May 2015Vol. 16, No. 4Capacity Building Collaborative Begins Outreach

The Children's Bureau recently announced the launch of a new technical assistance service delivery structure. The Child Welfare Capacity Building Collaborative (the Collaborative) serves jurisdictions that receive title IV-E or title IV-B funds, and it is comprised of three centers: the Capacity Building Center for States, the Capacity Building Center for Tribes, and the Capacity Building Center for Courts. These centers support public child welfare agencies and courts to build the capacities necessary to successfully implement Federal child welfare requirements; improve child welfare practice; and achieve outcomes for children, youth, and families.

The Collaborative provides three categories of services: universal, constituency, and tailored. Universal services are designed to increase awareness, understanding, and engagement among a broad audience of child welfare professionals across the country. Constituency services are designed to enhance the knowledge, skills, and relationships among targeted groups of professionals and peer groups. Tailored services are designed to help individual States, Tribes, and courts assess their unique needs and develop the resources, infrastructure, knowledge and skills, climate and culture, and partnerships necessary to improve their performance and achieve outcomes for children and families. Each center has identified a liaison—a single point of contact, assigned to each jurisdiction to help facilitate access to tailored services.

In March, liaisons from each of the centers and Children's Bureau Regional Office Specialists began reaching out to States and Tribes through a series of introductory calls and meetings, and many States have already met their liaisons in person. For more information about the Collaborative and each center, please visit http://capacity.childwelfare.gov.