Child Welfare & Family Well-being

Established in 2007 in collaboration with NJDCF, IFF leads a University Partnership that trains 5,000 child- and family-serving professionals. The Partnership supports DCP&P's workforce, including frontline workers and supervisors dedicated to supporting children and families, by delivering courses that provide fundamental training on skills and knowledge critical for child welfare practice. Foundational courses prepare professionals for overlapping issues between child welfare, mental health, domestic violence, and substance use.

High-quality professional development that explores the complexities of adolescent development and transitional needs for independence. Statewide conferences and area summits bring together professionals for networking and practice development.

Created to support child welfare providers serving caregivers impacted by SUDs, this Fellowship educates professionals serving families impacted by addiction through eight training modules with integrated practical experiences. Feedback from participants reinforces the Fellowship as a highly effective learning experience and platform of dissemination for graduates to share knowledge back with their professional peers.

IFF is reimagining the foundational learning that prepares newly hired child welfare workers to support the safety and permanency of children. This project includes integrated learning experiences that explore evidence-based practices for supporting caregivers and their children using content that is family-centered, strength-based, healing-centered, and inclusive of a parent’s perspective. Each training phase incorporates asynchronous learning, synchronous learning, field observations, supervised reflections, and coached discussions.

IFF maintains the Department of Children and Families' learning management system for more than 7,000 users. The LMS serves as an enrollment platform while hosting course materials that include participant guides, handouts, media files, and course evaluation tools.

To develop leadership in DCP&P, IFF hosted a specialized series of learning events for middle managers. The 2017 Leadership Series for Casework Supervisors educated 200 professionals over two years through expert-led learning experiences, facilitated networking, and guided learning circles. This experience fostered the application of new knowledge to practice, produced self-reflective portfolios, developed leadership skills, and reinforced competencies that translated into behaviors consistent with DCF's mission, goals, and vision.

IFF participated in an initiative supporting youth aging out of foster care with the NJ Department of State on behalf of the Corporation for National and Community Service. This initiative explored models for involving foster youth in mentoring programs with AmeriCorps service members and developed ideas for building a relationship between them.

New Jersey’s Standards for Prevention Programs outline essential elements for highly effective, strength-based primary and secondary prevention programs. In 2015, IFF conducted an inventory of current practices and provided training and support in embedding these standards across the state’s network of prevention programs. This work was supported with funds from the Children’s Trust Fund under priorities established in collaboration with the Prevention Committee of the NJ Task Force on Child Abuse and Neglect.