In 2015-16, nearly one in three child fatalities in North Carolina involved unsafe sleep conditions. In this 90-minute webinar, the Medical Director of North Carolina’s Child Medical Evaluation Program and representatives of the NC Division of Social Services provide information and strategies to help child welfare professionals improve their practice around “safe sleep.”
Webinar
Introduction to North Carolina’s Modified Child Welfare Policy Manual
In 2018, North Carolina expects county child welfare agencies across the state to begin using a newly-modified policy manual. This 90-minute webinar explains why the manual has changed and provides an overview of key changes.
Using the Data Profile to Support Your Agency’s Diligent Recruitment Efforts
This 90-minute webinar explores Diligent Recruitment and Retention Data Profile – Program Planning Tool, which is part of our state’s new Diligent Recruitment and Retention (DRR) plan and provides practical examples for agencies of all sizes on obtaining and using data to inform recruitment and retention of resource families. Information, resources, and strategies outlined in this webinar directly support efforts to achieve timely permanence and other outcomes we seek for children and families served by the foster care program.
Talking with Young People in Foster Care about Adoption
When young people in foster care tell us they don’t want to be adopted, what should be our next step? How do we make them feel heard, respect their views, and still do our utmost to help them achieve permanence in a timely way? This 90-minute webinar profiles effective child-focused adoption preparation activities in use in North Carolina today and teaches concrete strategies for what to say, and what to try when young people say “no” to adoption.
Regular Supervision as a Key to Consistency
Regular supervision promotes consistency in child welfare practice within individual supervised teams as well as among supervisors across an agency. This webinar considers the difference between staffing and supervision, offers best practice recommendations for supervision, and explores how supervisors can use coaching to promote critical thinking among staff.
NC’s New Plan for Recruiting (and Retaining!) Families for Children in Foster Care
North Carolina is in the process of transforming the way it recruits—and retains—families for children in foster care. This 90-minute webinar walks you through the state’s new diligent recruitment and retention plan, making it clear what the next steps will be at the state and local level and what the concrete implications and requirements are for public and private agencies.
Strengthening Family Service Agreements in CPS In-Home Services
Family Service Agreements have a tremendous influence on the outcomes we achieve with families and children. This 90-minute webinar explores how to avoid common errors related to FSAs in in-home services as well as strategies for ensuring effective communication between CPS assessors and CPS in-home staff.
Efficiently Licensing High-Quality Foster Parents
This 90-minute webinar describes what the NC Division of Social Services is doing to enhance the foster home licensing process and to support Supervising Agencies, and it shares effective strategies agencies are using to speed up licensing of families while maintaining an emphasis on quality and mutual assessment.
“Well Begun is Half Done” — How CPS Intake and Timely Initiation Can Improve CPS Assessments
This 90-minute webinar explores ways to strengthen CPS intake and CPS initiation in North Carolina. Audience: Child welfare professionals from North Carolina county DSS agencies, especially those involved with CPS intake, CPS Assessments, and on-call/after hours.
NC’s Foster Care 18 to 21 and Guardianship Assistance Programs: What You Need to Know
This 90-minute webinar offers an overview and implementation tips for two North Carolina programs designed to expand permanency options for young people in foster care: the Foster Care 18 to 21 Program and the Guardianship Assistance Program. Audience: (1) foster care social workers and supervisors from NC county DSS agencies; (2) social workers and supervisors from private child-placing agencies in NC.
Distinguishing Safety and Risk in the Real World: A Key Skill at Every Stage in Child Welfare Work
This practice-focused webinar uses real-world examples to show how accurately distinguishing between safety and risk benefits families, workers, and agencies. Audience: Child welfare professionals in ALL roles from NC County DSS agencies (directors, program administrators/managers, supervisors, and line staff in every child welfare service area).
Developing and Implementing Family Service Agreements
Family Service Agreements can be powerful tools for engaging families, ensuring accountability, and making children safer. Yet if they aren’t done correctly, FSAs do few or none of these things. This 90-minute webinar focused on how we can help families develop strong FSAs, while avoiding cookie cutter recommendations, allowing the family to help guide the agreement and achieve greater success through increased engagement.
Human Trafficking: What Child Welfare Agencies Should Know
This 90-minute webinar gives an overview of labor and sex trafficking of minors, emphasizing how child welfare professionals can identify and respond to victims. Audience: Directors, child welfare program administrators/managers, and all child welfare staff from North Carolina county child welfare agencies.
