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

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.