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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.

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.