Child Welfare Technical Assistance Implementation Centers

Who We Are

The Childrens Bureau established five Regionally based Implementation Centers to expand the existing Training and Technical Assistance Network (T&TA Network) and enhance its ability to provide indepth and long-term consultation and support to States and Tribes. In addition to working with the T&TA Network, each Implementation Center will enter into formal partnerships with States and Tribes in its assigned geographic service area to execute projects focusing on the implementation of strategies intended to achieve sustainable, systemic change that results in greater safety, permanency, and well-being for children, youth, and families.

Background

The Implementation Centers were funded in FY 2009 to fill a gap in the Children’s Bureau’s existing Training and Technical Assistance (T&TA) Network. Despite the efforts of States and Tribes to adopt and institutionalize new principles and evidence-based practices into their child welfare systems, they often lack the resources necessary to implement comprehensive strategic plans, and the other members of the T&TA Network are limited in their ability to provide intensive, long-term TA. The Implementation Centers were created to expand the T&TA Network and enhance its ability to support States and Tribes.

Roles and Responsibilities

Guided by a systems of care approach and informed by the CFSRs, the Implementation Centers support and facilitate more formal communication and networking across State and Tribal child welfare systems to capitalize on existing expertise and promote cooperative problem-solving. In collaboration with members of the T&TA Network and CB, each Implementation Center works with States and Tribes in its geographic service area to address both specific problems and broad child welfare performance issues. Responsibilities include:

Performing Regional outreach to States and Tribal child welfare systems and engaging them in a formalized system of networking and problem-solving
Entering into mutually binding agreements with States and Tribes to execute multiyear implementation projects that will facilitate systemic change and build capacity for successful institutionalization of child welfare principles, policies, and effective or promising models of practice
Promoting peer-to-peer networking and mentoring through such initiatives as Regional workgroups, Regional meetings, peer-to-peer site visits, and conference calls
Providing intensive, coordinated, and individualized TA to State and Tribal partners to foster strengths-based change in organizational culture, administration, and direct practice with children and families
Collaborating with members of the T/TA Network to utilize their knowledge and expertise in assessment and effective child welfare practice
Collaborating with each other across geographic service areas to address common child welfare issues and to effectively evaluate this initiative as a whole

Implementation

Implementation will take place over two phases.

Phase I: Planning
During the first year of the project, each Implementation Center will convene at least one Regional forum in its geographic service area. Each forum will be a venue to inform States and Tribes about the T&TA Network's resources and the Implementation Center's activities, including networking opportunities and implementation projects. The meeting's principal objective will be to increase knowledge about the process of systems change and to promote solution-focused dialogue. Also during Phase I, each Implementation Center will initiate outreach to targeted States and Tribes and develop project proposal expectations and a selection process.

Phase II: Implementation
During the 54-month second phase, Implementation Centers will continue to engage States and Tribes and convene regional forums. The Implementation Centers will also provide coordinated and individualized TA that supports the implementation of strategies for systems change and execute peer-to-peer networking and implementation projects with selected States and Tribes. Implementation Center and project activities will be evaluated, and the findings will be disseminated.

For More Information

Northeast and Caribbean Child Welfare Implementation Center
Serving Regions I & II

Address:	University of Southern Maine Muskie School of Public Service Cutler Institute for Child and Family Policy P.O. Box 9300, 34 Bedford Street Portland, ME 04104-9300
Phone:	800.435.7543
Fax:	207.780.5817
Contact:	Susan Kanak, Director skanak@usm.maine.edu Kris Sahonchik, Co-Principal Investigator kriss@usm.maine.edu Susan Maciolek, Co-Principal Investigator suanamaciolek@comcast.net

Atlantic Coast Child Welfare Implementation Center
Serving Regions III & IV

Address:	University of Maryland, Baltimore School of Social Work 525 West Redwood Street Baltimore, MD 21201
Phone:	410.706.3609
Website:	http://www.family.umaryland.edu/
Contact:	Diane DePanfilis, Principal Investigator ddepanfilis@ssw.umaryland.edu Cathy Fisher, Project Director 410.706.1442 cfisher@ssw.umaryland.edu

Midwest Child Welfare Implementation Center
Serving Regions V & VII

Address:	University of Nebraska at Lincoln Center on Children, Families & the Law 206 S. 13th Street, Ste. 1000 Lincoln, NE 68588-0227
Phone:	402.472.3479
Contact:	Mark Ells, Director mells@unl.edu Michelle Graef, Associate Director mgraef@unlnotes.unl.edu

Mountains and Plains Child Welfare Implementation Center
Serving Regions VI & VIII

Address:	University of Texas at Arlington School of Social Work 211 S. Cooper Street Box 19129 Arlington, TX 76019
Contact:	Susan Ferrari, Project Coordinator 817.272.0634 sferrari@uta.edu Joan Rycraft, Principal Investigator 817.272.5225 rycraft@uta.edu

Western and Pacific Child Welfare Implementation Center
Serving Regions IX & X

Address:	American Institutes for Research 1000 Thomas Jefferson Street, NW Washington, DC 20007
Phone:	202.403.5000
Contact:	Frank Sesek, Project Director 202.557.8896 fsesek@air.org Regenia Hicks, Co-Principal Investigator rhicks@air.org Terry Cross, Co-Principal Investigator 503.222.4044 x112 terry@nicwa.org

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