Guided by four principles rooted in partnership, respect, equity, and holistic permanency, the Quality Improvement Center on Engaging Youth in Finding Permanency (QIC-EY) is seeking to redefine what it means to authentically engage children and youth in child welfare systems, particularly regarding permanency decisions. The QIC-EY will partner with six to eight pilot sites from different states, counties, tribal nations, and territories so they can receive support and resources. They will also receive support to make systemic changes to their culture, increase knowledge, and develop infrastructure to ensure there is youth engagement in all aspects of child welfare.
The QIC-EY will work with these sites to implement a youth engagement model, a training and coaching model for the child welfare workforce, and a training on youth engagement for courts. The training and coaching model will be designed to shift the mindset, culture, and practice of child welfare and the courts and will be available nationwide for free. The lessons learned from the implementation and evaluation of the engagement models will also be disseminated nationally. An independent evaluation team will conduct a systemic and technical review of the training and coaching model and the youth engagement model. The team will also evaluate the process, outcome, cost, and dissemination. The information gained from these pilot sites will help inform systemic change to help children and youth authentically engage in child welfare systems.