The National Child Welfare Workforce Institute hosted the webinar “4 Cs of Workforce Development: Culture, Competency, Capacity, & Community” this past September as part of the 2023 Workforce Development Month. It featured the Child Welfare League of America’s (CWLA’s) Emerging Leaders Committee, a network of child welfare professionals who seek to do the following:
- Provide networking opportunities for child welfare professionals at all levels of practice, a professional forum for support, opportunities for career growth, and a safe space for the exchange of ideas related to the field of child welfare
- Recommend or create learning opportunities for emerging leaders in CWLA member agencies
- Work with CWLA to identify strategies to connect future leaders with mentorship opportunities
A diverse panel of child welfare professionals from public and private agencies who are also committee co-chairs, led by moderator Julie Collins, Vice President of Practice Excellence for CWLA, discussed the Emerging Leadership Committee and its Standards of Excellence, a set of standards that are regularly reviewed, revised, and newly developed that are widely accepted as the foundation for sound U.S. child welfare practice.