Engagement, Relationships and Partnership Toolkit

The Engagement, Relationships and Partnership (ERP) Toolkit is designed to accomplish the following goals:

  • Reinforce the value that child welfare, the community and partner agencies share responsibility with families to make collaborative decisions supporting the safety, permanency and well-being of children and youth
  • Provide foundational materials such as tools, templates, resources and examples to assist child welfare agencies and their community, Tribal and system partners to work together on practice and system changes related to CPM
  • Offer insight and information on the essential role and contributions that community partners can play in improving child welfare practice, systems and outcomes
  • Help child welfare leaders and staff reach out and engage those community members or organizations who may not have been traditionally recognized or meaningfully involved as partners in the past

Why Partnership is Critical for Quality Implementation of CPM

A fundamental value of CPM is that children, youth and young adults are more likely to achieve lasting safety, permanency and well-being in the context of family, culture and community. In addition, the CPM practice elements of assessment, teaming, advocacy and accountability all depend on meaningful, active engagement of community, Tribal and system partners working together with child welfare agencies on behalf of children and families. Each of these aspirations requires a solid foundation of partnership. Roles partners play in quality implementation of CPM include:

  • Work collaboratively across agencies and communities to address system barriers
  • Jointly establish the pathways to culturally relevant supports and services
  • Contribute to building competency throughout the system
  • Engage in regular, ongoing communication and feedback loops to fortify continuous quality improvement
  • Join across systems and communities to create a seamless continuum of care, services and supports
  • Help ensure cross-system accountability for keeping children safe, families strong and systems responsive
  • Contribute to a mutual understanding around common issues while co-creating solutions as the system aims for improved outcomes for children and their families
Tools & Resources