'Enhanced Practice' is a loaded term.

In my previous post, we took a closer look at the importance of tech as one of the three foundational elements of the SHIFT for real transformation in child welfare. As a quick refresher, the three interconnected elements (the three 3 Keys) are workforce development, innovative technology, and enhanced practice. Of course, there are many nuances to creating the kind of change we need in child welfare, but these three collectively are the main ingredients in my recipe. Without connecting them, we can’t achieve the best outcomes — the things we continually write and talk about: better futures for kids, youth, families, and ultimately, communities.  WHY? That’s a great question, and it's not because of a lack of trying. The answer is less about what is needed and more about how we go about it. 

The 3 Keys

Let’s dig into the third and final pillar: Enhanced Practice. I know it's a loaded term; it sounds kind of flowery, aspirational, and often lacks grounding in clear, actionable steps. We have many ideas about what it means because we've been here before. To front-line workers, it might mean, “Oh, fantastic, another one." Insert sarcastic tone here. If you’re an agency/program leader, it might mean overhauling an already overhauled-to-death practice model, often with little impact. The input doesn’t always match the output, yet we spend a lot of time ‘rearranging’ the house. We swing our pendulum in every direction, from one initiative to another. And here’s the deal: they’re all important and necessary. The trouble is, we keep changing course when all roads must be traveled. Prevention, reunification, well-being, youth initiatives, fatherhood initiatives, kin care, and so many I’ve missed…they’re all necessary! We can’t abandon one of these to place emphasis on another. That’s one of the reasons it often feels like two steps forward and thirty steps back. Our implementations tend to plug holes (that rightfully need to be plugged), but we can’t address some of the holes by letting others leak. Admittedly, knowing what we stand for when we stand for everything can be tricky. That’s in part why child welfare work is so complex and why it sometimes feels like we're living a decades-long identity crisis.

On the surface, enhanced practice is about improving service delivery by unpacking the work, streamlining processes, and putting people at the center. People, purpose, process, practice, and partnerships bring meaning to the mission. At our core, we know this; we believe it. We speak and write about it in countless settings and publications, yet something is lost in actualizing these ideas, and they become noise; their repeated efforts draw drudgery and resentment. It’s like a company rebranding every few years, and all that racket confuses us and our stakeholders. We need a strong workforce, and we want them to have the right tools; however, good intentions don't always yield good outcomes. We must pull it (and ourselves) together to get it right. But how? Where do we start? One way to start is by acknowledging what it's not.

What is enhanced practice? (Here’s what it’s NOT)

Enhanced practice is not more of the same. It’s not merely a revised policy or new training initiative. It might include these, but they are not the total package. It's also not (or should not be) a reactive measure to address adverse outcomes. Child welfare services must be intentional, so we need purpose-driven initiatives aimed at improvement, and those things take time. If we simply introduce new policies and training without considering their significance, over time, we tend to lose sight of what they’re about, and workers cling to what they know and how they function, often in a state of survival mode to get through each day. Nothing to see here, and if there’s no obvious or sustainable benefit to the workforce, there’s little to no benefit to our practice or the people we serve. We’re simply creating more noise, and we risk leading our workforce in circles or out the door. We have to stop throwing balls at them. They're not here to juggle. Policy and training are tools, but they're not the only tools in the box, nor are they the most effective when not applied purposefully.

Enhanced practice is also not a shiny new tech system. Look, technology is absolutely a way to augment our work. Still, technology is a singular tool that must be used in conjunction with our other tools. Technology can help highlight safety and risk issues, suggest interventions, and support decision-making, but it's up to us, as practitioners and experts, to leverage technology in a way that raises the bar on our practice standards; otherwise, it's like buying a new car you don't enjoy driving, offering nothing but a higher payment.

What is Enhanced Practice?

Not policy, training, or technology...?

Then what, if not these usual suspects?  

Enhanced practice is a desired outcome; it's what we get (ideally) by pulling all the tools together with intentionality about their uses, capabilities, and how they complement one another when employed with purpose. We might consider it an initiative, but it's much more than that. I've heard it described as 'a total reimagining of child welfare' or 'a disruption of the status quo,' and these are surely great goals. However, they're big-picture ideas; strategic visions. Moving from policy to practice relies on the right combination and approach. When we combine the right tools and lean into possibility, we see that enhanced practice is more of a framework. Think of it as the entire garden rather than one single plant.

