Strong Foundations
Improving outcomes for Florida’s children, and their families.
The Strong Foundations project, managed by Embrace Families Community Based Care, is funded by a cooperative agreement with the Children’s Bureau under the opportunity Strengthening Child Welfare Systems to Achieve Expected Child and Family Outcomes #90CO1138.
The project supports three major initiatives in the state of Florida. All are designed to increase performance on the Child and Families Services Reviews (CFSR).
- Conditions for Return Initiative
In collaboration with the Office of Court Improvement and other strategic system partners in Florida, the Strong Foundations team will train the legal and practitioner community to promote a universal understanding of Conditions for Return. Additionally, both legal and practitioner guides will be created and distributed to complement the trainings. In three key areas in Florida, positions will be funded to provide guidance and support to case management and other system partners on out-of-home cases with a goal of reunification. This strategy is designed to ensure consistent application across the state and to increase the CFSR scores related to permanency.
- Child Welfare Supervisor Certification Initiative
The Strong Foundations team will develop a certification path for child welfare supervisors in child protective services, case management and licensing to promote supervisory learning and capacity and professionalize the workforce.
- Case Complexity Tool Initiative
The Strong Foundations team will fund and support the development of a research-informed system for distributing cases to Case Managers. It will be designed to promote better decision-making regarding case assignments, and will lead to higher job satisfaction for Case Managers and better outcomes for families.
