CAPABILITIES
: Organizational Capabilities Statement
Contents
Organizational
Description
National
Resource Center for Child Protective Services (NRCCPS)
Expert
Testimony and Liability Risk Management
Research
and Evaluation
Technical
Assistance
Training
Programs
Governmental
and Organizational Relations
Organizational
Description
ACTION for Child Protection (ACTION) is
a private non-profit organization with its headquarters in
Charlotte, North Carolina and its executive office in Albuquerque,
New Mexico. ACTION is dedicated to the innovative and assertive
strengthening and improvement of child protection efforts
on behalf of children and families through a multi-disciplinary
approach that encourages public and private partnerships.
ACTION creates sensible solutions which increase the competence
of professionals in child welfare (child abuse and neglect,
foster care, adoptions, youth services), provides the tools
needed to enhance the effectiveness of agencies and organizations
involved in child protection, and increases community awareness
and understanding of child abuse and neglect and child protection.
Through expert services in technical assistance, training,
and evaluation, ACTION provides the resources that individuals,
groups, and planning and decision-making bodies need to improve
the response to maltreated children and their families.
ACTION provides a wide range of practical,
realistic professional services in all aspects of child welfare
services. These activities are strengthened by a national
network of professionals who share the mission for which
ACTION stands. ACTION approaches the difficult, often complex,
challenges faced in CPS by finding answers that can be used
in the real world within which child welfare agencies exist
and work.
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National Resource
Center for Child Protective Services
In October 2004, ACTION for Child Protection
was awarded a five-year cooperative agreement by the Children's
Bureau (CB), Administration on Children, Youth and Families,
Administration for Children for Children and Families, Department
of Health and Human Services to operate the National Resources
Center for Child Protective Services (NRCCPS). NRCCPS provides
expert consultaion, technical assistance and training to
States, local, Tribal and other publicaly administered or
supported child welfare agencies to build capacity to achieve
safety, permanency and well-being for children and families.
Prior to the NRCCPS cooperative agreement beginning in October
2004, ACTION for Child Protection jointly operated the National
Resource Center on Child Maltreatment (NRCCM) from October
1996 to October 2004. As a result, ACTION for Child Protection
has provided training, consultation, and technical assistance
to all the states in the nation and is recognized for its
expertise in child protective services.
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Expert
Testimony and Liability Risk Management
ACTION works with child welfare agencies
to examine program and practice operations with respect to
state-of-the-art program and practice and liability risk
management. ACTION staff performs CPS/child welfare expert
testimony and participates in planning defense strategies
in litigation against child welfare agencies. ACTION staff
has provided expert testimony in CPS cases. ACTION has provided
expert services in state child welfare consent degrees and
settlements. ACTION has been active in litigation involving
expert testimony in juvenile and criminal courts, consultation
regarding malpractice litigation, overseeing and implementing
consent decrees; and liability assessment of child protective
services. ACTION’s experience includes services related
to:
- Caseworker and supervisor negligence
- CPS decision-making
- Application of the state-of-the-art
- CPS personnel management
- Safety decision-making
- Safety in out-of-home placement
- In-home safety plans
- Provision of support services
- Failure to investigate
- Agency policy and procedure
- Child fatalities
- CPS infringement of civil rights
- Physical injury
- Reasonable efforts
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Research and Evaluation
ACTION specializes in research and evaluation
efforts that are directed toward improving services to children
and their families. Toward this end, ACTION analyzes policy
and laws; evaluates management practices and approaches;
assesses workload and operational designs; analyzes the quality
of professional decision-making; evaluates the effectiveness
of training programs; assesses potential malpractice and
liability; and examines barriers to quality service provision.
ACTION has conducted 7 national studies; completed research
and evaluation projected in 20 states and 7 counties. Research
and evaluation projects have included:
- Statewide program evaluation of child
protective services
- CPS policy and analysis and revision
- Analysis of laws, policies and procedures
for CPS decision-making
- Evaluation of CPS and community intervention
- Design, implementation, and evaluation
of demonstration projects to enhance risk assessment decision-making
- Design, implementation and evaluation
of a demonstration project related to child safety
- Evaluation of risk assessment implementation
- Evaluation of a demonstration project
to encourage self-referrals
- Assessment of policies and procedures
for the investigation of abuse in out-of-home care
- Survey and analysis of CPS competency
training programs and methods for competency assessment
- Evaluation of agency central intake
systems
- Needs Assessment to design a child welfare
system
- Survey on Decision-Making Policy and
Instruments
- Survey on Policies Related to Therapeutic
and Specialized Foster Care
- National State Needs Assessment Survey
- Program Evaluation of Crisis/Respite
Grant Services
- Study of CPS intervention effectiveness
- Recidivism Study
- Program Evaluation - Case Study: In
Home and Placement Cases
- Study of statewide central registry
system
- Child safety intervention audit
- Study concerned with consent decree
compliance
- Comparative study of recurrence and
non recurrence cases
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Technical
Assistance
ACTION's staff and professional associates
provide technical assistance and consultation in agency and
program administration, CPS casework intervention and community
collaboration. ACTION’s mutual approach to technical
assistance accesses the wisdom and experience of child welfare
agency personnel to analyze problems, generate alternative
solutions and create practical plans and strategies. ACTION
seeks to come up with things that work. ACTION’s technical
assistance objective is to bring realistic, down-to-earth
ideas and answers to customers. ACTION’s many years
of experience helps child welfare agencies solve problems
within the real world context of reduced resources and high
demand. ACTION has provided technical assistance to all 50
states, 12 tribes, 2 Canadian provinces and 5 national projects.
