Center for States 2020 Needs Assessment Survey

OMB Control No.: 0970-0401

Expiration Date: 5/31/2021

THE PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT OF 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13) The purpose of this information collection is to better understand the capacity building needs of child welfare jurisdictions so that the Capacity Building Center for States, a Children’s Bureau initiative can tailor and improve its services. Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 10 minutes per respondent, including the time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and reviewing the collection of information. This is a voluntary collection of information. A Federal agency may not conduct or sponsor, and no individual or entity is required to respond to, nor shall an individual or entity be subject to a penalty or failure to comply with a collection of information subject to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, unless that collection of information displays a currently valid OMB control number. If you have any comments on this collection of information, please contact Katie Bourgalt, Center for States, by e-mail at [email protected].

Center for States Needs Assessment Survey

The Capacity Building Center for States is committed to continuously improving the relevance and utility of services provided. Thank you in advance for taking the time to complete this survey. We are gathering information from those who work with and within child welfare systems around the country about their perspectives on what child welfare agencies need in order to best support positive outcomes for children, youth and families. The information you provide will help inform decisions about the Center’s services. Your participation in this survey is entirely voluntary, and your responses will be held in confidence and reported in aggregate without identifying information. The survey should take about 10 minutes to complete.

1. Which of the following best describes your professional setting (Select one) (required):

1. State/Territorial Child Welfare Agency

2. County Child Welfare Agency

3. Tribal Child Welfare Agency

4. Private Child Welfare Services Agency/Community-based provider

5. College/University

6. Technical Assistance Provider

7. Federal Government

8. State or County Court/Legal System

9. Tribal Court/Legal System

10. Other (please specify): __________ 

2. Which of the following best describes your primary role? (Select one) (required):

1. Agency Director/Executive Director/Commissioner

2. Other Agency Leadership (Deputy Director, Chief of Staff, etc)

3. Project/Program Director

4. Program/Middle Manager

5. Training Director/Manager/Staff

6. Supervisor

7. Caseworker/Case Manager/Frontline Staff

8. Project Manager/Coordinator

9. Other (please specify):­­­­_________

3. Which of the following best describes your primary area(s) of work responsibility? (Select all that apply)

1. Leadership/Administration

2. Continuous Quality Improvement/Quality Assurance/Data Analysis

3. CFSR/PIP/CFSP/APSR

4. Policy Development

5. Child Welfare Training

6. Child Welfare Information Systems

7. Indian Child Welfare Act Implementation

8. Child Protective Services

9. Primary Prevention

10. In-Home Services

11. Foster Care

12. Recruitment/Training/Licensing of Resource Families

13. Independent Living/Transition Age Youth

14. Adoption/Guardianship

15. Youth Leadership/Participation

16. Family Leadership/Participation

17. Court Improvement

18. Legal Representation (of agency, parents, children)

19. Judicial Decision Making

20. Social Work Education

21. Research and Evaluation

22. Student

23. Other Area of Child Welfare-Related Work

24. None of the Above/Not Applicable

4. In which State, Territory or Region do you work?

• American Samoa

• Guam

• Northern Mariana Islands

• Port Gamble

• Puerto Rico

• US Virgin Islands

• Alabama

• Alaska

• Arizona

• Arkansas

• California

• Colorado

• Connecticut

• Delaware

• Florida

• Georgia

• Hawaii

• Idaho

• Illinois

• Indiana

• Iowa

• Kansas

• Kentucky

• Louisiana

• Maine

• Maryland

• Massachusetts

• Michigan

• Minnesota

• Mississippi

• Missouri

• Montana

• Nebraska

• Nevada

• New Hampshire

• New Jersey

• New Mexico

• New York

• North Carolina

• North Dakota

• Ohio

• Oklahoma

• Oregon

• Pennsylvania

• Rhode Island

• South Carolina

• South Dakota

• Tennessee

• Texas

• Utah

• Vermont

• Virginia

• Washington

• West Virginia

• Wisconsin

• Wyoming

• Region 1

• Region 2

• Region 3

• Region 4

• Region 5

• Region 6

• Region 7

• Region 8

• Region 9

• Region 10

• Tribe or Nation: (Short answer)

