The following are values and principles for the development of an effective practice model. Values and principles are to be reflected throughout the array of services delivered to children and families. The principles serve as guidance to the agency in defining the values to incorporate into each component of the service array and delivery of those services to children, youth and families. Practice models provide behavioral descriptions so staff know “what it looks like” when the following values and principles are in place:
Value: Shared Responsibility
Principle: Supporting the well-being of children, youth and families is a shared government and community responsibility. The field of public child welfare supports well-being by promoting the safety and permanency of children and youth whose families are unwilling or unable to meet their needs or protect them. Public child welfare also serves as a catalyst in identifying the role and responsibility of the community to assist these same children, youth and families.
Value: Child Centered
Principle: Children are entitled to live in a safe and permanent home and need families to be successful.
Value: Family Focused
Principle: Families of origin have the right and the responsibility to raise their children. The field recognizes its responsibility to provide a range of preventative and/or supportive services to families having difficulty in providing a safe and permanent environment.
Value: Culturally Competent
Principle: The field has a responsibility to understand and serve children, youth and families within the context of their unique beliefs, values, race, ethnicity, history, culture, religion and language.
Principle: The field of public child welfare recognizes value in the child, the biological family and individuals in the child's life participating in the assessment, planning and service delivery/treatment processes. These processes should be designed to optimize active participation and promote the expression of individual choices.
Principle: The field of public child welfare recognizes that it must be benevolent, act with integrity, perform reliably and demonstrate competence in all interactions.
Principle: The field of public child welfare recognizes its responsibility to itself and its stakeholders to assess and manage its performance, self-correct, innovate and enhance its ability to achieve positive outcomes.
Principle: The field of public child welfare recognizes the need to work in collaboration with stakeholders and the community to promote safety, permanency and well-being for children, youth and families.
Principle: The field of public child welfare recognizes the need for all practices, service delivery, communications and behaviors to be easily understood, fully defined and explained, candid and open.
Value: Data and Evidence-Informed
Principle: The field of public child welfare recognizes that the use of data and evidence-informed practice is critical for effective decision-making on behalf of children, youth and families.