Examples of technical assistance are concerned with:
- Implementation of sexual abuse intervention
programs
- Decision-making related to child removal
and reunification
- Program development in child protective
services
- State-of-the-art literature reviews
- Development of parental self-referrals
- State-of-the-art reports
- Model Programs for the early identification
of vulnerable families and children
- CPS decision-making and decision-making
systems
- Design of risk assessment models
- Design of safety assessment and intervention
models
- CPS intake systems
- CPS investigation
- CPS case management
- Design and implementation of a Certification
Program for CPS workers
- Enhancing the competency of CPS staff
- Child welfare organizational development
and decision-making
- Integration of domestic violence and
CPS intervention
- CPS supervision competencies, models
and approaches
- CPS competency-based caseworker guides
and supervisory assessment methods
- Design of a child welfare supervisory
certification program
- Identifying and measuring core CPS
competencies
- CPS practice, decision-making and computer
software
- Development of self assessment system
for workload analysis and management
- Development of workload standards
- Development of multi-track CPS intervention
approaches
- Creation and implementation of service
delivery systems
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Training Programs
ACTION designs and delivers competency-based
curricula and training. ACTION specializes in CPS practice-related
training programs for supervisors and caseworkers. ACTION
possesses expertise to design training for all CPS practice
areas and related topics. ACTION offers its customers expert
competency-building services through key note addresses,
workshops, on-the-job learning, pre-service and in-service
programs, seminars and institutes for CPS staff, community
professionals, multidisciplinary audiences, countywide training
and statewide training. ACTION has provided training related
services to all 50 states,in Canada and internationally.
ACTION curriculum development and training delivery experience
includes specific projects related to:
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- Certification training
- CPS malpractice and liability workshops
- Competency-based core child protection
casework curricula
- CPS intake practice and decision-making
- CPS investigation – intervention
and decision-making
- Workshops on general interviewing and
specialized interviewing including interviewing children
- Workshops on computer utilization by
child abuse and neglect agencies
- Workshops on Assessment and Treatment
in CPS
- Intensive sexual abuse investigation
and use of videotape training for child protection staff
- CPS management/supervision training
program
- State-of-the-art presentations
- Sexual abuse intervention
- CPS supervisor clinical and practice
application
- Family-centered CPS curricula
- Family-centered services skill training
- Multi-disciplinary training on the
identification, investigation, adjudication and treatment
of child sexual abuse
- Competency building on-the-job training
program for CPS staff
- Supervisory competency assessment methods
- Training for CPS and mental health
personnel on the treatment of child abuse and neglect
- Development and delivery of advanced
CPS training modules on assessment and treatment of child
neglect, investigation of institutional abuse, and interviewing
strategies with resistant CPS clients
- Knowledge and Skills Workshop curriculum
and delivery of training for family support centers
- Standards of Practice
- Initial and Final Foster Home and Adoption
Standards of Practice
- Information collection in Child and
Adult Protection Services
- Risk assessment
- Safety intervention
- Case planning
- Change-based child protective services
- Assessment and safety management in
out-of-home placement
- Assessment of foster and adoptive parent
applicants
- Applying the Adoption and Safe Family
Act
- Integrating the use of protective capacities
into CPS intervention
- Youth services assessment and treatment
- Domestic violence and CPS
- Substance abuse and CPS
- Legal involvement in CPS
- Application of the Federal Child and
Family Service Review principles and outcomes in CPS
- Keynote address and workshops on child
protection treatment and the educator's role - State Child
Abuse Conference, Missouri Department of Social Services
- The use of criminal record checks
- CPS in military Family Advocacy intervention
- Clinical training for private professional
treatment staff
- CPS and law enforcement joint intervention
- Multi-disciplinary team building
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Governmental
and Organizational Relations
ACTION advocates for children and families
through work with Congress and the federal government and
collaboration with other national organizations. Activities
include: providing child abuse and neglect information to
relevant Congressional committees; review and critique of
proposed federal regulations and grant priorities; development
of formal organizational positions and testimony; participation
on advisory boards of child abuse demonstration and research
projects; presentations at and participation in related national
organizational meetings; and technical assistance in the
implementation of federal and state regulations. Examples
of activities in this area include:
- Presentations and resource provision
to state and federal legislative committees
- Participation in the national advocacy
organizations
- Membership in national child welfare
organizations
- Presentations at state and national
(federal) conferences
- Participation on advisory boards of
national organizations and projects
- Co-sponsor of government and private
organization meetings and conferences
- Presentation regarding training needs
for NCCAN funded sexual abuse demonstration projects upon
request of the Police Foundation
- Technical assistance to state and federal
projects and agencies and to national organizations
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