Children, Youth and Families

To help families achieve positive outcomes, child welfare systems throughout the country are strengthening their approaches to practice. Many States choose to do this using a new or renewed child welfare practice model. Simply stated, practice models are the basic principles and approaches that guide an agency’s work and provide a framework for an organization’s overall approach to child welfare work—from vision through outcomes—and the specifics in between.

The National Child Welfare Resource Center for Organizational Improvement's Guide for Developing and Implementing Child Welfare Practice Models offers an overall framework for developing, implementing, and/or strengthening a child welfare practice model; cites specific examples from the field; and provides additional information to help child welfare agencies and their partners make informed choices in selecting their approaches to this important work. It provides guidance on developing a practice model, and details steps to take through each stage of implementation, including a discussion of 14 specific implementation drivers. The Guide includes worksheets to help agencies articulate practice model principles, identify frontline practice skills, and assess readiness, and lists resources for ongoing support.

"A practice model really defines how you do business every day; it defines core values that inform how you interact with children and families. It also gives you a common and accepted set of principles and goals as you work with providers and other outside partners." - Cheryl Williams, Foster Care Program Manager, Richmond, Virginia, Department of Social Services

Download the Guide here!

All of Maine's children will be in quality learning environments.

Maine Roads to Quality is the Early Care and Education Career Development Center for Maine. Established in 1999 by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, its purpose is to promote and support professionalism in the early care and education field.

In 2006, nearly 10,000 people in the state worked in the early care and education field, but only about 25 percent held a credential in early childhood education or a related field. Maine Roads to Quality works in partnership with Maine's Resource Development Centers as well as Maine's Higher Education System to promote professional development opportunities throughout the state.

The Maine Roads Scholarship Program improves access to higher education and removes financial barriers by providing scholarships to support child care and early education providers in Maine pursuing a Child Development Associate (CDA) credential, an Associate's degree, a Bachelor's degree, or a Master's degree (including Wheelock College, Portland site).

The Maine Roads Accreditation Facilitation Project provides information, support and technical assistance to early care and education sites seeking accreditation through the National Association for Family Child Care Providers, the National Association for the Education of Young Children (for center-based programs), or the Council on Accreditation (for school-age programs).

Project Goals

The Northeast and Caribbean Implementation Center (NCIC) is one of five regionally-focused Child Welfare Implementation Centers currently in the Children’s Bureau Training & Technical Assistance Network. We engage with State and Tribal child welfare agencies in Regions 1 & 2 (New England States, New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands) to provide resources and support aimed at improving the quality and effectiveness of child welfare services for children, youth and families. The NCIC Team works with child welfare leaders and managers to:

• enhance agency and tribal capacity to effectively implement and sustain systemic change;
• facilitate communication and peer-to-peer networking;
• contribute knowledge about effective implementation in the child welfare field; and
• support intensive implementation projects.

Current NCIC State and Tribal Projects: