Adapting systems of care for child welfare practice with immigrant Latino children and families

Recent reform efforts in the child welfare system have called for child welfare agencies to provide community-based services and to increase the involvement of external stakeholders in identifying and developing services within the community. At the same time, child welfare agencies are faced with the challenge of providing services to an increasingly diverse population of children and families. As a result, there is a need for evidence-based practice models that respond to these challenges and promote positive outcomes for children and families. This paper describes the development of a program designed to train child welfare staff on the application of an existing evidence-based framework, systems of care, to practice with immigrant Latino children and families as a means of responding to these multiple calls for systems change and practice improvement. Immigrant Latino children and families represent the largest and fastest-growing population in the United States, and thus require the attention of child welfare systems and the development of evidence-based practices designed to respond to the unique needs of this population. Recommendations for program planners and evaluators on the application of systems of care to child welfare practice with immigrant Latino children and families are provided. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.