Jessica Pryce, Ph.D., Director
2139 Maryland Circle, Suite 1100, Tallahassee, FL 32303 850-644-7201
FICW@FSU.EDU
@FSUChildWelfare
FICW.FSU.EDU
In 2014, the Florida Legislature established the Florida Institute for Child Welfare at the Florida State University College of Social Work. The mission of the Institute is to promote safety, permanency, and well-being among the children and families of Florida that are involved with the child welfare system. To accomplish this mission, the Institute supports interdisciplinary research projects and program evaluation initiatives to improve Florida’s child welfare outcomes. The Institute has expanded its efforts to collaborate with community and state agencies to better translate research into effective policy implementation. The Institute’s original goals and priorities were specified in section 1004.615, Florida Statutes, with an overarching mandate to make practice and policy recommendations. Additional statutory amendments in 2017, 2019, and 2020 have expanded our ability to improve the performance of child protection and child welfare services through research, policy, analysis, evaluation, and leadership development. The Institute is available to provide training, technical assistance, or evaluation activities. Please contact Dr. Jessica Pryce, Director, for more information. The four pillars that provide the framework of the Institute’s foundation are: Partnerships, Research, Technical Assistance/Training, FY and 2020-2021 Policy. This framework guides all our work in order to inform and Activities contribute to policy recommendations. Department of Children and Families (DCF)
Community-based Care Agencies
Provider Network
AFFILIATE NETWORK
(15 Universities) Section 1004.615 Florida Statutes
PARTNERSHIPS
Child Welfare Workforce Disruptions due to COVID-19
Human Trafficking Screening Tool
CHILD WELFARE WORKFORCE Section 1004.615 Florida Statutes
RESEARCH
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
EARLY CHILDHOOD COURT EVALUATION
Section 1004.615 Florida Statutes
Section 39.01304 (2) Florida Statutes
Family First Prevention Services Act
CRITICAL INCIDENT RAPID RESPONSE TEAM Section 1004.615 Florida Statutes
GUARDIANSHIP ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (GAP) EVALUATION Section 39.6225 (13) Florida Statutes
POLICY
EVALUATION OF KINSHIP CARE SERVICES
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE & TRAINING
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Awareness Coaching for the Office of Early Learning Workforce
Evaluation of the One Voice IMPAACT Youth Movement
TRAINING
Section 1004.615 Florida Statutes
Family First Prevention Services Act
ALLIANCE FOR WORKFORCE ENHANCEMENT
RESIDENTIAL GROUP CARE QUALITY STANDARDS
Section 1004.615 (8) Florida Statutes
Section 409.996 Florida Statutes
Racial Equity Learning Exchange Certification for Office of Early Learning Workforce
2021 Symposium: Supporting our Foster Youth and Young Adults for Success
RESEARCH Human Trafficking The Institute began collaborating with the Department of Children and Families (DCF) to validate the Human Trafficking Screening Tool (HTST, Tool) in 2017. Initial survey data from designated human trafficking screeners indicate most screeners perceive the Tool to be at least somewhat useful, though challenges remain (e.g., youth not being forthcoming, cumbersome to complete).1 Subsequently, the Institute completed psychometric testing on the HTST and determined that in its current form, the HTST is a promising tool for identifying trafficked youth, with a supported factor structure and evidence of predictive validity. However, the lack of internal consistency prevented validation. The Institute received an internal grant from Florida State University to support exploration of screeners’ experiences implementing the Tool, as well as their perceptions of the Tool itself. Twentysix (26) individual interviews and five focus groups were conducted with screeners from disparate regions of Florida. Analysis is underway and findings will be shared with DCF in early 2021. In addition, recommendations will be provided for DCF’s next steps based on the totality of the findings. In the future, the Institute will lead or co-lead HTST technical assistance efforts as appropriate.
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Key Personnel: Dr. Jessica Pryce,
Dr. Lisa Magruder
One Voice IMPAACT Evaluation Planning
Key Personnel:
The Selfless Love Foundation (SLF) contracted with the Institute to develop an evaluation plan for their One Voice IMPAACT (OVI) initiative. The OVI is a statewide youth initiative to help current and former foster youth develop leadership and life skills, advocate for changes to policy relevant to their experiences, and join a network of other youth leaders in the child welfare space.2 Through review of OVI documents and meetings with SLF leadership, the Institute developed a mixed-methods formative evaluation plan, the results of which would increase understanding of how OVI is functioning and whether it is currently meeting its intended initial outcomes. As a relatively new initiative, a formative evaluation can offer specific points of feedback regarding necessary OVI programmatic revision to promote efficiency and effectiveness.
