Foster Care Community of Practice

The Foster Care team in the Child Safety and Permanency Administration at the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) will host virtual Community of Practice meetings quarterly in January, April, July and October. Meetings will be on Tuesdays and Thursdays of the last week of the month. Registration and additional meeting details will be sent via GovDelivery the month prior.

The goals of the Foster Care Community of Practice meetings are to:

• Provide a space for Tribal and county workers to share their knowledge and engage in meaningful discussion on various topics pertaining to child welfare
• Provide attendees with useful information and support to develop and enhance their understanding of child welfare practice
• Engage Tribal and county workers and stakeholders to develop ongoing foster care placement and permanency discussion topics that support positive outcomes for children and families.

April 2026 meetings

The April 2026 meeting will feature the YMCA of San Diego presenting the CAAVE framework: Compassion, Awareness, Acceptance, Validation, and Empowerment. CAAVE is a simple, human-centered approach that helps staff manage stress while supporting clients and teams. It’s grounded in brain science, healthy relationships, and co-regulation.

The YMCA will give a high-level overview of its full-day training and explain how CAAVE strengthens engagement with youth. Research and experience show that these five qualities help build meaningful connections, support healing, and protect staff and teams from burnout.

Target audience

Sessions are geared towards ongoing case managers for children and youth in out-of-home placement receiving child protection, child welfare, children's mental health and/or disability services.

Registration

Participants only need to attend one meeting; the content is the same.
Register for April 28, 10-11:30 a.m.
Register for April 30, 2-3:30 p.m.

2026 meeting dates

April 28, 10 a.m., and April 30, 2 p.m.
July 28, 10 a.m. and July 30, 2 p.m.
Oct, 27, 10 a.m. and Oct. 29, 2 p.m.

Previous meeting presentations

January 2026 – Tools for Reunification
October 2025 – Caseworker visits with children in foster care
July 2025 – Maintaining connections for children in foster care
January 2025 – Child welfare case management engagement with relatives