Casework practice is the engagement of families involved with child welfare and the provision of services to support safe, stable, and permanent homes. By using family-centered, kin-first, trauma-focused, and strength-based approaches, child welfare professionals can best assist families in maintaining their children in their homes and accessing concrete and other supports.

A key component of casework practice is recognizing and addressing racial bias, particularly in decision-making. African American and American Indian/Alaska Native children and families often have disparate outcomes compared with White children and families. For example, they are more likely to be confirmed for maltreatment, experience out-of-home care, and undergo a termination of parental rights.

Casework practice should center on the diverse identities, needs, and circumstances present in each family and individual. The root causes of safety concerns for a child may be due to issues affecting a family, such as poverty or substance use. In these cases, families will benefit more from financial assistance, community services, and other supports than being separated from their child.

Explore these resources to discover how you can improve your casework practice. 

Adjust the filters below to refine your list of resources.

Can’t find what you need in the filtered results? Try searching our Library catalog to access a large selection of peer-reviewed journal articles, evaluation reports, Children’s Bureau grant materials, research studies, and more.

Subtopics