Beginning in October 2019 and continuing into March 2020, Fundamentals (formerly the Northern California Program Improvement Practicum) provides a series of day-long consultation sessions to a cohort of child welfare directors, managers and senior analysts who are interested in applying continuous quality improvement, data analysis, and implementation science strategies toward improving programs that affect the outcomes of children and families in care.
Collaborate with National Experts
Participants who are selected for this opportunity will benefit from the expertise and guidance of nationally recognized researchers and implementation scientists from across the country. Because of the limited cohort size, participants will enjoy close access to these same subject matter experts throughout the course of the practicum.
The scheduled dates are as follows:
- October 22, 2019
- November 22, 2019
- January 21, 2020
- February 13, 2020
- March 18, 2020
Application Process
To maximize this unique collaborative learning opportunity, the cohort size will be limited by an application process. Interested applicants will provide a brief description noting how this program may be beneficial on an individual and organizational level. Applicants will also be asked to provide three permanency outcomes they are interested in addressing within their county. To apply, please fill out and submit the online application form.
Applying CQI, Implementation Science and Data Analysis to Address Child Welfare Outcome/Practice Challenges
This offering of the series will focus on addressing child welfare outcome/practice challenges common to all participants, and developing rigorous evidence to support participants as they progress through each stage of the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle. This will include developing and planning the implementation of a county-specific strategy informed by specific and sound observations about an outcome that may need improvement. The series will then use implementation science principles to develop implementation strategies for their CQI plan. By the end of the series, participants from each county will have a clear problem statement, a well-developed hypothesis that connects to a planned intervention or change in operations, and an implementation strategy that includes ongoing monitoring of both implementation and outcomes.
Fundamentals Series Format
Fundamentals will be delivered through a series of five day-long consultation sessions. Registered participants will be expected to attend each session, held at UC Davis One Capitol Mall location in Sacramento, and to attend a pre-session webinar in advance of the first session on June 5, 2018. In addition, selected participants will be expected to complete assignments in between sessions, both on their own and in consultation with instructors. These assignments could include such tasks as developing some basic analyses using course materials, interpreting the results, and in some cases collecting data on their own. Participants should expect to spend about three hours per month on autonomous work.