Child Welfare

Child Welfare Consulting

A4O has a cadre of subject matter experts with lived-experience within child welfare, who deliver strategic consulting services and technical assistance to organizations. We are committed to systematic improvements for  both children & families and the workforce who delivers child welfare services in our communities.  Our focus is on safety, permanency, and well-being and strengthening the connections for children with their families and within their communities.  We also are committed to cultivating a trauma-responsive system within child welfare organizations.  We utilize research related to Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE’s), social determinants of health, and secondary traumatic workforce stress to build trauma-responsive organizations that support both their clients and their workforce. 

Leadership Development & Consulting Services

Technical Assistance Consultant Team

There is also an enhanced technical assistance consultant team that works both onsite and virtually with counties to improve child welfare practices.  The enhanced technical assistance team is here to serve your organizations individual needs.  We partner with counties who desire to improve safety, permanence, and wellbeing outcomes, whether the county is proactively shifting practice or through a performance development plan or corrective action plan with DHHS. We work closely with DHHS consultants and leadership to collaborate to improve safety, permanence, and well-being for children & families in NC.  Our consultants do this through a variety of methodologies including: honing in on safety practices, applying policy to decision-making and practice, enhancing efficiencies in work processes, assess capacity and resources,  leadership and supervision coaching, program development and realignment, training, and implementing a continuous quality improvement that drives improvement. All of these strategies are focused on improving organizational, fiscal, and child & family outcomes.

 

Our team has vast knowledge of the child welfare performance measures, data and trend analysis, the Child & Family Services Review, and development of a continuous quality improvement system that engages the most essential tool in child welfare – the workforce.  We work in partnership and assist in liaising with DHHS consultants to get to the root of the child welfare strengths and challenges in the organization. We believe in building the knowledge and practice of the staff, supervisors, managers, and executive leadership through communication, strategic focus on the mission, and implementation of strategies to build stronger, safer communities. A4O partners with the REAL Academy, who delivers research-based simulation training within the topic areas through various delivery methods, including in person, synchronous, and via a learning management system.  Our consultant team develops and delivers training to enhance child welfare practice, supervision, leadership development & coaching, and a diverse array of other topics. A4O utilizes collaborative partnerships to deliver a continuum of services seamlessly to the customer, based on your specific needs.  We know that it takes all of us to enhance the child welfare system and that we all have the same end goal in mind – strong, safe, healthy children and families.