Blog

Held on November 13-15 as an online conference, the 2024 UC Davis Human Services Autumn Institute brought together leaders and professionals statewide from across the field to virtually explore strategies for fostering resilience, leadership and meaningful change.

Earlier this year, the academic journal Criminology & Public Policy published a report highlighting Stockton’s progress in reducing gun violence through the Stockton Ceasefire program.

As September's National Kinship Care Month comes to a close, we wanted to take a moment to express our gratitude to our colleagues and community partners who continue to put the safety and stability of families first. This date also marks the end of our first full year featuring the monthly Kin-first Systems Spotlight series.

Imagine, as a child or youth, being guided by someone you don’t know to their car, to be driven to the house of someone you don’t know. You are told this is where you will stay. When you ask how long that will be you are told “we are not sure.” When you ask when you will be able to see your family again, you are told “soon.” What comes up for you imagining this scenario? 

Human Services at UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education is pleased to announce Lucy Fuentes and Rose Chahla have accepted positions with its new, fifth program: The California Title IV-E Education Program, which was previously administered by the California Social Work Education Center (CalSWEC). Fuentes will lead the development of this new and growing team as the Title IV-E Northern site director, and Chahla will support the team as a senior project officer. 

Listening to a bunch of acronyms can feel like trying to make sense of a bowl of alphabet soup! Once too many unfamiliar acronyms get strung together, the output becomes a murky, confusing mess where the letters don't quite spell out anything we understand. 

As we bid farewell to one of our most cherished team members, Jenit Chadha, we are filled with both pride and a touch of sadness. 

Outstanding educators are central to professional development and continuous learning. At UC Davis CPE Human Services, we recognize exceptional instructors and program collaborators for their commitment and service to both education as well as the field of human services. The dedication of our instructors is vital to our mission, ensuring that students receive the highest quality education and are well-prepared to make a meaningful difference in the lives of others.

Introduced in 1978, the passage of the Federal and State Indian Child Welfare Acts (ICWA) marked a significant civil rights legislative achievement. Enacted as a remedial measure, the law sought to “recognize the essential tribal relations of Indian people and the cultural and social standards prevailing in Indian communities and families” [1]. The Act put pressure on the child welfare system to focus efforts on family preservation instead of family separation.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Yolanda and Robert, experienced Resource Parents, about their journey of adopting their two girls through the foster care system. It was evident right from the start that this family was determined to make it.

Siblings, Isabella (14), and Sophia (10) were placed with Yolanda and Robert two and half years ago. At the offset, the girls had difficulty with the transition. The girls had come from a previous placement that didn’t work out, and their behaviors at times placed them in dangerous situations. 

I was lost, confused, and afraid. I reached into the darkness of my mind and grasped at thoughts for understanding. Instead, my fingers were gummed up with chaos. It was Friday night, and the police had placed me in custody as a victim of child abuse. 

It has truly been an honor to serve as a California Wraparound Steering Committee member and to partner with its diverse team of leaders dedicated to improving the quality of Wraparound services for the children, youth, and families across the state of California. As I reflect on my professional journey of 30+ years in San Luis Obispo County, I’m very grateful to have had the opportunity to serve in the fields of Behavioral Health, San Luis Obispo County Department of Social Services, Juvenile Probation and Family Care Network.

A parent partner is someone who has lived experiences that they share with other parents who are going through similar difficult circumstances. Parent partners have the heart to share their struggles and their mistakes to strengthen and provide hope to those who otherwise may feel hopeless. 

The Center for Excellences in Family Finding, Engagement and Support is at full speed for 2024, but we'd be remiss to miss this opportunity to reflect upon the recent success of the 2023 Kin-first Symposia.

On Nov. 7 and Dec.

As we surge into 2024 with a host of new and exciting changes, we’re happy to announce the release of a new and improved SOP Quick Guide and to feature a look back at one of many 2023 SOP Champions we'll be celebrating throughout 2024.

What is alloparenting? A December 2023 article from NPR highlights recent study and other research that illustrate the benefits of providing parents with more social supports and hands-on help with the care of infants and young children.

Our vision is that every child finds solace and safety within the loving embrace of their family, especially during times of separation from their parents. The Center for Excellence is dedicated to ensuring that children remain unified with their families, communities, and Tribes.

