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Vol. 15, No. 3
June 2010

Striving for Excellence in Supervision

Child welfare supervisors are coaches, mentors, and evaluators responsible for the quality of services children and families receive. The tone and expectations they set are so important that some have called them the “keepers of the culture” for their agencies.
All of this means that supervisors have a powerful influence on families and on a child welfare agency’s ability to achieve the safety, permanence, and well-being of children.

It’s a big job. Practice Notes can’t reduce the number of things for which supervisors are responsible, but we can try to make their burden a little lighter. In this issue we highlight supervisory practices that can develop your staff and improve their satisfaction and performance—key ingredients to improved outcomes for families.

The articles show the parallel process between what supervisors ask workers to do with families, and what in turn supervisors need to provide for their workers. While front line workers strive to engage families in a productive relationship, supervisors strive to engage and empower their workers, their community partners, and their peers to create a more successful agency.

Contents of this Issue

Click here to read or print the entire issue as a pdf file

Enhancing Your Unit’s Performance
Using Partnership in Supervision

Reflection on Leadership and Courage

Tools to Strengthen Your Practice
Outline for a Supervisory Conference

Engaging Workers and Families
Supervisors and Child and Family Team Meetings

Update on NC’s Child Welfare Supervision Advisory Committee
Supervisors Taking the Lead on Best Practices

Focusing on a Core Supervisory Skill
Helping Workers Develop Their Critical Thinking Skills

References for this Issue

© 2010 Jordan Institute for Families