1. Listen
What does the caregiver already know, and what would the child or family want the team to understand?
For child welfare supervisors
A staff huddle on caregiver coordination
Use this discussion with caseworkers and staff who support foster, kinship or adoptive families. It is not a case plan or trauma-care training.
Use the made-up example below. Do not include names or private health information about people your staff support.
Discuss the example
A caregiver says a visit schedule has changed and asks who will explain the change to the child. The staff team has not yet agreed who will respond.
2. Consider the response
Who is responsible for responding, and what information may be shared under your organization’s rules and the family’s circumstances?
3. Coordinate
How can the team check that the response was understood without assuming what the family needs or recording identifying details in this exercise?
Decide what staff need next
Ask the group what they already know, which policies or tools they need, and where learning or supervision would help. Agree on one next step and who will follow up. Support for an individual follows that person’s plan and your organization’s procedures.
Want to discuss a staff learning need? Talk with our team. You can describe staff roles and the task without sharing client details.
Explore the child welfare training guide, including the course’s limits, before deciding whether it fits your staff.
Further reading
This discussion prompt draws on National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare: collaboration and information sharing (focused on child welfare and substance-use services). The scenario is fictional and is not from that source.