We may be winding down our month-long celebration of child welfare workers, but we’ll never tire of thanking those who work so hard to secure the safety of children and to help families heal and regain wholeness. Child Welfare Workforce Development Month may come once a year, but the mission continues year-round.
Professional, dedicated, and passionate child welfare workers serve on the front line to help struggling families acquire the skills and resources they need to care for their children. They also make sure young people have a safe, loving place to stay while that happens.
Saint Francis Ministries provides a full range of programs and services dedicated to the well-being of children and families (learn more about them here https://saintfrancisministries.org/). Many of those programs work in common with other community providers.
To function well, child welfare programs depend upon strong, sustainable partnerships with families, community agencies and providers, courts, law enforcement, schools, and engaged community members.
Indeed, “these resources support child welfare leaders in connecting with the elements of a system that supports the prevention and strengthening of families, and providing the workforce with skills to convene and facilitate teams of partners and providers to work collectively to support families” (National Child Welfare Workforce Institute).
In other words, it does take a village.
We couldn’t do our work without the collaboration and friendship of donors, grantors, volunteers, foster/kinship/adoptive families, advocates, and friends. You make all things possible.
As another Child Welfare Workforce Development Month recedes into history, it’s good to keep in mind that we’re all responsible for child welfare, whether we get paid for it or not. A fully invested community is still the best way of ensuring that struggling children and families get the help they need to heal and remain whole.
