklist to identify best practices for assessing youth safety, risk, and well-being.

Video: Engaging With Youth

Discussion Guide: Engaging With Youth Discussion Guide

Supervisory Visit

In the "Supervisory Visit" video, a caseworker and her supervisor meet two separate times to review a family's case. Use the checklist to identify supportive supervisory behaviors that model the quality engagement the supervisor wants to see from the caseworker.

Video: Supervisory Visit

Discussion Guide: Supervisory Visits Discussion Guide 

• Defining Quality Contacts offers a foundation for understanding what quality contacts are, what they look like, why they are important, and how a child welfare agency can set the stage for their successful implementation. This issue brief provides useful information for all child welfare agency staff, from administrators and managers to frontline staff.
• Quality Contact Casework Activities Worksheet suggests casework activities to undertake before, during, and after a caseworker visit with children, youth, and families. Caseworkers and their supervisors can use this simple two-page worksheet as general guidance to help plan and assess quality contacts.
• Collaborating to Collect and Use Data to Inform Quality Contacts highlights the importance of collaboration among data and information technology staff, child welfare program staff, and other key stakeholders in developing information systems that support quality contacts.
• Quality Worker-Parent Visits: A Tip Sheet for Supervisors and Managers suggests supports for workers before, during, and after a visit, along with questions to ask and potential “red flags” to address.
• Supporting Quality Contacts Through Supervisor-Worker Coaching offers one-on-one coaching techniques aimed at enhancing the quality of caseworker contacts with children, youth, and families.