A Service of the Children’s Bureau, a Member of the T/TA Network

1. A Service of the Children’s Bureau, a Member of the T/TA Network Effective Dissemination of Child Welfare Workforce Knowledge & Information to the Field: A 5-stage Planning & Implementation Process Sara Munson, MSW National Dissemination Coordinator National Child Welfare Workforce Institute

2. NCWWI Purpose To build the capacity of the nation’s child welfare workforce and improve outcomes for children, youth and families through activities that support the development of child welfare leaders. www.ncwwi.org A Service of the Children’s Bureau, a Member of the T/TA Network

3. NCWWI Vision A committed, competent and high performing child welfare workforce that is: skilled at delivering effective and promising practices that improve outcomes for children, youth and families; strengthened by professional education; sustained through leadership development; and supported by organizational practices that mirror systems of care principles. www.ncwwi.org A Service of the Children’s Bureau, a Member of the T/TA Network

4. NCWWI Goals Identify and deliver child welfare leadership training for middle managers and supervisors. Facilitate BSW and MSW traineeships. Engage national peer networks. Support strategic dissemination of effective and promising workforce practices. Advance knowledge through collaboration and evaluation. www.ncwwi.org A Service of the Children’s Bureau, a Member of the T/TA Network

5. Learning, Leading, Changing Workforce development activities promote Learning: Fostering continuous learning that is interactive, reflective and relevant Leading: Cultivating diverse leadership at multiple levels within child welfare agencies Changing: Supporting change through workforce development and organizational capacity building www.ncwwi.org A Service of the Children’s Bureau, a Member of the T/TA Network

6. NCWWI Program Components • Executive Steering Committee • National Advisory Committee • Knowledge Assessment and Management (KAM) • Leadership Academies • Middle Managers (LAMM) • Supervisors (LAS) • Peer Networks • BSW and MSW Traineeships • Dissemination • Evaluation www.ncwwi.org A Service of the Children’s Bureau, a Member of the T/TA Network

7. NCWWI Project Partners University at Albany Mary McCarthy & Katharine Briar-Lawson Co-Principal Investigators University of Maryland Nancy Dickinson Project Director University of Iowa Miriam Landsman University of Denver Cathryn Potter University of Southern Maine Freda Bernotavicz Michigan State University Gary Anderson University of Michigan Kathleen Faller Fordham UniversityVirginia StrandNational Indian Child Welfare Association Terry Cross Melissa ClydePortland State University Katharine CahnChildren’s Bureau/ACF/DHHS Randi Walters Federal Project Officer www.ncwwi.org A Service of the Children’s Bureau, a Member of the T/TA Network

8. NCWWI Dissemination Goal Strengthen the child welfare workforce by effectively identifying, managing, synthesizing & broadly disseminating critical knowledge and information regarding best and promising workforce and leadership policies and practices Function National repository & communicator www.ncwwi.org A Service of the Children’s Bureau, a Member of the T/TA Network

9. Dissemination Planning & Implementation: 5 Stages www.ncwwi.org A Service of the Children’s Bureau, a Member of the T/TA Network

10. Stages 1 & 2: 2009 Feedback from Project Partners Feedback from National Advisory Committee Literature Review National Expert Interviews National Needs Assessment Survey www.ncwwi.org A Service of the Children’s Bureau, a Member of the T/TA Network

11. Stage 1: Targeted Feedback • Feedback from Project Partners • Conference Calls • Staff Meeting • Feedback from National Advisory Committee • Annual Meeting • Dissemination Workgroup Conference Calls www.ncwwi.org A Service of the Children’s Bureau, a Member of the T/TA Network

12. Stage 2: Literature Review • Examined 60+ resources: • Behavioral science, business marketing, child welfare, communications, disability services, education, health care, mental health, social work, and substance abuse • Explored 4 theoretical models: • Diffusion; Social Marketing; Knowledge Transfer & Exchange; Implementation Science www.ncwwi.org A Service of the Children’s Bureau, a Member of the T/TA Network

13. Literature Review: 14 Dissemination Challenges Traditional dissemination planning, products and activities often Rely on incorrect assumptions about definition/purpose; Overlook strategic dissemination planning; Leave out stakeholder input; Are not tailored to match needs of various audiences; Use overly academic/jargon-filled language; Use unappealing/inaccessible product formats; Employ communication methods that fail to reach the field; Are focused on one single study or project; and, Fail to lay out practical implications or realistic recommendations. www.ncwwi.org A Service of the Children’s Bureau, a Member of the T/TA Network

