This resource consist of a Java applet and expository text. The applet simulates Bernoulli trials in terms of coin tosses. The random variables of interest are the number of heads and the proportion of heads. The number of coins and the probability of heads can be varied. The applet illustrates the law of large numbers and the central limit theorem.

This curriculum is designed to educate social workers about the experiences and needs of families involved with both public welfare and child welfare services so that they can provide high-quality case management services within a post-welfare reform environment. Based on research from a longitudinal, ethnographic study of families living in an urban environment, the curriculum includes: a review of child welfare outcomes in the welfare reform era; a description of welfare reform as implemented in one county, including examples from the client's perspective of managing within a welfare-to-work environment; a cost of living analysis of life on welfare; a set of case examples illustrating pathways from welfare to child welfare, with special attention to aspects of welfare reform which may play a role in child welfare outcomes; and a discussion of how to apply qualitative research methods toward improving child welfare practice, as well as an explanation of the research methods used for the study. (187 pages)Frame, L., Berrick, J. D., Sogar, C., Berzin, S. C., & Pearlman, J. (2001).

This resource consists of a Java applet and expository text. The applet simulates the rolling of n dice. The number of dice and the probability distribution that governs the dice can be specified.

This curriculum explores the experiences and challenges of transracial adoptive families with the goal of improving the quality of services and supports provided to them. In addition, there is a growing subset of transracial adoptive families who choose to maintain contact with their child's birth family. Very little information exists to help these families or their child welfare workers understand the bumpy terrain of openness. This curriculum fills some of the many gaps in knowledge and practice. It includes summaries of transracial adoption literature, a theoretical discussion on normative development in transracial adoptive families, practice-oriented information including discussion questions and exercises, case vignettes, worker guidance, a self-assessment tool, and findings from the in-depth qualitative study of 12 transracial adoptive families in California conducted as part of this project. Findings themes include: the complicated factors involved in choosing transracial adoption; how the children and youth understand the meaning of their adoption; issues around the choice to maintain contact with the adopted child's birth family, the role of the contact, and the vulnerability of contact arrangements; the role of race in family life and development, negotiating different cultural worlds, and developmental changes; and the role of services and supports prior to and following adoption. (216 pages)Frasch, K., Brooks, D., Reich, J., & Wind, L. (2004).

This module explores the implementation, process, and outcomes of the Family Unity Meeting in San Diego County, which provides a case study for Family Group Decision Making. Module I covers factors that distinguish between families that accept or reject an invitation to a meeting, the meeting process, outcomes, family perspectives on family change, the use of social support, and family satisfaction with services. Module II includes a synopsis of Family Group Conferencing; legislation supportive of FGC; the history, definition, and philosophy of FGC; models of FGC; process of FGC; facilitator's role; trends and evaluation FGC; classroom exercises; videotape suggestions; and a bibliography. Module III is a proposed semester course syllabus that focuses on FGC and strength-based practice. Module IV is a handbook designed for field instructors and students who are engaged in FGC as part of the student's field practicum. (233 pages) Jones, L., & Daly, D. (2004).

This resource provides access to materials associated with the Fundamentals in Evidence-Based Decision-Making series at the Northern California Training Academy. To learn more about the series, please visit the Academy website at www.humanservices.ucdavis.edu/academy

This curriculum, which may be used in whole or in part, offers an overview of kinship care including a brief historical context for this resource, funding associated with kinship care, and some of the legal issues that have shaped kinship care policy. Characteristics of kinship care providers and children are presented, along with a thorough examination of outcomes associated with kinship care. In addition, data on the number of children in foster care, kinship care in the context of the larger out-of-home care population, outcomes associated with kinship care versus non-kin care, and the discrepancy between AFDC and AFDC-FC payments in California and the role these differential payment rates may play in kinship care outcomes are provided. Last, child welfare workers' views about the primary differences between kinship foster parents and foster family parents, and changes in policy and practice are considered. (188 pages)Berrick, J. D., Needell, B., & Barth, R. P. (1995).

This curriculum focuses on issues related to mental health service utilization and outcomes among children in the child welfare system. In spite of the documented need for mental health services for these children, there is a lack of information on children involved with both the child welfare and mental health systems. In order to improve our understanding of the issues and needs of this population, this curriculum focuses on five areas: (a) demographic and system-related characteristics of children involved in both the child welfare and mental health systems; (b) clinical need for services, service utilization patterns, and association between mental health service utilization and child welfare outcomes; (c) policies affecting mental health service utilization by children in the child welfare system; (d) collaboration between child welfare and mental health systems; and (e) resources for collaboration and service provision for children and youth in both the child welfare and mental health systems. The curriculum will provide research highlights, conceptual frameworks, tools, and experiential opportunities to strengthen understanding of a wide range of issues related to mental health service utilization among children in the public child welfare system. (165 pages)Hines, A. M., Lee, P. A., Osterling, K. L., Tweed, M. (2007).

Increasingly, public agencies are adopting models of self-assessment in which administrative data are used to guide and then continuously evaluate the implementation of programs and policies. In California, public child welfare agencies track performance outcomes spanning a range of child safety, permanency, and well-being domains, as dictated by federal and state mandates. This curriculum has been designed to provide Title IV-E and others students interested in public child welfare systems with an overview of the state’s Child Welfare Outcomes and Accountability System. Students will be provided with hands-on opportunities to become experienced and “statistically literate” users of aggregate, public child welfare data from the state’s administrative child welfare system, attending to the often missing link between data/research and practice. This curriculum is organized into five teaching modules, providing instructors with student learning activities, PowerPoint slide presentations, and other materials to support graduate IV-E students in the development of practical data analysis skills. Materials focus on publicly available data hosted through the Child Welfare Indicators Project at the University of California at Berkeley, a long-standing agency/university data partnership: http://cssr.berkeley.edu/ucb_childwelfare. CalSWEC funding for the development of this curriculum was provided to the Child Welfare Performance Indicators Project. Modules were developed to support instructors of both first- and second-year MSW research courses. Module objectives include: (a) to support student (and instructor) understanding of California's child welfare system performance goals and progress to date; (b) to develop students who have highly desirable (and practical) data analysis skills, including the ability to intelligibly distill and present numerical findings; and (c) to prepare a cohort of IV-E MSW students equipped to adopt leadership roles in county child welfare agencies, bringing with them an appreciation for how data can be used to improve practice and inform policies. Putnam-Hornstein, E., Needell, B., Lery, B., King, B., & Weigmann, W. (2013).