5. Based on your experience working in or with state or local child welfare agencies, please describe what you believe to be key needs or challenges faced by child welfare agencies related to the following:

• Supporting prevention of child abuse and neglect: (open field)

• Preventing entry into foster care and repeat maltreatment: (open field)

• Strengthening families to achieve reunification from foster care and prevent re-entry into foster care: (open field)

6. The following table includes areas of need that have been identified by state and local child welfare agencies that affect their ability to help prevent child abuse and neglect before it occurs. Based on your experience, how much of a priority is each of these areas of need for child welfare agencies if they are to successfully prevent child abuse and neglect:   

   1. Low: This is a lower priority need for child welfare agencies at this time.

   2. Mid: This is an area of need for child welfare agencies.

   3. High: This a significant and immediate need for child welfare agencies.

   4. Not Applicable

   5. Don’t Know

Area of Need	Preventing Child Abuse and Neglect (indicate high, medium, low, not applicable, or don’t know)
Multi-system vision and collaboration
Communication and communication planning
Data collection and use
Continuous quality improvement
Fiscal alignment and funding
Change management and implementation
Collaboration with legal and judicial systems
Other___(text write-in)________________

Conditional questions – for each of the needs indicated as a “high priority need” the following 2 questions should appear

You indicated that X is an urgent area of need for state or local child welfare agencies. Please answer the following related questions about these needs.

7. What specific aspects of X are most challenging for the agency(ies) you work with?

8. What information and support would be most useful for your State, Territory or Region related to this topic?

9. The following table includes areas of need that have been identified by state and local child welfare agencies that will affect their ability to implement the provisions of the Family First Prevention Services Act. Based on your experience, how much of a priority is each of these areas of need for child welfare agencies to successfully implement Family First:

1. Low: This is a low priority need for child welfare agencies at this time.

2. Medium: This is an area of need for child welfare agencies at this time.

3. High: This a significant and immediate need for child welfare agencies.

4. Not Applicable

5. Don’t Know

Topic Area	Responding to provisions of the Family First Prevention Services Act (indicate high, medium, low, not applicable, or don’t know)
Multi-system vision and collaboration
Communication and communication planning
Data collection and use
Continuous quality improvement
Fiscal alignment and funding
Change management and implementation
Collaboration with the courts
Developing 5-year Statewide Prevention Plans
Evaluating program effectiveness
Defining candidacy for foster care
Accurate assessment of safety, risk and needs
Fatality tracking and prevention plans
Qualified Residential Treatment Programs (QRTPs)
Ensuring the necessity of non-family-based foster care placements
Supports for transition-age youth
Interstate placement
Provider partnerships and contracting
Family engagement
Service array- availability and effectiveness
Other ____(text write-in)________________

Conditional questions – for each of the needs indicated as a “high priority need” the following 2 questions should appear

You indicated that X is an urgent area of need for state or local child welfare agencies. Please answer the following related questions about these needs.

10. What specific aspects of X are most challenging for the agency(ies) you work with?

11. What information and support would be most useful for your State, Territory or Region related to this topic?

12. What are other critical priorities or needs of the child welfare agencies in your State, Territory or Region right now for improving safety, permanency and well-being outcomes?

Technical Assistance Resources and Support

(Questions for respondents who indicate A-C for Question 1 and A-E for Question 2)

1. What types of resources or services from national technical assistance providers would best support the front-line child welfare workforce?

2. How are new professional development resources (publications, casework tools, webinars, etc.) typically disseminated or communicated to field level staff within your agency?

3. Are there any child welfare-related topics that you have searched for resources on but couldn’t locate? (Open field and then a pick list should appear with question 4 below related to each topic named)

4. In what format(s) would you find it most helpful to receive information on this topic? (select all that apply)

   1. Pamphlet/Tipsheet

   2. Publication/Briefing Document

   3. Report

   4. Video

   5. Online Webinar

   6. PowerPoint

   7. Podcast

   8. Other (Please specify))

Thank You!

Thank you very much for your participation. Your time and input are greatly appreciated. Your feedback makes a difference!

If you have any questions regarding this survey or want to provide additional comments, please contact: Katie Bourgault, Capacity Building Center for States Needs Assessment Lead, [email protected]. 

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