An Enhanced Practice Framework for child welfare is designed to enhance the quality, consistency, and effectiveness of services delivered to children and families, while also ensuring their long-term sustainability. The goal is to embed best practices, cultural responsiveness, innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement into everyday work. These aren't separate approaches or siloed workgroups independently developing better practices; they're part of a collective approach to addressing complex issues and needs. And we must normalize their regularity by treating these as ongoing initiatives rather than special one-offs that come and go.

Here's a high-level overview of what such a framework (your garden) should include:

1. START with Guiding Principles:

These foundational beliefs shape all practice and decision-making:

• Child-centered and family-focused

• Strengths-based and trauma-informed

• Culturally responsive and inclusive

• Evidence-based/evidence-informed

• Collaborative and community-engaged

• Considers stakeholder perspectives (families, children and youth, workers, etc.)

2. IDENTIFY your Core Practice Components

The key areas and skills that practitioners focus on to improve outcomes:

• Engagement: Connecting with and building trust with families and stakeholders.

• Quality Assessment: Holistic, dynamic, and culturally relevant evaluation of needs and strengths.

• Collaborative Planning: Co-created, goal-oriented plans that reflect family voices and values.

• Intervention: Tailored supports and services that promote increased protective capacities, self-determination, and ultimately, safety, permanency, and well-being.

• Review and Modification: Ongoing, collaborative evaluation and adjustment of plans and services.

3. FOCUS on Workforce Development

A competent, confident, and supported workforce is key to successful outcomes:

• Clear practice expectations and role clarity.

• Reflective supervision to support critical thinking and emotional resilience.

• Experiential learning opportunities that blend practice and technology tools.

• Performance feedback loops for continuous learning and skill-building.

• Coaching and mentoring opportunities that promote peer-to-peer learning and support.

4. BUILD an Organizational Support Structure

Structures that make quality practices sustainable:

• Leadership culture and commitment to supporting the workforce.

• Integrated program disciplines for practice coordination and continuity.

  (Not conveyor belt-case management.)

• Technology supports, including innovative tools and engaged IT partners.

• Consumable data insights for various workforce audiences.

• Quality assurance and continuous quality improvement (CQI) processes.

• Policy alignment that enables flexibility and responsiveness.

5. ESTABLISH a Measurement and Accountability Model

Tracking progress and driving improvement:

• Draws from Guiding Principles and Core Practices.

• Key performance indicators (KPIs) for agencies/programs, workforce, and families/youth/children.

• Lead measures that track actions to drive or lead to lag measures.

  (Think of a map to the CFSR/Child and Family Services Reviews.)...More on this in another issue.

• Practice fidelity tools to assess adherence to the model.

• Feedback channels for families, youth, providers, and other partners.

• Consumable data for the worker lens. (Insights over compliance.)

• Transparent reporting and use of data for increased awareness and decision-making.

  (Normalize sharing data externally to build trust and invite partners to the table.)

6. PLAN your Implementation Approach

Skipping out on planning is not a time-saver...trust me:

• Readiness Assessment: Where is your agency now? Have you considered all voices and inputs?

• Spring Cleaning for the Win: Resist the Urge to Hold Onto Stuff You No Longer Need!

  (Emphasis intended! This one takes us and our projects sideways all the time.)

• Phased Rollout: It's crucial to give staff time to practice and adapt.

  (Seriously...Rome wasn't built in a day.)

• Change Management: Communicate, ensure leadership buy-in, and prioritize staff and key stakeholder involvement.

• Continuous Improvement: Learn, shift, refine...Wash, rinse, repeat.

7. INSIST on Community, Interagency, and Cross-Sector Collaboration

No child welfare agency can do it alone:

• Formal partnerships with health, education, housing, and justice sectors.

• Shared protocols for coordinated care and collaborative service delivery.

• Family voice and lived experience in system design and evaluation.

• Academic partnerships to align and augment student and workforce learning experiences and expectations.

• Research and data partners to help us visualize outcomes with meaningful data insights.

• Technology partners to enable possibilities with cutting-edge tools.

Pulling it all together requires ALL OF US...Collective Impact!

In summary (I know, there's a lot to chew on here), enhanced practice is a collaborative process that requires us to bring all the pieces together in partnership with a host of stakeholders. It is not a flowery theory; it is attainable, but we can't get there (or stay there) without a solid framework. It's also not a one-and-done initiative; instead, it's something we must tend to and nurture over time.

Do you have ideas or examples of an enhanced practice framework that has supported your agency or program?

·     What successes did you encounter?

·     What hurdles did you overcome?

·     How did you collaborate with stakeholders?

·     Who did you invite to the table?

·     What are your lessons learned?