Cultivating a Sustainable Workforce: A NCWWI Breakthrough Series Collaborative

Earlier this year, NCWWI launched a Breakthrough Series Collaborative (BSC) to improve the recruitment and retention of the child welfare workforce and build cultures that value justice, equity, diversity, and belonging.

We are working with five tribal and nine public multi-level teams over the next eighteen months to build anti-racist, anticolonial child welfare programs that support the well-being of the workforce and the families and communities they serve. Teams will design and test change strategies using the Plan Do Study Act (PDSA), small tests of change strategies guided by a Collaborative Change Framework (CCF) based on the Surgeon General’s Framework for Workplace Mental Health & Well-Being.

Update!

On April 25-26, we convened the BSC teams in Albuquerque, NM, for our first of three in-person Learning Sessions, and it was a blast! The energy levels were high from start to end, and everyone was eager to get started. During the meeting, we focused on building relationships within and across teams and helping teams get to know the NCWWI Guides, who will support their work throughout the initiative. Teams engaged in deep discussions, a self-assessment of their workforce, shared ideas and left the meeting with an initial plan for trying new strategies to address their needs. In the coming months, we’ll share several exciting updates as teams test different strategies to cultivate a sustainable workforce.  

If you have any questions about the BSC, or want to learn more, please reach out to Ann Baker, Liz Smith, or Amita Manandhar.