This curriculum was designed to improve the quality of care provided to children in out-of-home care. It highlights the importance of providing child welfare services that are more responsive to the voices of children in kin and non-kin foster care. Components include an overview of the child welfare system in California, a literature review of children's experiences in out-of-home care, children's experiences with kin and non-kin foster care in California, adolescents' perspectives of out-of-home care in California, practice tips for child welfare workers, case vignettes, and a bibliography of relevant child welfare texts and articles cited in the curriculum. (348 pages)Fox, A., Frasch, K., & Berrick, J. D. (2000).

This curriculum focuses on issues related to mental health service utilization and outcomes among children in the child welfare system. In spite of the documented need for mental health services for these children, there is a lack of information on children involved with both the child welfare and mental health systems. In order to improve our understanding of the issues and needs of this population, this curriculum focuses on five areas: (a) demographic and system-related characteristics of children involved in both the child welfare and mental health systems; (b) clinical need for services, service utilization patterns, and association between mental health service utilization and child welfare outcomes; (c) policies affecting mental health service utilization by children in the child welfare system; (d) collaboration between child welfare and mental health systems; and (e) resources for collaboration and service provision for children and youth in both the child welfare and mental health systems. The curriculum will provide research highlights, conceptual frameworks, tools, and experiential opportunities to strengthen understanding of a wide range of issues related to mental health service utilization among children in the public child welfare system. (165 pages)Hines, A. M., Lee, P. A., Osterling, K. L., Tweed, M. (2007).

Research over the last 20 years has documented a strong correlation between substance abuse and risk of involvement in the child welfare system. More recently, a growing body of research and policy analysis focused on addressing the needs of substance-abusing families in child welfare calls for “bridging the gap” in values and attitudes between child welfare and substance abuse treatment service delivery systems and developing collaborative models for intervention and case planning. This research-based curriculum increases awareness about how individual and professional values may impact interdisciplinary practice and is designed to develop skills for improved collaborative practice among child welfare workers, substance abuse treatment professionals, and other professionals working with substance abusing families involved in the child welfare system. This study examined similarities and differences in values and perceived capacity for collaboration between substance abuse and child welfare fields based on survey data from respondents in counties in California. The instruments used in this study, the Collaborative Values Inventory (CVI) and Collaborative Capacity Instrument (CCI), were developed by Children and Family Futures/National Center for Substance Abuse and Child Welfare. (123 pages)Drabble, L., Tweed, M., & Osterling, K. L., (with Navarrette, L., Pearce, C., Riberio, P., & Twomey, E.). (2006).

This curriculum, written for graduate social work students and child welfare workers, is designed to improve the quality of care and services provided to children in out-of-home care. It highlights the importance of providing child welfare services that are responsive to the needs of children who must prepare for emancipation and the responsibilities of adult life. While more research efforts are aimed at tracking youth emancipating from the foster care system, little is known about those who are currently enrolled in post-secondary education. Further, research on youth exiting the foster care system tends to highlight negative outcomes. Little is known of former foster youth who go on to lead healthy and productive lives and what the contributing factors were that enabled them to succeed. Understanding their pathways to college and identifying the factors related to educational achievement can help inform program and service delivery to youth currently in the foster care system. (186 pages)Merdinger, J. M., Hines, A. M., Lemon, K., Wyatt, P., & Tweed, M. (2002).

This curriculum is a standardized workplace management curriculum for training entry-level social workers in child welfare agencies in the State of California. The curriculum is composed of nine modules that may be used as separate classes or together in a single course. The modules are constructed to be suitable for three distinct groups of users: BSW students, MSW students, and child welfare agency supervisors and program managers (first and second line supervisors)--and those interested in such positions. Students can study from these sections during their matriculation, while agency employees might be exposed to them via departmental training opportunities, a local child welfare training academy, university extension or concurrent enrollment programs, or continuing education providers. (151 pages)Gilson, S., Cornet, B., & Ralph, C. (2009).