The Center for Strength-based Strategies (CSBS) has been active to import the Strengths Approach into the fields of Child Welfare and Child Protective Services. In this mandated field, the strengths and resources of the clients are often bypassed and ignored.  

We have called the parent and family into ascendancy in the mission of ensuring the safety of all family members. We believe that the two populations most besieged in our field are the families involved in child welfare services and agency staff that work with them.

When most child welfare professionals first hear about the Strengths perspective their usual reaction is two-fold:  That this approach makes good sense and is straightforward. Why then, is a technical assistance necessary? Our child welfare field has been inundated with over forty years of research and practice from the deficit model. We seek to offer child welfare agencies a roadmap to a Strengths orientation. This guide is necessary as it is often hard to see the child abuser or fail-to-protect parent as anything but their “labels” or to see the environment in which they live in as wellsprings of resources rather than zones of impoverishment. Negative situations seem to cry out for negative explanations—we want know what is wrong when so little seems right. 

Two important resources to begin with are:

For child welfare: 

Berg, Insoo K. & Kelly, Susan. (2000) Building Solutions in Child Protective Services. NY: WW Norton

For child protective services:

Turnell, Andrew. & Edwards, Steven. (1999) Signs of Safety: A Solution and Safety Oriented Approach to Child Protection. NY: WW Norton

For both disciplines: 

(2001) Clark, Michael D., “Change-Focused Youth Work: The Critical Ingredients of Positive Behavior Change” Journal of the Center for Families, Children & the Courts, Vol. 3, 59-72.                                       Click here to download the full article

The CSBS has established training for child welfare, both in Strength-based practice and Motivational Interviewing. On site technical assistance has been delivered to county government departments and private profit/non-profits agencies, both large and small, urban, metro and rural.

New efforts include a list of “integration efforts” that the CSBS has compiled from observing agencies that have done an above-average job of implementing a Strengths Perspective within their organization. From this qualitative, single-subject research conducted by our Center with department/agency for Strength-based Strategies, Supervisors and Administrators were observed focusing on and placing effort towards six (6) specific issues. Following staff/administrator training, we suggest a follow-up with managers and supervision to review this list of “best practices” for agency/department integration.

Contact the CSBS for more information.

WHERE WE’VE BEEN IN CHILD WELFARE &
CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES

Selected (partial) listing of previous clients of the

Center for Strength-Based Strategies

**Keynote addresses in bold type

Univ. of California-Davis  – The Center for Human Services, Child Welfare Consultation with Shasta County Child Welfare Department, 4 days of onsite consultation with consultant report
                                                   Redding, Calif.

Univ. of California-Davis  – The Center for Human Services, Child Welfare Training, “The Strengths Approach for Mandated Clients”       

                                               San Rafael, Calif.

Idaho Department of Health & Welfare and the Idaho Child Welfare Research & Training Center, Eastern Washington University—Idaho Systems of Care Conference 2005 “Strength-based Practice in Child Welfare”
                                             Boise, Idaho  
 

The Children’s Partnership – Systems of Care Wraparound Summit for Children and Families, keynote address: “Strength-Based Strategies”
                                            Austin, Texas 

Children’s Mental Health Council & Kootenai Medical Center – North Idaho Behavioral Health Program, 2 day training program: “Strength-Based Strategies”                                     

                                    Coeur d’Alene, Idaho 

                                     Princess Anne, Maryland 

Children’s Hospital of Michigan, full day training, “A Strength-Based Approach” and “Motivational Interviewing”

                                          Detroit, Michigan 

National Association of Social Workers – West Virginia Chapter, 2004 Spring Conference,  Keynote Address: “Motivating Challenging Clients” and following workshop: “Motivational Interviewing”
                                        Charleston, West Virginia 

Univ. of California-Davis  – The Center for Human Services, 2 day workshops: “Strengths Training for Child Welfare Work ”

                                           Auburn, Calif. 

                                            Loomis, Calif. 

                                           Sacramento, Calif. 

                                            Davis, Calif. 

                                            Redding, Calif.

                                            Eureka, Calif. 

Univ. of California-Davis  – The Center for Human Services, 1 day Management workshops: “Supervising for Strength-Based Practice”   

                                           Eureka, Calif. 

                                           Redding, Calif.    

                                           Rocklin, Calif.   

US Department of Health, Office of Minority Health and Central State University of Ohio – Family and Community Violence Prevention Program, 2 day workshop: the Strength-based Approach                                                             

                                          Wilberforce, Ohio 

Columbia County Commission on Children and Families, Series of three trainings: Strength-based Strategies and Motivational Interviewing

                                       St. Helens, Oregon   

 New York Department of Social Services-Orange County, 2 day workshop: Strength-based Training for Sexually-abused Children and Families. 

                                       Middletown, New York 

California Department of Health & Human Services – County of Placer, 2 day training: Strength-based Training for Working with Challenging Clients—Adults and Youth.                                            

                                      Loomis, California    

Child Abuse Council –State of Michigan, Children’s Trust Fund & North Central Michigan College,  Keynote: Adolescent Development and Substance

                                     Petoskey, Michigan 

Pejaro Valley Prevention Services, 2 day training: Motivational Interviewing

                                    Watsonville, California

Youth Services of Freemont County, 2 day training: Strengths Training for Youth and Family Staff                           

                                   Lander, Wyoming     

21st Annual Michigan Statewide Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect, Plenary Address:  From High-Risk to High-Yield: Using Strength-based Practice to Raise Motivation
                                Ypsilanti, Michigan 

Washington County Community Partnership – 4th Annual Summit,  Keynote Address: High Risk to High-Yield-Raising Motivation with Strength-based Strategies
                              Hagerstown, Maryland    

Wicomico County Partnership for Families & Children, 2 day training in Strength-based Practice

                             Salisbury, Maryland 

Muskegon Community College – Early Childhood Conference, Keynote address, “High-Risk to High-Yield with Strength-based Practice”
                             Muskegon, Michigan