Safety Plans are Changing: What You Need to Know
Safety resource placements have frequently been used by CPS to ensure safety, permanence, and well-being for children and their families. However, in response to growing concerns regarding the overuse of safety resource placements and especially the length of time children are remaining in them, North Carolina has reviewed and revised its policy around this practice. This 90-minute webinar provides an overview of impending policy changes, including the use of a new approach called the “Temporary Parental Safety Agreement.” Target audience: Child welfare professionals from NC county child welfare agencies (including directors, program administrators/managers, and line staff) and their court partners (including judges, attorneys, and GALs).
The Child and Family Services Review and PIP: What’s Ahead for NC?
This webinar provides an overview of NC’s recent federal Child and Family Services Review (CFSR) and explores our state’s new federal Program Improvement Plan (PIP), and explains how county DSS staff can help prepare to implement the strategies and activities in the PIP. Audience: Directors, child welfare program administrators/managers, and child welfare staff from North Carolina county DSS agencies.
Preservice Redesigned: What you need to Know
In 2016 the NC Division of Social Services made major improvements to Preservice, the mandatory training for all new NC county DSS child welfare professionals. This webinar describes these changes in detail, answers common questions, and explores ways child welfare supervisors, training managers, and program managers and administrators from North Carolina county DSS agencies can make the most of the new and improved version of Child Welfare in North Carolina.
Creating “Normalcy” for Young People in Foster Care
For years, young people in foster care have been prevented from participating in everyday activities essential for their development and for a successful transition to adulthood. Recent federal and state laws address this problem. This webinar considers why “normal” experiences are so important and explores implementation of North Carolina’s new “reasonable and prudent parent standard.” Target audience: youth in DSS custody, foster parents, kinship parents, group home staff, LINKS coordinators.
Concurrent planning and Making Medical Decisions
In 2015 there were a number of legislative changes affecting child welfare practice in North Carolina. Two of the most significant relate to concurrent planning and the way medical decisions are made for children in foster care. In this webinar we answer questions about these changes and explore what they mean for child welfare professionals, their agencies, and families and children.
Promoting Normalcy for Children and Youth in Foster Care
North Carolina’s new “Family Foster Care Act” makes it easier for young people in foster care to engage in commonplace activities enjoyed by other children and youth. This webinar considers why “normal” experiences are so important and explores implementation of the “reasonable and prudent parent standard.” Target audience: child welfare professionals from NC’s public and private child-placing agencies and Guardian ad Litem (GAL) program staff, volunteers, and attorneys.
Tips and Strategies for Successful Out-of-State Adoptive Placements
The larger your pool of prospective families, the more likely you’ll find an appropriate adoptive match. Yet placing children for adoption out of state can seem complex and intimidating. In this webinar, representatives from North Carolina’s adoption exchange program, NC Kids, and its ICPC (Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children) team discuss ways to overcome barriers, prevent problems, and successfully manage interstate assessments and adoptive placements so we can achieve timely permanence for all waiting children.
Staff Performance and Retention: Using a Trauma Lens
Secondary traumatic stress (STS) can have a significant impact on child welfare professionals, their agencies, and ultimately on outcomes for children and families. Yet child welfare agencies often find it hard to identify and implement organizational strategies that effectively prevent STS and support those suffering from it. This webinar will explore what STS is, why it matters to agency leaders, and how you can address this critical workforce issue.
North Carolina and Round 3 of the CFSR: What Agencies Need to Know
North Carolina’s last federal Child and Family Services Review (CFSR) occurred in 2007. Important changes have been made to the CFSR since then. This year we will be one of the first States in the nation to experience the new version of the CFSR. In this webinar, representatives from the NC Department of Health and Human Services’ Division of Social Services addressed key questions about the upcoming federal review.
Documentation in Child Welfare: Effective Practices for County DSS Agencies
Clearly and accurately documenting our efforts can help improve decision-making and outcomes for children and families. This webinar explores common challenges and best practices related to documentation in the areas of CPS, foster care, and adoption. It does not cover specific North Carolina forms or instruments. Instead, it focuses on key things practitioners, supervisors, and agencies can do to ensure documentation is timely, effective, and “court ready.”
Leadership in Income Maintenance: A Framework for Success
Sometimes it may seem as if you and your staff are in a state of “permanent whitewater,” paddling furiously through a never-ending canyon filled with rushing water and treacherous rocks. This webinar shares a leadership framework that will help NC’s income maintenance supervisors meet the challenges of supervising in income maintenance today.