Dr. Anna Yelick
Impact of COVID-19 on Child Welfare Workforce The Institute is is funding a new study, led by affiliate Dr. Riaan van Zyl at the University of South Florida: COVID-19 Workforce Disruptions: Implementation Drivers to Promote Change, a Follow-Up Study on Child Welfare Workforce Retention. Dr. van Zyl has partnered with Heartland for Children CEO and Institute affiliate Teri Saunders to explore how COVID-19 has impacted worker turnover in Florida Circuit 10. Notably, the average rolling year staff turnover rate in Circuit 10 is 66%, though monthly turnover for April 2020 was the lowest since reporting began in 2013 and, at the same time, productivity appears to be higher. Dr. van Zyl’s team notes the pandemic has provided a window of opportunity to study and improve retention and productivity for child welfare workers. The project will begin in early 2021 and the full report will be available in late fall 2021.
1 Magruder, L., Woods, M., & Tutwiler, M. (2018). Human Trafficking Screening Tool survey data report summary. Tallahassee: Florida State University, Florida Institute for Child Welfare. Available from: https://www.ficw.fsu.edu/htst 2 https://selflesslovefoundation.org/one-voice-impaact/
Dr. Lisa Magruder
Institute Affiliate: Dr. Riaan van Zyl
POLICY Evaluation of the Guardianship Assistance Program To fulfill the objectives of §39.6225 Fla. Stat. Guardianship Assistance Program (GAP) for an implementation evaluation, the Florida Institute for Child Welfare contracted with the University of Florida to complete the evaluation. Several challenges to the implementation of the GAP were identified through focus groups and interviews with guardians and child welfare professionals responsible for implementing the new program.
Challenge 1:
Lack of statewide guidelines on the GAP referral processes contribute to confusion among staff, hinders staff collaboration, and results in permanency delays for children and sometimes the inability to close cases to permanent guardianship under the GAP.
Challenge 2:
There is confusion among staff regarding waivers for Level 1 licensing. While some staff appreciated the flexibility of waivers, several staff noted inconsistent application of waivers, no guidance, and concerns about safety issues.
Challenge 3:
Some staff had not heard of the GAP prior to completing the survey for this evaluation. In addition, some staff who had heard of the GAP reported having not been trained on the GAP.
Challenge 4:
Staff are frequently obtaining and providing tangible resources to caregivers to meet the home study requirements for Level 1 licensing. The availability of resources is a challenge and can sometimes delay the licensing process which in turn, can delay permanency.
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Institute Affiliate: Dr. Martie Gillen
Several recommendations were made to address these challenges. The full report is available to read and download on our website.
Residential Group Care Quality Standards Since 2015, the Institute has been developing the Group Care Quality Standards Assessment (GCQSA), a tool designed to operationalize and measure Quality Standards for Group Care.1 In FY19-20, the Institute began the statewide validation and the inter-rater reliability and agreement studies of the GCQSA. First, the validation study is focused on establishing construct validity, which refers to whether the GCQSA measures the construct that it was designed to measure (i.e., residential care quality). Two sets of validation measures were added to the GCQSA: eight single item indicators and seven program-level indicators. An inter-rater reliability study is focused on whether the GCQSA provides a consistent representation of residential care quality. Inter-rater reliability and inter-rater agreement are examined to determine if constructs are consistently represented regardless of who is completing the measure. For more information on this legislatively mandated project, please visit our website.
Evaluation of the Early Childhood Court Building upon a legislatively mandated evaluation of the Early Childhood Court (ECC) in FY 2018-2019, ZERO TO THREE contracted with the Institute in December 2020 to conduct a second legislatively mandated evaluation to meet the statutory requirements. To address the evaluation priorities, the research team (Institute and USF) will conduct two distinct, but related evaluation initiatives: 1) a mixed-methods evaluation of the effectiveness of therapeutic modalities, and 2) a qualitative exploration of the perspectives of ECC-involved caregivers and providers regarding the therapeutic services and benefits of Early Childhood Court. This project will conclude September 30, 2021 and the report will be available in October 2021. 1
Group Care Quality Standards Workgroup. (2015). Quality Standards for group care. Boys Town, NE: Boys Town Press.
Institute Affiliate: Dr. Shamra BoelStudt
Key Personnel: Dr. Lisa Magruder
Institute Affiliate: Dr. Jennifer Marshall Dr. Michael Killian
PARTNERSHIPS
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Institute Affiliate Network
Key Personnel:
There are currently 40 affiliates contributing to the network, representing 15 universities and four organizations. Since FY 2019-2020, the Institute prioritized increasing both the involvement of our affiliates in our work and the visibility of our affiliates to our stakeholders. Notably, over half of our affiliates made substantive contributions to the Institute, such as leading research projects, participating in filmed interviews on special child welfare topics, co-hosting translational research presentations, and providing brief video clips for social media introducing themselves and their child welfare work. In addition, through our new topical infographics, we were able to highlight our affiliates with relevant expertise. A directory of FY 2020-2021 affiliates can be found on our website.