In a significant move, the Budget Act of 2022 allocated $150 million General Fund (GF) in one-time funding to be used for permanency work. Funding must be used for specialized permanency services and supports, including training, staffing, outreach and implementation. Opt-in is required by June 30, 2025.

Julie Greenwood, vice dean for Educational Initiatives in EdPlus at Arizona State University (ASU), will join the University of California, Davis, as its next dean of Continuing and Professional Education (CPE). Greenwood will start on Oct. 16.

It all started when a probation officer offered Wraparound to Pam as an option for her grandson, Diego. Pam said she felt inspired to try it, particularly because it was inclusive for grandparents and it was a team-based approach to put together a plan for a their needs. Also, after 27 years in recovery and Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), Pam saw similarities in Wraparound that felt like it overlapped with AA in a positive manner.

The California Department of Social Services is excited to announce the updated California Wraparound Standards (DRAFT) as part of the CA Wraparound Standards Toolkit! The Standards are intended to clarify practice expectations with the goal of improving Wraparound fidelity across California.  

Wraparound to me are those first meetings. The long days being in crisis with families that we’ve built strong connections with, the countless phone calls from kiddos because they feel comfortable calling to talk through challenges they might be facing, or the one-on-one interventions we do to help shape a more positive outcome.  That “all in” mentality that every single wraparound staff has is one of the many reasons why I have become as passionate about Wraparound as a whole.

Specialized permanency services, now required by law in the state of California (AB 1006), are designed to help ensure children and youth (including nonminor dependents) achieve a permanent, loving family—a sense of belonging.

With the 2023 California Safety Organized Practice Conference recently wrapped up, we couldn’t think of a more inspiring time to tackle the topic of SOP and Family First Prevention Services (FFPS) integration. The theme for this year’s SOP conference, collaborative engagement for prevention, said much about the monumental, infrastructure-wide shift underway toward prevention-focused services. The SOP Toolkit has some new tools to help with that.

From July 17-20, Human Services at UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education welcomed tribal council members and elders to the table alongside human services professionals for the 2023 National Tribal TANF Institute in Sacramento. Now in its 18th year, the in-person event served as an overwhelmingly positive and empowering step toward improving

Hosted by the Northern Academy at UC Davis Human Services on the Davis campus June 21-22, the 2023 California Safety Organized Practice (SOP) conference proved a reinvigorating return to its traditional form after the 2021 conference was hosted as a virtual event due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Presented each spring by the Northern Academy at UC Davis Human Services, the Sarah Duncan Champion for Children and Families Award honors one of Northern California’s outstanding social workers and seeks to highlight additional child welfare line social workers who reflect Duncan’s passion, skill and tireless commitment to working to improve outcomes for children and families. This is the second year the award has been presented. 

For those who submitted a nomination, thank you so much for taking the time to recognize one of your valued colleagues. If you didn’t get a chance to nominate this year: Don’t worry! We are already taking submissions for next year’s award.

UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education – Human Services is pleased to announce that Michell Franklin, M.A., has accepted the position of Custom Training and Services (CTS) program director. Franklin will hold direct management oversight of the CTS program, including open enrollment courses and training contracts with a variety of county, state and nonprofit human services organizations throughout California.

As we proudly present this second edition of our Horizons publication, we can’t help but reflect on how much has changed since the inaugural issue was released. In the summer of 2020, then-Human Services director Susan Brooks introduced the publication at a time when the human services community grappled with the combined crises of soaring unemployment, a global pandemic and the violent personification of systemic racism.

The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) and the University of California, Davis (UC Davis) are launching the Center for Excellence in Family Finding, Engagement and Support (Center) to support county child welfare agency efforts to keep youth linked with their family members.

Returning to celebrate in-person after four years, UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education happily hosted the biennial Outstanding Service Award reception for CPE instructors on Thursday, Sept. 8. CPE Dean Susan Catron presided over a reception that was well attended by instructors, staff, friends and family who were happy to celebrate the achievements of the past four years.

The Resource Center for Family-Focused Practice at UC Davis Human Services is please to share a new resource for parent partners.

Child welfare work often feels like a thankless job. We can get so caught up in the day-to-day deluge of work that we don’t always pause to recognize good work when it is happening. There’s just so much work, and so many challenges, that taking the time to reflect on how much good is actually done, every single day, can seem impossible.

UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education (CPE) is pleased to announce Alison Book has formally been appointed as director of CPE’s Human Services division. Book replaces Susan Brooks, who recently retired as director and chair after a 35-year career. Book now serves in a dual role which includes continued oversight of the Northern Academy (one of California’s five regional training academies for child welfare professionals).

The theme of this year’s Institute, “Embracing the Power of Community,” recognized and celebrated the inherent strength that exists within native communities.

By listening and learning from others’ experiences, creating a trauma-informed system of care becomes more attainable in a way that strengthens the voice of the child, youth and family. Hosted by UC Davis Human Services, the Partnerships for Well-Being Institute provided a valuable opportunity for providers and professionals serving children and families to share perspectives. More than 620 people attended the conference, including practitioners in child welfare, behavioral health, early childhood, education and probation as well as other specialists serving children and families.

Looking for some quick tips and strategies to break down these important tools?

On June 29, 2022, Susan Brooks retired her post as the director and chair of Human Services at UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education.

Safety Organized Practice has become so embedded in child welfare best practice that its acronym (SOP) can be tossed around loosely in the field. Many new social workers may not yet fully understand what SOP is, and many more may lack an understanding of its full history. Even seasoned SOP Champions may need a refresher from time to time.

Over the past two years, human services professionals have gone from experiencing pandemic stress, to pandemic fatigue, to finding a “new normal” as they regain their footing in daily work life. On May 24, 2022, the Northern Academy at UC Davis Human Services hosted a free, full-day virtual event devoted to discussing the challenges of work and life stresses and how to find workable solutions to mitigate this stress.

The field of Human Services is as wide and complex as its moniker might suggest. For larger agencies, an overlap in services is almost inevitable, but this doesn’t mean it should be shrugged off. For services that deal with vulnerable and/or traumatized children and families—such as CalWORKS and Child Welfare Services—each contact with children and families has the potential to cause additional trauma. The need to prevent inefficient, repetitive, and/or otherwise overlapping communications becomes paramount.

Despite challenges faced with COVID-19 over the past two years, the coaching of staff (and their clients) continues to play a critical role in health and human services––now more than ever. Hosted by UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education–Human Services, the 2022 National Conference on Coaching in Human Services provided a valuable opportunity to bring together professionals from across the nation to develop and support coaching programs that benefit human services professionals, their organizations and the clients they serve.

On March 23-24, 2022, UC Davis Human Services hosted the 5th annual CQI Statewide Conference for Child Welfare and Probation: A Pathway to Partnerships. On the opening day, keynote speakers Gregory Rose and Marcela Ruiz from the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) highlighted how the pursuit of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) is crucial to building lasting partnerships with children, families and stakeholders in their safety and stability.

We’d like to thank everyone who participated in National Social Worker Month this March! While the month may be over, we’ll never stop looking for new ways to express our gratitude for those who have made it their life’s work to support vulnerable children and families. To that end, we are thrilled to kick off April by announcing the winner of the inaugural Sarah Duncan Champion for Children and Families Award!

In memory of one of California's outstanding social workers, Sarah Duncan, Human Services at UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education is seeking your assistance in recognizing and honoring Northern California child welfare social workers who reflect passion, skill and tireless commitment to working to improve outcomes for children and families. This is an excellent opportunity to focus on and to celebrate the hard work that goes into this vital profession, and to cherish those who have made it their life's work to improve the lives of others.

Have you heard the good news about  High Fidelity Wraparound-Intensive Care Coordination?

The Human Services division at UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education is ready and available to assist you and your county with the California CalWORKs Outcomes and Accountability Review (Cal-OAR) process. Cal-OAR facilitates continuous improvement of county CalWORKs programs by collecting, analyzing and disseminating outcomes and best practices. We have supported more than 160 County Self-Assessment processes over nearly 20 years, and our outstanding team is ready to use this knowledge and expertise to help your county in Cal-OAR process implementation.

By Nancy Hafer, M.S., Director, Resource Center for Family-Focused Practice

Victor smiles as he, his wife Lucy and their kids Yuriah, age 10, and Aubrey, age 7, begin to describe their experience with Wraparound.

