INSTITUTE NEWS Leadership Transition
Dr. Jessica Pryce will step down from her position as Director of the Institute later this winter. Dr. Jessica Pryce has been the Director of the Institute since January 2017. Later this winter, she will transition to a new position at the Institute and FSU College of Social Work. Over the course of her time as Director, the Institute has expanded and grown in its mission and impact. When it was mandated by the Florida State Legislature in 2014, the Institute’s primary
focus was translating research into program and policy recommendations. Institute staff and partners have been committed to the creation and curation of robust research that informs policy and scales up effective interventions statewide. In her role as Director, Dr. Pryce worked alongside the legislature to build a clear and compelling vision for sustainable and positive change in the workforce. She championed the continued funding of the Florida Study of Professionals for Safe Families, a longitudinal study of Florida’s child welfare workforce (2015-2020), which provides strategic guidance towards the Institute’s expanded mission through recent 2020 legislation Chapter No. 2020-152 (Senate Bill 1326). The Institute is now more focused on innovating the methods to teach students about child welfare, providing career long professional advancement and support, and enhancing organizational well-being through leadership development.
“It was an honor to work on Senate Bill 1326. To have had the opportunity to advocate for the professionals who do this job every day, day in and day out – it was surreal. With the complexities of child welfare, there were no easy answers for addressing the persistent workforce challenges but expanding our mission to prioritize the workforce was vital.” The relationships Dr. Pryce cultivated over the past five years have rendered valuable and diverse insights and recommendations that contributed to the Institute’s continued success. Throughout her time as Director, Dr. Pryce tethered her leadership to her front-line experience in Tallahassee’s child protection services system. She infused connection and compassion for the frontline professional, which made the translation of the Institute work to multiple audiences, a paramount goal. “As a leader, I’ve always wanted to create a vision, set standards for the quality of
work that is being done, and take good care of the team. I wanted our team to have the trust and space to use their knowledge and skills and feel a part of the overall vision. Our team is adaptive, strong, and committed.”
Even in this leadership transition, the Institute’s vision remains clear: Fostering a thriving workforce with evidence of increased job and career satisfaction, effective interorganizational partnerships, and competent leadership, that will positively impact outcomes for children and families. Other contributions from Dr. Pryce include the creation and hosting of the Institute’s podcast series, which has the goal of creating an accessible resource for child welfare professionals as they diligently do their jobs. Podcast episodes throughout all five seasons have highlighted important topics such as intimate partner violence, workforce innovations, supporting youth, and promoting racial equity. In addition, Dr. Pryce was appointed to the board of the National Child Welfare Workforce Institute (NCWWI) which created a throughline of resources and a robust partnership between the Institute and national partners.
NCWWI has been an active and research-based informant for the Institute’s increased responsibilities.
“Being the Director of the Institute for 6 years has been a dream, a privilege. We have achieved more than we set out to achieve and I believe there is much more impact on the horizon. It’s been an exceptional experience for me to work on systemic change efforts at my alma mater and in my home state.”
Dr. Pryce will continue as faculty at the FSU College of Social Work A national search for the new and will remain Director of the Institute is closely connected forthcoming. to the Institute’s We encourage ongoing work. our stakeholders Specifically, she will continue to stay informed her work with the Alliance and watch for for Workforce Enhancement (AWE) initiative, which is an initiative of the Institute’s announcements GROW Center. about opportunities to get involved.
With Dr. Pryce’s leadership, the AWE initiative will strive to enhance workforce wellbeing through specialized leadership development and adaptive technical assistance at the organizational level. The AWE program has been implemented at two sites in Florida, creating opportunities to promote internal capacity building for Florida’s child welfare professionals.
The Institute will continue to provide updates about the forthcoming director search on our website, social media, and via email. @FSUCHILDWELFARE
SUBSCRIBE TO THE INSTITUTE’S NEWSLETTER