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  • Caseworker Visits With Children and Youth in Out-of-Home Care

Caseworker Visits With Children and Youth in Out-of-Home Care

Quality engagement during visits with children and youth in out-of-home care is a key element of effective casework practice, as it supports an accurate assessment of safety, permanency, and well-being. Resources on this page highlight the importance of and strategies for establishing a trusting relationship with children in out-of-home care and their families to support quality interactions during caseworker visits. Resources also include strategies for hosting virtual caseworker visits when in-person visits are not possible. 

Caseworker Visits With Children in Foster Care: Training Videos
Minnesota Department of Human Services
Offers a series of videos that provide best practice strategies for caseworker visits with children and youth in foster care. Also, review the Caseworker and Child Visits Best Practice Guide. (PDF - 1,096 KB)

Family Engagement: Partnering With Families to Improve Child Welfare Outcomes

Series Title
Bulletins for Professionals
Author(s)
Child Welfare Information Gateway
Availability
View
Download (PDF - 437KB)
Year Published
2021
Provides an overview of the foundational elements of the family engagement approach, followed by strategies and promising practices for implementing this approach.

Prioritizing Youth Voice: The Importance of Authentic Youth Engagement in Case Planning

Series Title
Bulletins for Professionals
Author(s)
Child Welfare Information Gateway
Availability
View
Download (PDF - 462KB)
Order (Free)
Year Published
2021
Provides an overview of authentic youth engagement in case planning, including key concepts and tangible strategies for engaging youth.

Quality Caseworker Visit Toolkit
California Social Work Education Center
Presents a tool to support caseworkers in completing and documenting quality caseworker visits with children and families. The website also includes a brief history of laws and regulations relating to caseworker visitation.

Quality Matters: Improving Caseworker Contacts With Children, Youth, and Families
Capacity Building Center for States
Helps improve engagement with families by identifying elements of quality contacts before, during, and after visits and ways the supervisory relationship can improve practice. The website includes links to several related resources including, Defining Quality Contacts and Supporting Quality Contacts Through Supervisor-Worker Coaching.

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Virtual caseworker visits

Remote Casework for Child Welfare Stakeholders in the Time of COVID-19
Hitchcock & Sage (2020)
Provides best practices and tips for child welfare workers, foster parents, family members, youth, and policymakers on the use of technology for remote and virtual casework during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Serving Youth Remotely
Annie E. Casey Foundation (2021)
Highlights ways organizations are delivering remote services to young people and lists six core strategies to engage youth. The brief also reviews challenges and promising practices for each approach.

Successful Video Visits With Young Children
Burnson (2020)
National Council on Crime & Delinquency
Provides tips and strategies for overcoming potential challenges when hosting video visits with young children, including when there are technological limitations or language barriers or when participants may be in distress during a call. 

Supporting Child, Caregiver, and Family Well-Being in Times of Crisis: Strategies to Promote Effective Virtual and Phone Engagement

Series Title
Bulletins for Professionals
Author(s)
Child Welfare Information Gateway, Child Welfare Capacity Building Center for States
Availability
View
Download (PDF - 370KB)
Year Published
2020
This bulletin for child-serving professionals outside of child protective services discusses ways to support children and their caregivers and connect them with appropriate resources that may mitigate any risks for harm during crisis situations. This document is organized by the five protective factors that build on family strengths to foster child and youth well-being and development. Each section contains questions that professionals can address with parents/caregivers and with children/youth in the course of their work with families, with an emphasis on content appropriate for virtual visits.

Top Tips to Engage With Young Children When Video Calling (PDF - 187 KB)
Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children & Prevent Child Abuse Arizona
Provides five tips for successfully engaging young children on video calls.

Using Media Effectively With Young Children and Virtual Visitation [Webinar]
Florida's Center for Child Welfare (2020)
Presents a two-part webinar series hosted by Dr. Rachal Barr on information, tips, and strategies for using remote and virtual communication to strengthen and maintain relationships between children and their families.

  • Part One: Virtual Communication With Young Children
  • Part Two: Using Media Play With Young Children

Virtual Case Management Considerations and Resources for Human Services Programs
Waters, Winston, & Ghertner (2020)
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation 
Explains three key considerations for performing case management online and over the telephone in place of in-person visits and services. This webpage also provides related resources. 

Virtual Visitation Resources
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Children’s Bureau (2020)
Lists resources on the use of virtual visitations in child welfare practice and other fields.

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Spotlight On

Child Welfare During the COVID-19 Emergency (PDF - 97 KB)

James, Noon, Spitella, & Zacks (2020)

New Guidance on Caseworker Visits via Videoconferencing

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Children’s Bureau (2020)

Virtual Workforce Supports

National Child Welfare Workforce Institute

Related Content

Child and Family Services Reviews

Working With Children, Youth, and Families in Permanency Planning

Engaging and Involving Youth

Virtual and Remote Workforce Needs

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