By Janine LeSieur, Program Analyst, Family Centered Practice Unit, California Department of Social Services

Healthy behavior is linked to improved well-being for individuals, families and communities.  The challenge of addressing unhealthy behavior can be complex and often depends on sustained behavior change at the individual level. Motivational Interviewing is a counseling approach that can help people identify their feelings about behavior change, resolve inconsistencies with how they feel about making behavior change(s), and then make a plan to follow and update as needed.

The January newsletter theme, change, inspired us to contact expert Dr. Melinda Hohman about motivational interviewing (MI).  Dr. Hohman’s background as a clinician, educator and author contribute considerable knowledge and insight about making life changes.

By Kat Baysmore, Lead Parent Partner, Olive Crest

My name is Katherine Baysmore, but my friends, peers and clients call me Kat. I have three amazing children. My youngest has special needs, and I can say he has taught me the most about advocacy, patience and understanding needs without spoken words.

Submitted by Erin Houston, Seneca Youth Partner, in September 2021

By Karen Nikos-Rose

A trek of 4,000 miles between Alaska and Pennsylvania is a long trip even in three planes with today’s technology, observed Lauren Peters, days after the University of California, Davis, doctoral student and her family made that journey. She and her two sons were returning her grandmother’s aunt to her native St. Paul Island, on the Bering Sea, after her disinterment at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

According to UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education–Human Services instructor May Orr, supervisors are the most critical factor in the transfer of learning for the staff and teams they lead. Beginning this fall, UC Davis Human Services is rolling out a new tool to help its training participants transfer what they’ve learned in class into practice at their organizations. To support the goal of increasing learning and skill development, each course offered through a county contract will now include a Supervisor Transfer of Learning (TOL) Tip Sheet. 

This past July saw UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education—Human Services host the 16th National Tribal TANF Institute. The virtual conference hosted 230 participants from 44 tribal and governmental agencies from across the U.S.  and featured an expanded schedule, with 40 workshop options. This year’s theme was “Empowering Our Spirits”, centering the importance of cultural values to provide the basis for healing, rejuvenation and growth.

Emmy Werner and Ruth Smith, Resiliency research pioneers, define Resilience as “In the context of exposure to significant adversity, whether psychological, environmental or both, resilience is both the capacity of individuals to navigate their way to health-sustaining resources, including opportunities to experience feelings of wellbeing, and a condition of the individual’s family, community and culture to provide these health resources and experience in culturally meaningful ways" (Ungar, 2008).

By Danielle Martinez, Parent Partner, San Diego Center for Children, Wrap Works

When my son was young and in the process of being diagnosed, I was trying to figure out what to do to help my son and keep him in public school. I had questions like “What does this diagnosis mean? And will he be ok?”

By Manpreet Singh, Program Analyst, Family Centered Practice Unit, California Department of Social Services

Nearly 550 child welfare professionals from across the state participated in a two-day event aimed at improving the safety and well-being of tens of thousands of vulnerable children and families. Hosted by the Northern Academy at UC Davis Human Services, the California Safety Organized Practice Conference took place on June 15-16, 2021, as a free virtual event.

Despite the challenges that COVID-19 brought, the Partnerships for Well-Being Institute successfully wrapped up its final day as a virtual conference on June 3, 2021. Though it was initially scheduled as a three-day in-person conference in June 2020, UC Davis Human Services quickly pivoted and revamped it into a three-part series of one-day virtual conferences in June 2020, December 2020 and June 2021. More than 1,600 people attended at least one of the virtual Institutes, breaking the record for attendance at any past conference.

Hosted by the California Department of Social Services and the Resource Center for Family-Focused Practice at UC Davis Human Services, this free webinar will walk participants through County Fiscal Letter (CFL) 20/21-94 entitled Updated Comprehensive Claiming Instructions for the Wraparound Program. Content to be covered includes claiming Wraparound expenses via the County Expense Claim (CEC) and County Assistance Claim (CA-800) processes.

On June 3, 2021, the Partnerships for Well-Being Institute honored individuals and organizations who embody the Integrated Core Practice Model and are making a profound impact on the lives of children and families in California. We are pleased to announce the 20/21 award winners and share their nomination videos.

