Building a Model and Framework for Child Welfare Supervision

managers, state foster care managers, Children’s Bureau staff, recruitment and retention
grantees, and the Southern Regional Quality Improvement Center. Based on consultation with
the working group and a comprehensive review of the literature in child welfare practice and
supervision and other relevant fields, a list of supervisory responsibilities was developed. This
list became a core component of a protocol used to interview frontline practitioners, supervisors,
and administrators regarding their perspectives about the relative importance of these
responsibilities and the obstacles to and supports of effective child welfare supervision.
Additional information was collected through interviews with other experts in child welfare
supervision and a survey of the National Child Welfare Resource Center for Organizational
Improvement’s Peer Training Network members. The data collected from these sources and
ongoing consultation with working group members resulted in an emerging model for and an
organizational framework to support effective supervision in child welfare. Further detail
concerning the methodology is provided in Section III.
Organization of this Report
This report, Building a Model and Framework for Child Welfare Supervision, is organized into
three sections. Section I introduces the following seven elements of an emerging model of
supervision in child welfare:
• the organization’s practice philosophy and approaches, clearly articulated in writing, and
the statutory and policy requirements that shape agency practice;
• the identification of the functions and current job responsibilities of child welfare
supervisors and acknowledgement of similarities and differences in staff members’
perceptions of the relative importance of those responsibilities;
• the centrality of building and maintaining supervisors’ relationships with their
supervisees as well as with others in the organization and community to carrying out
their responsibilities effectively;
• the necessity for explicit and manageable standards for caseload size and supervisorsupervisee
ratios;
• specific expectations with regard to the frequency and format for supervision;
• the organization’s expectations for ongoing evaluation of frontline practitioners;
• support for supervisors in their roles as unit leaders and change agents.
Section II presents an integrated organizational framework consisting of four components
required to empower child welfare supervisors to effectively carry out their administrative,
educational, and supportive functions. These components include:
• an organizational culture that values and demonstrates support for the vital role
supervisors play in ensuring positive outcomes for children, youth and families;
• a model of supervisory practice that reflects how the organization views the roles,
responsibilities, and expectations of supervisors and includes accurate, written job
descriptions;
• systematic recruitment and retention of individuals who are a “good fit” as frontline
practitioners and supervisors and;
4