Session: Bridging the Science-to-Service Gap: Strengthening the Child Welfare Workforce through Knowledge Engagement (Society for Social Work and Research 27th Annual Conference - Social Work Science and Complex Problems: Battling Inequities + Building Solutions)

All in-person and virtual presentations are in Mountain Standard Time Zone (MST).

SSWR 2023 Poster Gallery: as a registered in-person and virtual attendee, you have access to the virtual Poster Gallery which includes only the posters that elected to present virtually. The rest of the posters are presented in-person in the Poster/Exhibit Hall located in Phoenix A/B, 3rd floor. The access to the Poster Gallery will be available via the virtual conference platform the week of January 9. You will receive an email with instructions how to access the virtual conference platform.

312 Bridging the Science-to-Service Gap: Strengthening the Child Welfare Workforce through Knowledge Engagement

Schedule:
Sunday, January 15, 2023: 9:45 AM-11:15 AM
Maryvale A, 2nd Level (Sheraton Phoenix Downtown)
Cluster: Child Welfare
Organizer:
Amy He, PhD, University of Denver
Speakers/Presenters:
Sharon Kollar, MSW, State University of New York at Albany, Michelle Clinch, University of Denver and Amy He, PhD, University of Denver
Academic research papers and lessons learned from evidence-based programs are often not made available in accessible formats or disseminated strategically to practitioners (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2020; Randall, McMullen, & Morton, 2022). This information is also generally written using technical terminology and crafted for a research audience, making it difficult for organizations' leaders and practitioners to apply research findings to policy and practice. The challenges with interpreting and applying research findings are especially true for fast-paced child welfare organizations where top-level administrators are typically political appointments without previous child welfare experience or expertise, and where workers are trained as clinicians rather than researchers. Hence, there is a need to translate research literature to reach a broader audience that includes all levels of professionals working in state, county, tribal, and nonprofit child welfare programs, as well as federal and state policy specialists, legislators, social work faculty members, and training and professional development staff.

Addressing the need to bridge the science to service gap, in 2009, the National Child Welfare Workforce Institute (NCWWI) created the Leading Information-sharing Networks, Knowledge Management, and Dissemination (LINKD) program. This roundtable will begin with a brief overview of LINKD's efforts to connect a national child welfare audience to promising and evidence-supported workforce development strategies and their approach to developing products that are compelling, accessible, and utilization-focused. Additionally, examples of tested strategies for knowledge engagement and dissemination from LINKD, Chapin Hall, and the Child Welfare Information Gateway will be shared, including: (1) strategic dissemination planning that includes information-sharing networks, national webinar and discussion series, newsletters, and social media channels; (2) an easy-to-navigate workforce development web-based portal for "one-stop shopping" access to resources and trainings; and (3) the creation of innovative products including podcasts, infographics, 1-pagers, and toolkits.

Presenters will then engage others to crowdsource ideas for creating public-facing products that can be widely accessed by local and national child welfare and social work-associated audiences. The aim would be to develop practice guidelines for sharing, applying, and translating scientific information to positively impact practice that best meet the needs of today's child welfare and social work workforce.

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