Parent Partners Award Winners 
Cheryl Barrett - Contra Costa County, Children and Family Services
James Thyssen - Stanford Sierra Youth and Families

As COVID-19 vaccinations become more readily available, it may seem like we are close to the end of the pandemic, but the race is not over yet. Many Americans are wary of the vaccine, and as vaccine hesitancy persists, the progress toward herd immunity slows.

As the country fights back against the spread of COVID-19, UC Davis has done its most to protect its students and staff from rising case numbers. In fact, its partnership with the City of Davis, known as Healthy Davis Together, aims to expand its shield from the UC Davis campus to the Davis community as a whole. By providing free rapid testing, contact tracing, isolation housing and masks, this initiative has successfully slowed the spread of COVID-19 in Davis by identifying and containing infection before it can spread.

Knowing how to engage people in the learning process—particularly in a virtual environment—is more important than ever before. And while some training techniques work for both in-person and remote-learning settings, many others do not transition well in a virtual learning environment.

There's no doubt that the shift from physical to virtual operations over the past year has been a challenge, but it has also enabled our services to become more accessible and inclusive.

2020 has seen much turmoil and the cancellation or postponement of many time-honored traditions. One such tradition, the National Tribal TANF Institute hosted by UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education - Human Services, was not only postponed two months to late September, but also, for the first time in its 15-year history, moved to a virtual platform. 

In various contexts, we all heard, and may have even experienced, the proverb “It takes a village…”. I can’t think of a child and family serving community that embodies this sentiment more that California Wraparound. It takes a village to heal and uplift the children and families we serve, and likewise, it takes a village to support our Wraparound community.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused a sudden and overwhelming shift in the way we do business—providing classroom-based instruction, county-based training, state and national conferences, one-on-one coaching and other workforce development services to human services professionals throughout California and across the nation—but it did not shift our mission of changing practice and transforming lives.

Let’s keep the celebration going! Last week, we featured seven outstanding Northern California child welfare social workers. This week, we are bringing you nine more to cap off our participation in and support of National Child Welfare Workforce Institute's Child Welfare Workforce Recognition Month. 

Human Services at UC Davis was proud to provide this webinar series every Friday in August 2020 for Human Services leaders and staff as the kickoff to many additional course offerings that support anti-racist and culturally responsive practice in child welfare, eligibility, Wraparound and other Human Services programs. We were encouraged by the participation of our Human Services community with nearly 3500 total registrations for the webinar series.

By Nancy Hafer, Program Director, Human Services

Colleagues and friends,

 In the Spring of 2019 the Resource Center for Family-Focused Practice, in partnership with the California Department of Social Services, completed a national review of High-Fidelity Wraparound Service practices across the United States and published results in the document “Recommendation for HF Wraparound Services in California,” reviewing key findings of this project.

Sandra remarked after Wraparound came into her family’s life.

By Timothy Hunter, Family Advocate with the Wraparound program, Uplift Family Services, Sacramento

Hi! We are Yolanda King and Jeannette Thomas and we are Parent Partners with Aspiranet Wraparound. We have been Parent Partners for almost 9 years and would like to tell you about our Parent Café.  We have been doing Parent Café at our office for the past year following training on implementation for our families.

Leading the workforce back to the workplace is a monumental leadership task.  COVID-19 has created, and will continue to present, remarkable challenges. Responsibilities of keeping staff physically safe while also attending to psychological and social issues triggered by this pandemic are novel and complex. 

On June 8, clinical and organizational psychologist Beth Cohen presented a follow-up webinar on this topic to human services professionals across California.

Our names are Kristin and Daisy, and we began to receive services from Wraparound at the ages of 17 and 15 years old. Wraparound had a big impact in our lives, and we hope that sharing our experience with others will shed light on the great resources and services this program offers. Before our family was introduced to Wraparound services, we were both placed in foster care, resulting in constant placement changes. After a year of moving from home to home, we both were granted to go and live with our older sister Enedina.

By Andrea Sebreros

When the International Association of Social Workers developed the following definition for social workers, we think they had our own Lynne Jones in mind.

“Social work is a practice-based profession and an academic discipline that promotes social change and development, social cohesion, and the empowerment and liberation of people. Principles of social justice, human rights, collective responsibility and respect for diversities are central to social work.”

