S. 2837, The Child Welfare Workforce Improvement Act, was recently introduced by Senator Lincoln and aims to improve the child welfare workforce for the thousands of children and families who depend on this system every day. NASW lobbyists worked for many years to create this legislation, in collaboration with the Children’s Defense Fund and other coalition partners, and we are fully committed to enhancing the federal response to protect children and to prevent abuse and neglect. Highlights of the bill:
- A study that would result in recommendations to recruit and retain a high quality workforce to include training, workloads, and staff supervision.
- Flexible use of Title IV-E training dollars to support child welfare staff providing preventive, protective, reunification, and post-permanency services in addition to foster care, kinship guardianship, and adoption services.
- A demonstration grant program to help states and municipalities improve their workforce. Projects would focus on improving the child welfare systems’ ability to conduct needs assessments and secure resources.
Action Requested:
Please contact your Senator and ask them to cosponsor The Child Welfare Workforce Improvement Act (S. 2837). Let them know that passage of this important legislation will enable social workers and other professionals to improve the crucial services for children and families in the child welfare system.
Thanks for your advocacy!
