Leaning in to Support and Improve Child Welfare Practice

Leaning in to Support and Improve Child Welfare Practice

Recently, State Director Leach and Child Welfare Services Deputy Karen Bryant visited several local DSS county offices in the Pee Dee and Midlands Regions. They met with county leadership, shadowed frontline child welfare professionals, sat in on case staffings and connected with a few community partners. Similar visits are planned for all regions of the state for an up-close view of how the agency is working to engage and strengthen families.

The visits also offered an opportunity to engage with staff about how they are applying the agency’s newly launched Child Welfare Guiding Principles and Standards Practice Model.  After more than a year and a half of planning with staff, local partners and experts from across the country, DSS Child Welfare practitioners now have a new guide to direct their work in helping to navigate services and explore avenues to successful outcomes for families.

According to Bryant, child welfare professionals at all levels are “leaning in” and putting the principles into practice. “Our local leadership and frontline professionals are embodying and manifesting respect, excellence, community investment and accountability,” said Bryant. “I’m beyond excited and encouraged about the possibilities for child welfare in South Carolina.”