The landscape of human services work is multifaceted and ever-changing. In this complex field, healthy organizational functioning is a necessity to facilitate intended outcomes for children, youth, families and vulnerable adults.
UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education – Human Services offers customized organizational development and capacity building services to human services agencies via the County Training Unit contract or consultation contract process. These contracts can be utilized for a wide variety of organizational needs, including but not limited to:
Capacity Building
Capacity building is the process by which people and organizations obtain, improve and retain the skills, knowledge, tools, equipment and other resources needed to do their jobs successfully. We offer customized consultation, technical assistance and other capacity-building services to help strengthen the skills of people and agencies to overcome barriers and achieve their goals. This includes support for organizational needs assessments, implementation of continuous quality improvement (CQI) processes, leadership development support and coaching, and other customized services to achieve a high-performance organization.
If you are interested in learning more about capacity building support for your agency, please fill out and submit a training and services request form.
Organizational Assessments
UC Davis Human Services can provide experts who are equipped to lead your organization in a holistic assessment of program delivery. Agencies may select a specific program, practice or outcome area for review or request a broader assessment of the organization. A comprehensive review of organizational practice, structure, systems and training requires examining all aspects of the agency and how these components work together to lead to positive outcomes for those being served. Following the organizational assessment process, counties may choose to access consultation and technical assistance to support implementation of recommendations.
Implementation Support
We partner with agencies to support implementation of best practices and state mandates, including the California Child Welfare Core Practice Model/Integrated Core Practice Model, Safety Organized Practice, visit coaching, child and family teaming, local programs or practices, and more. Services include helping counties develop functional implementation teams, craft implementation plans and attend to the four implementation domains required for successful, sustainable implementation (leadership and organizational factors, workforce development, using data for understanding and improvement, and strengthening partnerships for quality practice).
Research and Evaluation
Our research team offers expertise and experience in data collection and analysis, research and evaluation. The team possesses extensive experience working with nonprofit, community-based, policy/advocacy, governmental, nongovernmental and private sector stakeholders conducting innovative research and evaluation projects. We provide a coordinated approach for data collection and use it to foster data-driven decision-making for programs and services that strive to support children, families and vulnerable adults. Our team works to customize a research or evaluation design that ensures agencies obtain and understand the data, analysis and implications to make informed decisions and engage in continuous improvement. Learn more about our research services.
Coaching and Field-Based Training
UC Davis Human Services maintains a team of coaches and field trainers who are available to provide one-on-one training/instruction and/or coaching to human services professionals. Field trainers and coaches can provide targeted assistance to individual staff, teams or counties as they implement evidence-based programs, restructure county practice models, develop policy and procedure manuals and more.
Additionally, coaching is available to support county leaders—including supervisors, program managers, deputy directors or directors—as they seek to attain their next level of professional excellence; transition into new roles and responsibilities; or would like coaching to support a specific goal, challenge or area of focus. Coaching is also available for leadership teams at the executive, management or supervisory level. Learn more about our coaching services.
CSA/SIP and Cal-OAR
CSA/SIP: UC Davis Human Services offers consultation services to counties in need of assistance with the California Child and Family Services Review (C-CFSR) process. As part of the California Child Welfare system, the C-CFSR operates on the philosophy of continuous quality improvement, interagency partnerships, community involvement and public reporting of program outcomes. We can assist with any of the components of the C-CFSR process, including the County Self-Assessment (CSA) processes, development of the System Improvement Plans (SIPs) and SIP annual updates. Additionally, we have prepared extensive literature reviews to assist counties in the C-CFSR process and improvement of practices.
Cal-OAR: UC Davis Human Services is available to assist counties 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 can partner with your agency for all aspects of the CalOAR process, including the county CalWORKs self-assessment (Cal-CSA) and CalWORKs system improvement plan (Cal-SIP).
Safety Organized Practice (SOP) Fidelity Case Reviews
UC Davis Human Services leads the state in supporting implementation and evaluation of safety organized practice in child welfare. Our SOP case review process assesses a county’s current level of implementation and fidelity of safety organized practice with children and families across the child welfare spectrum, from screening/intake through permanency and adoptions. This structured assessment process involves case file reviews, staff interviews, fidelity assessment and development of detailed recommendations to take SOP to the next level.
Rate-Based Services
Learn More
To learn more about UC Davis Human Services organizational development services or to request assistance, please contact us.