14. Literature Review: 14 Dissemination Challenges Also, practitioners, administrators & policy-makers Do not have the time, interest or training to locate, review, synthesize & assess information quality or implications; and, View the research-context as distinct from the "real-world" experience of practice and policy. And, finally, there is An array of fugitive literature not communicated to the field; Little accounting of information from professional standards, convening of best practice panels, and other documents (unpublished manuscripts, dissertations, agency reports, conference proceedings, newsletters); and, No use of consistent definitions and evaluative tools, necessary for meta-analyses or syntheses. www.ncwwi.org A Service of the Children’s Bureau, a Member of the T/TA Network

15. Literature Review: Synergy among Components www.ncwwi.org A Service of the Children’s Bureau, a Member of the T/TA Network

16. Literature Review: Top 10 Take-Away Messages High quality, comprehensive dissemination plans: Are based on analysis and understanding of audience needs and interests. Include information users identify as important, and information users may not know to request but are likely to need. Incorporate kinds/levels of information into preferred forms/language Use varied methods (written resources, electronic media, face-to-face contact). Include proactive AND reactive dissemination channels. Recognize and provide for the "natural flow" of diffusion and change. Draw upon existing resources/relationships/networks while building new ones. Include effective quality control mechanisms to ensure that information is accurate, relevant, and representative. Incorporate consistent evaluation efforts to facilitate structured, formalized feedback from audience members, and make adjustments where necessary. Take into account innovation characteristics that support adoption and implementation, and establish linkages to other resources (training, technical assistance, etc.) to encourage adoption of the new knowledge/information www.ncwwi.org A Service of the Children’s Bureau, a Member of the T/TA Network

17. Stage 2: National Expert Interviews • Solicited feedback from members of NCWWI National Advisory Committee & Dissemination Workgroup, as well as other national experts engaged in CW research, policy development, training and technical assistance: • What workforce-specific knowledge/information do you/the field need? • What are you inundated with? • How do you/the field typically receive/access workforce knowledge/information? • What is the best way to reach you/the field with workforce knowledge/information? • Are there specific projects you would like us to undertake? www.ncwwi.org A Service of the Children’s Bureau, a Member of the T/TA Network

18. National Expert Interviews: Feedback 14 Topics of interest: Caseload/Workload; Cultural Responsiveness; Data/Accountability; Workforce Demographics/Turnover; Education; Human Resources; Management/Leadership; Mentoring/Coaching; Organizational Climate/Culture; Recruitment; Retention; Screening & Selection; Supervision; Systems of Care; Training Do not feel inundated with workforce-specific knowledge/information; want NCWWI to be repository for and communicator/producer of workforce knowledge and information to the field Want NCWWI to (a) gather/organize/share workforce knowledge/information; (b) produce summaries, syntheses and other overviews in the 16 topical areas; (c) develop products that address different questions (56 posed) related to the topical areas Receive information via direct email updates/professional listervs Want to receive information through direct email updates, posting on T/TA listervs/peer networks and posting of materials on the NCWWI website www.ncwwi.org A Service of the Children’s Bureau, a Member of the T/TA Network

19. Stage 2: National Needs Assessment Survey • As of 12/09, 156 CW professionals completed the survey • Director, Commissioner, Administrator, Assistant or Deputy Director (48%); Supervisors (20%); Managers (18%) • Child Protective Services—Ongoing/Family Support (58%); Child Protective Services—Investigation/Intake/Emergency Response (52%); Prevention Services (40%); Foster Care/Kinship Care (38%); Adoption (32%); Post Adoption (25%) • In the field for >10 yrs (75%); 21-40 yrs in the field (36%) • In current position for <3 yrs (51%); 4-9 years (33%); 10-15 yrs (10%) www.ncwwi.org A Service of the Children’s Bureau, a Member of the T/TA Network

20. National Needs Assessment Survey: Findings • Seek out workforce information from the Internet (66%); receive it from conferences (46%), their supervisor or manager (46%), state organizations (38%), national organizations (35%), or trainings (33%). • “It would really be ideal to have the time to search and acquire as much information as we need to assist us in doing this job, but due to our low staff count, our workload is double, which doesn't leave much time for us to obtain the information we desire about supporting the workforce." www.ncwwi.org A Service of the Children’s Bureau, a Member of the T/TA Network