The California Wraparound Hubs are regional groups that share information, collaborative practices, and discuss topics relevant to Wraparound. There are currently three Hubs: Northern, Southern and Central. The Hubs meet quarterly, in person and via virtual platform. They are hosted by local Wraparound providers and the meeting locations regularly change. Each Hub sets its own agenda, typically providing significant time for county updates, sharing and networking, as well as inviting members to provide more in-depth presentations on relevant topics.

By Susan Brooks, Department Chair, Human Services at UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education

By Jason Borucki, Human Services at UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education

The Governor’s Budget for fiscal year 2020-2021 highlights plans to continue to combat homelessness, which remains a statewide concern. The budget lays out funding and delegates significant responsibility to state and local governments.

The Linkages Project was implemented by pioneer counties with the direction and support of CDSS and the California Center for Research on Women and Children in 2000. This project represented a collaborative approach between child welfare and CalWORKs staff in serving families, with a focus on prevention prior to intervention. Fast forwarding twenty years later, the philosophy of Linkages remains, and has impacted culture and service delivery across the field of human services.

In 2019, California Governor Gavin Newson appointed pediatrician Nadine Burke Harris as California’s first-ever Surgeon General. A UC Davis School of Medicine graduate in 2001, Burke Harris is well known for her role in spreading awareness to all healthcare providers about Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and toxic stress.

Tiffany Salcido has more than 15 years of experience in the field of human services and social services programs. Passionate about empowering others, her experience spans various roles and programs, including clerical/reception, CalWORKs, CalFresh, Medi-Cal, Foster Care, Aid to Adoptions, Kin-GAP, CAPI, Linkages, and Welfare to Work. Salcido has also served as a staff development trainer, providing induction training and continuing education for eligibility, the C-IV automated system, and Welfare to Work programs.

In May the UC Davis Human Services Evaluation team participated in the Sonoma QMAG (short for Quality Management Advisory Group) biannual meeting for the fourth consecutive year. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, in lieu of convening at the North Bay Regional Center in Sonoma County as originally planned, over 30 participants attended the meeting virtually.

UC Davis Human Services’ Resource Center for Family-Focused Practice team was proud to partner with the California Department of Social Services and many contributing partners on the development of this timely and relevant Playbook, Flexible Foster Care Rated During COVID-19: A Playbook for Supporting Child and Youth Permanency through a Wraparound-Informed Approach Operationalizing All County Letter 20-44.

By now, some of us are beginning to adjust to the “new normal” at work. But that doesn’t make our jobs any easier. In an effort to help county human services professionals address issues and challenges related to the COVID-19 health crisis, we’ve developed three new courses that’ we’re offering as free webinars:

In this relevant (and relatable) news story, CBS News' Jericka Duncan shares the accounts of some child welfare workers who recorded video diaries of the lengths they must go to meet with children and families while observing health precautions during the COVID-19 health crisis.

Watch the video and consider sharing it with your colleagues—there maybe a variety of ways to use this video with your staff and community.

Designed for resource parents who are caring for school-aged children and youth, this webinar provides a timely discussion with a panel of experts on topics, including:

Like so many of you, our Human Services team has undergone a huge shift in the way we approach our work in response to the challenges presented by COVID-19. Many on our team are working from home for the first time and are learning quickly how to remain impactful remotely, while others are seasoned veterans at remote work and are sharing their wisdom freely.

Drs. John Lyons and April Fernando recently recorded a webinar on the use of the CANS and ANSA in non-face-to-face modalities (e.g., telephone). Texas was kind enough to let the Praed Foundation share it with us. Download the webinar for free at the link below:

On April 1 and 2 we hosted a series of webinars for Human Services staff and leaders focused on navigating the often-overlooked psychosocial impacts of a crisis in general, and with COVID-19 in particular. The trauma-informed and leadership-focused webinars examine some of the atypical leadership behaviors required during these challenging times, as well as trauma-informed leadership practices that can help reduce workforce burnout and stress.

World-renowned expert in child health and well-being and principal of the Neurosequential Network Dr. Bruce Perry, M.D., Ph.D., has produced a series of short videos to help professionals (and parents) better understand and navigate the impacts of the COVID-19 global health crisis—on themselves, their families and the vulnerable families they serve.

To access these videos, as well as other helpful resources from Dr. Perry, visit this site.

