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June 2016Vol. 17, No. 4Permanency Innovations Initiative Training/Technical Assistance Resources

Throughout the Federal Government, there is a push to build an evidence base and use it to improve the effectiveness of human services programs. With this in mind, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) developed the Permanency Innovations Initiative (PII) and, in fiscal year 2010, ACF awarded grants to six organizations to implement and evaluate innovative, evidence-supported interventions that would help children leave foster care in less than 3 years and add to the knowledge base in child welfare.

To support PII grantees, ACF also established the PII Training and Technical Assistance Project (PII-TTAP), which provides training and technical assistance (T&TA) on the implementation and sustainability of the interventions. PII-TTAP created The Development, Implementation, and Assessment Approach, which focuses on best practices in implementation science and builds on work completed with PII grantees. Using the approach as a foundation, PII-TTAP developed three additional products to support child welfare professionals in their roles as managers/administrators and T&TA providers. These products deliver best practices in implementation science, helping organizations develop innovations or adapt existing ones and effectively implement them to ultimately improve outcomes for children and families.

The following resources are aimed at child welfare professionals interested in applying the approach:

  • Guide to Developing, Implementing, and Assessing an Innovation - This five-volume PDF series is intended as a reference for individuals and teams as they move through the stages of the implementation process. Each volume includes instructions, quizzes, real-world examples, and tools intended to provide guidance and support for successfully implementing an innovation. The format is accessible and convenient, and the series can be downloaded and printed or used directly on your computer. Access the guide at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/resource/guide-developing-implementing-assessing-innovation.   
  • Development, Implementation, and Assessment Toolkit - This self-paced website provides virtual T&TA support and includes video hosts, interactive modules, automated tools, interviews with child welfare practitioners, and links to additional resources. The toolkit provides a more intensive transfer of learning and interactive experience than the guide. The toolkit will be publicly available in late 2016.

The following resources are aimed at T&TA providers interested in helping child welfare professionals apply the approach:

  • Providing Technical Assistance to Build Implementation Capacity in Child Welfare: A Manual Based on the Development, Implementation, and Assessment Approach - This manual provides guidance to T&TA providers working with agencies or organizations using the approach. The manual includes lessons learned from providing T&TA to PII grantees that can be applied to support other child welfare organizations and grantees. Currently in development, the manual will be distributed in late 2016.
  • The Development, Implementation, and Assessment Approach, which is available at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/resource/pii-develop-implement-assess-approach.

More information on PII, including the grantees and the PII Approach, is available on the Children's Bureau's website at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/resource/pii-project-resources.