February 2014Vol. 15, No. 2CB Capacity Building Services

The Children's Bureau (CB) continues to be committed to helping States, Tribes, and Territories build and enhance their capacities to improve child welfare services and achieve better outcomes for children, youth, and families. Just as many public child welfare agencies and their partners are striving to systematically collect information, learn from it, and implement strategies to improve, CB recently concluded an assessment of its capacity building services. This included listening to a variety of stakeholders and reviewing feedback directly from child welfare systems and technical assistance providers. Research literature, evaluation studies, and information gained from informal interviews, focus groups, and listening sessions with child welfare agency managers, professional associations, Federal staff, and service providers also informed CB's decision-making. Based on its assessment, CB has begun to pursue a course that it hopes will better meet the nation's training and technical assistance needs.

CB anticipates that from April 2014 through March 2015, its capacity building services will undergo a transition period as current technical assistance awards conclude, new Federal opportunities are competed, and newly funded projects get underway. The majority of CB-supported services will remain available during this transition, but child welfare professionals and jurisdictions that frequently request and receive training and technical assistance from the National Child Welfare Resource Centers may experience limitations on the type and scope of services available during this time.

CB looks forward to sharing more information about the future of its capacity building services in the coming months.