21. National Needs Assessment Survey: Findings • Topics: supervision (74%); leadership (74%); organizational climate & culture (63%); caseload & workload (56%); retention (54%); training (50%). • "Since being in this position, I have been focusing more on promising practices in service delivery and realize from taking this survey that I need to also focus more on promising practices related to the workforce. I would definitely use information if it was in an easy to review format with the ability to dig deeper on a particular topic." • Types: Summaries of best or promising practices (78%); summaries of policies (54%). • "I'd also like to see an easy link to the NRCs' resources in this area, with possibly a contact person and list of topics on which information is available. We need information fast and easily accessible and digestible." www.ncwwi.org A Service of the Children’s Bureau, a Member of the T/TA Network

22. National Needs Assessment Survey: Findings • Formats: Short 1-pg documents with bullets (51%); resource lists (50%). • “The enormous policy revisions and directives sent out in paper form or report are seldom read." • Communication Methods: Direct email updates (87%) or webinar/teleconference (51%). • "It would be helpful to have the information sent via email about best practices as the agency does not provide updated information and does not always have the 'latest' in workforce policy and practices." www.ncwwi.org A Service of the Children’s Bureau, a Member of the T/TA Network

23. Stage 3: 2010 In addition to some preliminary products, we also developed: Dissemination Briefing Paper Master Products List Master Distribution List www.ncwwi.org A Service of the Children’s Bureau, a Member of the T/TA Network

24. Five Dissemination Plan Components Dissemination Messages (Products) Dissemination Audience Dissemination Messengers Dissemination Channels Dissemination Evaluation www.ncwwi.org A Service of the Children’s Bureau, a Member of the T/TA Network

25. Messages/Products • Information Repository: Online Workforce & Leadership Resource Library • Houses accessible resources ONLY • Organized into 16 different topical areas: Caseload & Workload Mentoring/Coaching Cultural Responsiveness Organizational Climate & Culture Data & Accountability Recruitment, Screening & Selection Demographics & General Workforce Info. Retention Education Supervision Human Resources Systems of Care Implementation Science Training Management & Leadership Trauma-Informed Practice/ Secondary Trauma www.ncwwi.org A Service of the Children’s Bureau, a Member of the T/TA Network

26. Messages/Products cont. • Products: Format/Content www.ncwwi.org A Service of the Children’s Bureau, a Member of the T/TA Network

27. Messages/Products cont. • Products: Messaging • As brief and clear as possible; • No jargon; • Repetition; • Terms defined; • Low level of abstraction; • Analogies; • Concrete examples and experiences www.ncwwi.org A Service of the Children’s Bureau, a Member of the T/TA Network

28. Audience Primary target audience or end-users: Supervisors; Middle-managers and upper-level administrators; Leaders and Directors; University-agency educational or training partnerships; and, Children’s Bureau Training and Technical Assistance Network. Secondary audience includes: Frontline workforce; Policymakers (Local, State and Federal Decision-Makers); Research, policy, and advocacy organizations; Private provider associations and labor unions; Children and families served by child welfare; and, Media and the general public. www.ncwwi.org A Service of the Children’s Bureau, a Member of the T/TA Network

29. Messengers • NCWWI,10 Partners & National Advisory Committee • Master Distribution List of nearly 1000: • Listervs/Peer Networks • State Organizations & Training Academies • Tribal Contacts • Regional Contacts • Children's Bureau T/TA Network • National Organizations • Publications/Media Outlets • Federal Agency Contacts • State Agency Contacts (Adoption Managers, CFSP & CFSR/PIP Unit Leads, CPS Liaisons (SLOs), Foster Care Managers, Licensing Specialists, Training Directors) www.ncwwi.org A Service of the Children’s Bureau, a Member of the T/TA Network

30. Channels NCWWI website, and peer networking sites Direct & Mass emails; Organizational websites, publications & information portals; Conferences & meetings; Teleconferences, webinars & podcasts; External peer networks, including web groups/listervs; Journals, newspapers & other publications www.ncwwi.org A Service of the Children’s Bureau, a Member of the T/TA Network

31. Stages 4 & 5: 2010 and beyond Focused on: • Additional Product Creation • Expansion of Distribution List • Communication & Distribution of Products & Activities • Website Comments & National Needs Assessment Survey Feedback • Additional Requests & Recommendations from Project Partners & Advisory Committee www.ncwwi.org A Service of the Children’s Bureau, a Member of the T/TA Network

32. WWW.NCWWI.ORG A Service of the Children’s Bureau, a Member of the T/TA Network