Business Process Redesign
Prepared Awareness: Past the Pinwheels
April has been designated as National Child Abuse Prevention Month to create awareness about the importance of strengthening families and preventing child abuse and neglect.
Empowering Families: A Breakdown of the New ACF Office of Child Care Rules, and what it will take to implement them
The recent passing of new rules by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Child Care (OCC), signals a transformative shift that aims to streamline the child care application process and reduce bureaucratic [...]
Beyond March: Nurturing Year-Round Appreciation for Social Workers
While we celebrate National Social Worker Appreciation Month every March, it sets the stage for April – a month that marks the onset of National Child Abuse Awareness Month, where the volume of new reports [...]
Performance Improvement
Eliminate Blind Spots to Improve Safety: More Eyes More Often
When the press writes about failures in the child welfare system, the tragedies are unique, but the pattern is often all too familiar. A family has been involved with the agency multiple times, signs of [...]
The Fen-Phen Phenomenon is Killing Our Children
We all agree child welfare in our world is not as healthy as we would like it to be. No one wants to see vulnerable children at risk, but it seems like every attempt to get healthier isn’t working, and we are all clinging to the hope that the next thing we try will be the real deal.
The Unintended Consequences of Improvement
Sometimes when we make reforms, government jobs get better too.
Measurement
Gaming the System
How the misuse of data impedes innovation
Fear and Loathing in Chicago
Management lessons from the teachers’ strike.
The Dark Side of Accountability
Ken Miller draws from his latest book to explain how management-by-fear accountability systems rarely work and produce devastating side effects.
PHE Unwinding
Emerging Stronger When the Public Health Emergency Ends: How Agencies Can Make Room for the Upcoming Wave of Renewals and New Customers
When the public health emergency (PHE) and pandemic waivers come to an end, agencies must renew all existing Medicaid recipients. For many agencies already struggling with staff capacity to meet existing demand, they will no doubt be overwhelmed. To help agencies prepare for and tackle the wave of renewal workload, we offer specific steps that agencies can take to meet this increased demand.
Social Worker Staffing Shortages