Dr. Lisa Magruder Jai McClure
Statewide Interagency Workgroup The Institute Program Director of Administration has been attending and representing the Florida Institute for Child Welfare at the Statewide Interagency Workgroup monthly meetings since early 2016. This Workgroup is comprised of state-level representatives from eight child serving agencies that could be involved in a dependent or delinquent child’s care and provision of services. Additional representatives include the Executive Office of the Governor, SEDNET, and the Office of the State Courts Administrator. The Workgroup meets to identify cross agency issues and advance the purpose of the Florida Children and Youth Cabinet, to whom the Workgroup reports. The Workgroup has created a statewide infrastructure to resolve cases that involve multiple agencies or are complex, established a standardized process for case escalation, and established agency expectations for sharing protected health information and cost sharing.
Prevent Child Abuse Florida Prevention Advisory Council In January 2021, Chris Lolley, the Director of Prevent Child Abuse Florida invited the Institute to sit on the council as it’s university and research-informed partner. The Institute Program Director of Administration will serve in this capacity.
Key Personnel: Marianna Tutwiler
Key Personnel: Marianna Tutwiler
TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE Evaluation of the Kinship Care Services in Florida—Phases II and III In FY 2019-2020, DCF contracted the Institute to assess current kinship care services within Florida. Based on that inventory report, two subsequent awards allowed the Institute to work with two agencies from the Inventory that had promising Kinship Navigator Programs: Children’s Home Network (CHN) and Kids Central, Inc. (KCI). Though the primary foci were different for each agency, in both instances, the Institute is assisting the agencies to establish evidence for their Kinship Navigator Programs. The Title IV-E Prevention Services Clearinghouse requires evidence to demonstrate the effectiveness of kinship care programs,1 though no kinship navigator program has been deemed promising, supported, or well-supported at the time of this writing. The Institute is collaborating on manuscripts intended for publication and eventual submission to the Title IV-E Clearinghouse for consideration. An evaluation plan was developed for KCI in Phase II and initial evaluation activities will begin in January 2021. Phase III will conclude in September 2021 and a full report will be available in the fall 2021.
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Title IV-E Prevention Services Clearinghouse (n.d.). Review process. Retrieved from https://preventionservices.abtsites.com/review-proces
Key Personnel: Dr. Anna Yelick
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Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Coaching and Consulting Racial inequities are well documented concerning access to quality early learning programs and workforce advancement within early learning centers. Since 2019, the Office of Early Learning has contracted with the Institute to investigate and address race equity issues at an early learning coalition (ELC) level. Three racial equity consultants are leading learning communities at 13 early learning coalitions to think critically about the design and implementation of policies and procedures centered on equitable access to quality early learning for families and workforce opportunities for early learning workers. At the individual level, equity coaching offers opportunities for deep reflection, reremembering, and a way to act against racial oppression. A process evaluation is being conducted that aims to: 1) evaluate the learning environment, instruction, and progress toward individual and group goals of ELC leadership, participants, and facilitators; and 2) create a road map of challenges and improvements to replicating the racial coaching/ consulting program. This work will continue through 2022.
Florida Institute for Child Welfare Podcast Series In 2019, the Institute created and aired the first season of what is planned to be an ongoing podcast series. It was developed as an innovative means to provide training to frontline caseworkers, supervisors, researchers, students, and administrators. Our second season, Re-imagining Child Welfare Through Technology and Innovation was released in January 2021.
More Information Available: FICW website
Listen to the Podcast: FICW website Apple Podcasts Soundcloud Spotify YouTube
ABOUT THE INSTITUTE Mission
Leadership
The Florida Institute for Child Welfare seeks to promote safety, permanency, and well-being among the children and families of Florida that are involved with the child welfare system. To accomplish this mission, the Institute sponsors and supports interdisciplinary research projects and program evaluation initiatives that contribute to a dynamic knowledge base relevant for enhancing Florida’s child welfare outcomes. The Institute collaborates with community agencies across all sectors and other important organizations in order to translate relevant knowledge generated through ecologically-valid research, policy analysis, and program evaluation.
Dr. Jessica Pryce, Director
Vision
Contact Us
To provide nationally acclaimed child welfare research, training services, and policy and practice implementation guidance with our partner organizations in support of the children and families in Florida’s child welfare system.
Dr. Lisa Magruder, Program Director of Research
Marianna Tutwiler, Program Director of Administration
Resources • Legislative Mandate • Annual Reports • Institute Staff
FICW@FSU.EDU 850-644-7201
FICW.FSU.EDU @FSUChildWelfare
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