Promote Family Well-Being

Child welfare services must be child-focused and family centered. It is always in the child's best interests to remain with his or her own family, if the family can be helped to provide an environment that provides basic care and nurturance, and is safe from abuse and neglect. When children have experienced maltreatment in whatever form or duration, they will require remedial or treatment services. The Division is committed to creating and maintaining strong linkages to the variety of service providers who are partners in remedying the effects of abuse and neglect on a child and changing the conditions in the family that led to the Division's involvement with the family.

Strengthening Families Alaska is a research-informed initiative designed to enhance family well-being by fostering five key protective factors: parental resilience, social connections, knowledge of parenting, concrete support in times of need, and social and emotional competence in children. Since its introduction in 2005, this approach has been successfully implemented across communities in Alaska to reduce stress and risk, ultimately promoting healthier family dynamics and preventing child maltreatment.

• Strengthening Families Alaska

• Alaska Children's Trust

Permanency for Children

Child welfare services must promote permanence for all children. All children have a right to a permanent and safe home environment. The most desirable plan for a child is to work with the family to remedy the conditions that led to the child's safety concern. The Division has a firm commitment to the concept of permanency planning and will strive to maintain the child in his/her own home whenever possible, and when it is not possible, the division will work steadfastly to promote an alternate permanent home for the child. When appropriate, concurrent planning will be implemented to expedite permanency for the child.

Keep Children Safe

The child welfare system must protect children. All child welfare protective activities and intervention must be toward the goal of protecting the child from harm. In the provision of services the safety of the child is always the first consideration in performing risk assessments, developing case plans, and identifying services for children and families. Safety of the child is paramount in all decisions effecting children.

Implement initial assessment training

By doing a better job of making an initial assessment after a protective services report is received, the Office of Children's Services will further its goals of referring families for needed services, reducing repeat maltreatment, and providing help to families to prevent removal of children from their homes.

Assess and enhance supervisor skills

Supervisors have a critical role in assuring best practices and improving outcomes for children and families. The Office of Children's Services continues to focus on enhancing management skills, leadership and accountability of supervisors.

Increase timeliness of initial assessments

Initiating initial assessments within prescribed policy and procedure timelines to assure the safety of children continues to be an important goal for all Office of Children's Services workers.

Increase visits to child and parents

The goal for front-line workers is to visit every child and all parents a minimum of once per month. Meeting that contact standard will enable the Office of Children's Services to better meet the needs of families.

Resource family assessment

A more comprehensive resource family assessment process eliminates delays when Office of Children's Services licensing staff must match the needs of a child needing a placement outside his or her own home with a family that can meet those needs. And when a child cannot return home and the resource family is the right family to adopt, the already completed initial in-depth assessment will make the adoption process more efficient and timely.

Decrease Racial Disproportionality & Increase Cultural Continuity

Throughout national child welfare systems, children of racial backgrounds other than Caucasian are represented in numbers that exceed their relative proportion to the overall population. Rates of substantiated maltreatment, entry into out-of-home care, and length of stay are all higher for children of racial backgrounds other than Caucasian. Family reunification and exit rates are lower.

That trend is also true in Alaska where approximately 55 percent of children in state custody are Alaska Native. A primary goal of the Office of Children's Services is to decrease racial disproportionality. Strategies continue to be developed in collaboration with Tribal child welfare leaders and other community partners. Ongoing efforts include strategic planning with the Tribal State Collaboration Group, local plans between Tribal and state partners, and Knowing Who You Are workshops.

For more information please see the Indian Child Welfare (ICWA) & Tribal Partnership site.

Cultural Continuity for Children and Families

Child welfare services must be culturally competent. Cultural competence is the capacity to relate with persons from diverse cultures in a sensitive, respectful, and productive way. Sensitivity to a child and family's culture is important throughout the child and family's experience with the Division. As the state agency responsible for making decisions on behalf of children and families from different cultural backgrounds, the Division has a firm commitment to cultural competence. The Division's practice is guided by the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978, the Multiethnic Placement Act, and the NASW Code of Ethics. Preference is also given to culturally relevant services, where available.

Recruiting and Retaining a Quality Workforce

Recruitment and retention strategies remain a priority

Increased workforce retention remains one of the Office of Children's Services most significant challenges and commitments. With support from the administration and Legislature, the Office of Children's Services has increased the number of social worker positions. In fiscal year 2005, the Office of Children's Services received and filled 26 positions; 31 more positions were received in fiscal year 2006. The Office of Children's Services is working toward caseloads that allow the time required to achieve positive outcomes for children and families. Specific efforts at recruitment include job fairs both in and out of Alaska, presentations to college students about job opportunities at the Office of Children's Services, and advertising with national associations and job search agencies. The Office of Children's Services is also making efforts to recruit and retain staff by offering stipends to students enrolled in social work programs at the University of Alaska Anchorage and Fairbanks who commit to working for the Office of Children's Services upon graduation.

• Careers in OCS

Develop Partnerships

Improved responsiveness by all staff

Responding in an efficient and effective manner to all those who call or otherwise contact the Office of Children's Services with questions or concerns is a priority. By enhancing and expanding our community partnerships, families are better served.

Assess, monitor and evaluate effectiveness of grants and contracts

The Office of Children's Services awards and oversees a large number of grants and contracts representing substantial funds. It is important for those grantees and contract-holders to be working in conjunction with the Office of Children's Services to provide services that help us achieve the best outcomes for families.

Evaluate service array to determine and increase service needs

It is vital to assess the funds dispersed through grants and contracts for gaps in service and adjust grants and contracts accordingly. The Office of Children's Services needs to work toward providing families the services they need.

Develop community engagement through educational messaging

Opening the Office of Children's Services to more public scrutiny by allowing more transparency is an ongoing goal. A new position was created and filled in 2005 for a Communication Coordinator who will build an ongoing plan for public communication. This person will work to improve community understanding of the Office of Children's Services and the services provided through various communication methods, including facilitating media interviews and promoting positive news stories.

Build internal capacity; prevention through active intervention

By linking programs internally - prevention through active intervention - we build the capacity for families to receive the services and support they need. The Early Intervention/Infant Learning Program provides developmental screenings for children coming through the doors of child protection services and links with social workers to access additional developmental services in children's home environments. In order to build internal capacity, the Office of Children's Services is examining ways for families to access services and support within their own communities.