In an effort to provide guidance on how to continue our work during this time of physical distancing, the NCCD Children’s Research Center has published a number of resource materials. Below you’ll find links to these documents, which include comprehensive, step-by-step tools and information that we hope social workers and supervisors will find valuable:

By Susan Brooks, Director of Human Services, UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education

As we celebrate Reaching Out's 15th year of production, we couldn't help but fall into a little reflection. 

Over these many but quickly moving years, each issue of Reaching Out has traditionally highlighted one central topic area. As we searched for one common thread across our many issues, we kept coming back to one that is still a large, important, and very tricky topic to this day: implementation.

By Laurie Ellington

When it comes to implementing a new strategy or practice within an organization, the organizational culture will have a massive say in whether implementation succeeds or fails. The challenge for leaders, then, is as stubborn and persistent as it is natural: Culture will not change without resistance.

By Alison Book, Director, Northern Academy

Small counties face unique challenges when implementing new mandates or practices in child welfare, including limited staff, funding and other resources. Implementation science tells us that successful implementation requires attention to executive (leadership level), cross-system and day-to-day functions—and leaders in small agencies are frequently, and sometimes solely, responsible for attending to all of these. 

By Renée Boothroyd, Scientist and Senior Implementation Specialist, Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Getting to outcomes is not as simple as selecting an effective practice model or strategy (“the WHAT”). The process of supporting use of any practice model or strategy (“the HOW”) is just as, if not more important, for creating supportive systems and improving outcomes. 

In 2019, as part of the Northern Academy's CQI Thought Takeaways video series, Jami Ledoux from Casey Family Programs talked about implementing CQI by transforming the culture that informs the focus within that system. This article is adapted from her presentation, which is available here.

Safety organized practice (SOP) implementation in California began in the northern region in 2008. Over the past decade, this partnership-based approach to engaging children and families and their networks of support has been adopted by many counties across the state, with counties currently at various stages of implementation.

In 2012, The Northern Academy at UC Davis developed a coaching model to support the implementation of Safety Organized Practice (SOP) within their service area. Since that time, the use of coaching has spread across the region, state and country; however, limited information has been available regarding coaching's efficacy for SOP implementation, as well as the particular elements of any coaching model that are linked to any gains.

Webinar recorded on January 22, 2020

That’s what Kristen, then a foster mom, told the social worker about Katie when things in the home seemed overwhelming. Katie, now 5 ½, came to them after others couldn’t manage or meet her needs, but Kristen’s family made a commitment to make things work. But they soon realized they needed help.

On October 30, 2019, the California Department of Social Services alongside Casey Family Programs and UC Davis Human Services’ Northern Academy hosted an End of Title IV-E Waiver Celebration for all wavier counties, which highlighted all the phenomenal work provided to the children and families served during the California Well-Being Project.

The Hubs have been active the past several months! Below we provide updates on the key focus areas of the Hub meetings and provide general updates. If you would like more detailed meeting minutes from a specific Hub meeting please email Nancy Hafer nshafer@ucdavis.edu, or the chairs of each Hub:

By Nancy Hafer, Program Director, Human Services

Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher, wisely said, “Change is the only constant in life.” And, as many of you are aware, change is something the Resource Center for Family-Focused practice has embraced in the last few months. We are proud to be celebrating our 20th anniversary this summer, and in honor of that, we renew our commitment to Wraparound and its 10 principles.  

In the field of child welfare, we have typically used the term “visitation” to refer to time between children or youth placed in foster care and their parent or other caregiver from whom they were removed. While the goal of time between the child and parent is multifaceted, the primary goal is to support the child’s needs and promote a healthy, age-appropriate relationship between parent and child with support from a parent coach.

By Erica Jacquez, Youth Partner, Apriranet Kern County

The Hubs have been active the past several months! Below we provide updates on the key focus areas of the Hub meetings and provide general updates. As those of you who attend the Hub can attest, the Hub is a wonderful place to connect with colleagues and share the ups and downs of Wraparound work.

While every participant shares agency updates, this newsletter will only share updates that have regional impact.

In between the 2018 and 2020 Coaching Conference, the Northern Academy presented a five-part coaching webinar series exploring several of the hottest trends in coaching.

Access the recorded webinars in their entirety by visiting our YouTube page.

Or link to individual webinar recordings here: