Advances in Child Welfare

              Contents
Coming Soon: Phase II Best
Practice Orientation -
Orientation to Phase II of Best
Practice set to begin in January
‘03.
Best Practice: Valuing Family
Connectedness - Best
Practice focuses on keeping
family members connected.
SACWIS Phase II Roadmap -
Activities planned for rolling out
Phase II of Best Practice and
SACWIS.
Best Practice / SACWIS
Draws Expertise From the
Field - Focus on Sandra
Hughes - Sandra applies her
experience to making Phase II
of Best Practice and SACWIS a
reality.
Updates To Phase I - Phase I
of SACWIS continues to
improve.
N E W S O F B E S T P R A C T I C E / S A C W I S
Coming Soon: Phase II
Best Practice Orienta-tion
As we approach implementation of
Phase II of Best Practice, staff are
interested in learning more about Phase
II and what it might mean for their
jobs. Phase II Orientation is just
around the corner, and it should begin
to answer many questions regarding
what is involved in Phase II and how it
will impact service delivery.
Orientation for DCFS will begin in
early January with sessions for supervi-sors.
Once supervisors have participated
in the orientation sessions, they will be
provided to line staff. Orientation will
begin in late January, with plans to have
the orientation completed by late
February. As was done with Phase I
training, the Orientation sessions will be
offered regionally to minimize travel
time for participants. Sessions for POS
supervisors and staff are currently being
planned.
During orientation, staff can expect to
receive an overview of Best Practice
Phase II. This will include a discussion
of the Principles of Intervention for
Permanency, core practices relevant to
all cases, and benefits of Best Practice.
In addition, staff will have an opportu-nity
to discuss necessary supports and
changes needed to implement Best
Practice.
Although there is a lot of additional
November, 2002
Continued on Page 4
Best Practice: Valuing
Family Connectedness
Family connectedness has its beginnings
in the parent-child attachment process
and is the glue that holds relationships
together within the family. Most
families that receive Department services
have both deficits and strengths when it
comes to their connections between
family members. To a large extent, case
outcomes are determined by how much,
or how little, connectedness is present
within the family at crucial decision
points in the life of a case. But regard-less
of the degree of connectedness
within the family or the case outcome,
the Department’s Best Practice model
places a high value on this central
concept.
Even though we understand the impor-tance
of establishing and maintaining
connections within the family, it’s
critical to incorporate this concept into
our work with all families. Here are
some ways to accomplish this:
• Non-custodial parents should be
involved in the case early. This not
only helps to strengthen the connec-tion
between the non-custodial
information that will come in future
Best Practice trainings, this orientation
provides staff an opportunity to have a
preview of what to expect in Phase II.
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