National Child Welfare Resource Center for Youth Development

Who We Are

The National Child Welfare Resource Center for Youth Development (NCWRCYD) increases the capacity and resources of States and Tribes to help youth in care meet the goals of safety, permanence, and well-being. The Center can help States incorporate youth into all areas of programs and services, implement services that address legislative requirements, and prepare for Child and Family Services Review (CFSR) and Program Improvement Plan (PIP) development and implementation. The Center bases its technical assistance and training around four core principles: youth development, collaboration, cultural competence, and permanent connections.

How We Can Help

Center staff can provide States with the following assistance in their CFSRs:

Promoting Stakeholder Involvement
NCWRCYD has worked successfully with both States and Tribes to bring stakeholders together in an environment that promotes constructive dialogue. NCWRCYD can:

Facilitate diverse groups for strategic planning, collaboration, and consensus building.
Work with States to draw youth into all three stages of the CFSR in order to benefit from their unique contributions and perspectives.
Work with States to engage Tribes as stakeholders.
Facilitate planning sessions during development, implementation, and evaluation of the PIP.
Evaluate Statewide Assessments, final CFSR reports, and PIPs with a dual focus on improving services for youth and highlighting opportunities to engage youth in planning and implementation.
Work with States and Tribes to recognize barriers and identify solutions for successful inclusion of youth and families in case planning and services.

Technical Assistance and Training
The Center facilitates systemic change by providing technical assistance (TA) prior to and concurrent with training activities. TA sessions are designed to assist program and administrative staff with implementing and managing necessary change.

Technical assistance activities may include:

Work groups and committees
Strategic planning sessions (initial and ongoing)
Action planning sessions

The NCWRCYD offers a variety of trainings for states, tribes and other providers that focus on both organizational and skill development. The Center can modify training to meet an organization's needs in any of the following areas:

Positive Youth Development
Youth/Adult Partnership Building
Permanency Planning
Cultural Diversity
Collaboration
Strength-Based Assessment and Case Planning
Ethnographic Interviewing
Conflict Resolution
Family Group Decision Making
Youth Leadership Development
Life Skills Assessment and Transition Planning
Life Skills Instruction Preparation
Permanency Planning for Adolescents
Permanency and Concurrent Planning
Working with Native American Youth
Preparing Youth for Transition
Foster and Adoptive Parent Training
Managing Aggressive Behavior
Residential Child Care Programming
Working with Runaway and Homeless Youth

Information Services
NCWRCYD regularly gathers, analyzes, and disseminates information on services and practices relevant to youth. NCWRCYD communicates with State Independent Living Coordinators and other professionals to stay current with trends, programs and policies. Resources include:

A Web site providing the most current information on Federal, State, and Tribal policies and practices affecting youth and their families.
Web-based, State-specific fact sheets highlighting CFSR, PIP, and Chafee activities.
Newsletters and publications containing best practices and current trends in youth work, published with collaboration from nationally recognized leaders in the field of child welfare.

For More Information

Address:	4502 East 41 st Street Building 4W Tulsa, OK 74135
Phone:	(918) 660-3700
Fax:	(918) 660-3737
E-Mail:	pcorreia@ou.edu
Web site:	http://www.nrcys.ou.edu/nrcyd/
Contact:	Peter R. Correia III, Director

Return to the Children's Bureau Training and Technical Assistance Network