Permanency Planning Training in Child Welfare
The Center's Partnership with North Carolina Division of Social Services
Child Welfare Permanency Planning (formerly called Foster Care) is an important function of North Carolina’s Child Welfare system. It serves children and youth who have been legally placed in out-of-home care. During a child’s time in out-of-home care, permanency planning social workers partner with a child’s parents to assist them in accessing necessary services and resources so they may be reunited with their children. Currently, there are about 10,000 children placed in North Carolina’s foster care system. Of these 10,000 children, about 25% are currently living and placed with kinship (family members and/or relatives). Lisa Cauley, the Division of Health and Human Services’ Child, Family, and Adult Services Director, was interviewed by the WRAL news station this past February. During this interview, Lisa Cauley shared that it is a “goal [for Social Services] to increase [the number of children living and placed with kinship from 25%] to 50% over the next few years, a level some other states have achieved” (Leslie, 2024).
Training is one important piece in the learning and professional development cycle of a social worker. As such, our Center had an opportunity to partner with the North Carolina Division of Social Services (NCDSS) staff development team members and a Region 1 Child Welfare Regional Specialist in Permanency Planning to observe and provide Permanency Planning in Child Welfare course events across the state between the months of March and June 2024.
Caroline Cameron, Pamela Underwood, and Joe Allen collaborated with our Center to serve approximately 77 child welfare professionals in four-day events focusing on laws, policy, practice, and engagement with children and families in foster care.
Pictured below with permission, is Joe Allen (Regional Child Welfare Specialist Region 1 Permanency Planning) and Jenny King (Center Program Manager, Training) after completing a four-day training event in Wake County in early June.
To learn more about our Center’s training offerings, check out our Professional Training page!
