4. Services

Stephanie Tubbs Jones Child Welfare Services Program (title IV-B, subpart 1)

After Intercountry Adoption
Child Welfare Information Gateway
Links to resources to help families after an intercountry adoption. This web section provides information about obtaining health assessments, the impact of institutionalization on children, transracial and transcultural adoption, sibling issues, children who have been abused or neglected, postadoption depression, readoption, reconnecting with cultural roots, and more.

Building Comprehensive Early Childhood Systems
Child Welfare Information Gateway 
Provides resources on developing an effective and comprehensive early childhood system to increase the effectiveness of services. The webpage includes State and local examples.

Early Childhood and Child Care Services
Child Welfare Information Gateway
Presents resources for professionals and caregivers on Part C of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, early childhood programs, choosing a child care provider, and child supervision guidelines.

Finding Services for an Adopted Child
Child Welfare Information Gateway
Presents information about postadoption services and supports, health service locators, respite care, developmental and physical disabilities, therapy, and adoption preservation services.

Promoting Safe and Stable Families (title IV-B, subpart 2)

Children & Youth With Disabilities in the Child Welfare System
Child Welfare Information Gateway
Provides resources for caregivers and professionals about the unique challenges and service needs of children and youth with disabilities who are involved with the child welfare system and how to address them. 

Family-Centered Practice Across the Service Continuum
Child Welfare Information Gateway
Provides resources on how family-centered approaches can be used in a variety of settings across the child welfare and other service systems.

Family Support Services
Child Welfare Information Gateway
Presents resources that address family support approaches and services.

Monthly caseworker visit formula grants and standards for caseworker visits

Caseworker Visits With Children and Youth in Out-of-Home Care
Child Welfare Information Gateway
Provides resources that highlight the importance of establishing a trusting relationship with families and youth in out-of-home care to support quality interactions during casework visits. 

Collaborating to Collect and Use Data to Inform Quality Contacts (PDF - 152 KB)
Capacity Building Center for States (2017)
Discusses how to strengthen the collection, analysis, and use of data related to caseworker visits. This tip sheet 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.

Defining Quality Contacts (PDF - 286 KB)
Capacity Building Center for States (2017)
Provides a foundation for understanding what quality contacts, also known as caseworker visits, look like, why they are important, and how a child welfare agency can set the stage for their successful implementation.

Quality Contact Casework Activities Worksheet (PDF - 102 KB)
Capacity Building Center for States (2017)
Lists suggested casework activities to undertake before, during, and after a caseworker visit with children, youth, and families. 

Quality Matters: Improving Caseworker Contacts With Children, Youth, and Families
Capacity Building Center for States 
Offers videos, discussion guides, and assessment tools that agencies can use to improve the quality of caseworker contacts (free registration required). 

Quality Worker-Parent Visits: A Tip Sheet for Supervisors and Managers (PDF -202 KB)
Capacity Building Center for States (2017)
Describes how supervisors and program managers can assist child welfare caseworkers in conducting quality visits with parents. The tip sheet suggests supports for workers before, during, and after a visit and lists questions to ask and potential problems to address.

Supporting Quality Contacts Through Supervisor-Worker Coaching (PDF - 215 KB)
Capacity Building Center for States (2017) 
Offers one-on-one coaching techniques to enhance the quality of caseworker contacts with children, youth, and families.

Child welfare waiver demonstration activities

5. Consultation and Coordination between States and Tribes

A Roadmap for Collaborative and Effective Evaluation in Tribal Communities
Tribal Evaluation Workgroup (2014)
Identifies values and priorities that can foster trust and build the knowledge and skills of Tribes, their evaluation partners, and other stakeholders to conduct more useful and meaningful evaluations of child welfare programs.

Tribal Child Welfare Information Exchange of the Capacity Building Center for Tribes
Provides information for Tribal child welfare systems. The webpage includes a section titled Journey Through the River of Data Series that provides data-focused guidance for Tribes.

6. John H. Chafee Foster Care Program for Successful Transition to Adulthood (the Chafee Program)

Adolescent Brain Development
The Annie E. Casey Foundation
Provides resources on the resiliency and development of the adolescent brain in order to support young people in foster care who have experienced trauma.

Embracing a "Youth Welfare" System: A Guide to Capacity Building
Capacity Building Center for States
Presents the Youth Welfare approach, which outlines how agencies can shift from a child-focused system to a youth-focused system by implementing practices that support youth and their needs. Agencies and others working with youth in care can access the complete guide or download the tools, which include a graphic and several exercises to build staff knowledge and skills about youth welfare.

Foster Care Transition Toolkit (PDF - 1,843 KB)
U.S. Department of Education (2016)
Provides tips and resources to help youth and young adults address social, emotional, and educational skills and resource barriers.

Planning a Next Generation Evaluation Agenda for the John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program, 2011–2019
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation
Provides resources and reports on the multisite evaluation of foster youth programs under the John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program.

Positive Youth Development
Youth.gov (2017)
Discusses the progression of understanding related to positive youth development and provides links to resources related to this subject.

The Teen Years Explained: A Guide to Healthy Adolescent Development (PDF - 10,883 KB)
McNeely & Blanchard (2009)
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Center for Adolescent Health
Describes the normal physical, cognitive, emotional and social, sexual, identity formation, and spiritual changes that occur during adolescence and how adults can promote healthy development.

Transition to Adulthood and Independent Living
Child Welfare Information Gateway
Provides resources on helping adolescents transition to adulthood and live independently, including information on programs, promising practices, and Federal and State efforts to support youth in out-of-home care past age 18.

Using the FosterClub Transition Toolkit
FosterClub
Includes planning worksheets, information about record keeping, and other resources to support youth successfully transition out of foster care.

Working With Pregnant & Parenting Teens Tip Sheet (PDF - 62 KB)
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Family and Youth Services Bureau (2011)
Provides an overview of working with pregnant and parenting teens, their unique needs, determining goals and outcomes, and supports and resources.