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Organizational Capabilities Statement
Contents
National Resource Center for Child Protective Services (NRCCPS)
Expert Testimony and Liability Risk Management
Governmental and Organizational Relations
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.
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.
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
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
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
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:
- 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
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
We
provide consultation, training and technical assistance to
child welfare agencies faced with the constant challenges
of serving and protecting children and families.
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