The Quality Improvement Center on Workforce Analytics (QIC) will partner with selected states, tribes and/or territories interested in the development of workforce analytics to help address the current workforce crisis.
Donor Name: Administration for Children and Families
State: All States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 05/05/2023
Size of the Grant: $1,270,000
Grant Duration: 60 months
Details:
In recognition of the significant impact of workforce issues on agencies, staff, and children and families, the Children’s Bureau identified addressing the needs of the child welfare workforce as one of its strategic plan goals. The Quality Improvement Center on Workforce Analytics (QIC) will emphasize development and analysis of workforce analytics to inform worker recruitment, performance and well-being strategies that support workforce innovation and retention; while also undertaking an array of activities to increase recruitment and decrease the turnover of child welfare staff from the frontline workers to top leadership. It will build knowledge in evidence-based workforce decision making practices and contribute to research on evidence based/informed workforce strategies that can support agencies’ effective recruitment and retention strategies, appropriate employee selection protocols, exploring new and innovative non-traditional pathways to expand agency recruitment pools, and ability to organize their staff to effectively get their work done.
Through a data driven systematic approach, the QIC will provide leadership to identify and assess workforce needs and develop strategic plans to engage and support a child welfare workforce that is responsive to the continuum of child welfare needs from prevention to permanency. The QIC will examine existing data and reporting structures to identify and establish core workforce metrics that guide worker recruitment, promote worker well-being and performance, and guide workforce innovation. Core components will include contributing to a national understanding of workforce metrics; collecting, developing, and disseminating evidence-based or evidence-informed strategies related to workforce development; supporting jurisdictions to pilot identified interventions to better support child welfare leaders; providing technical assistance support for implementation of best practices; evaluating the effectiveness of these interventions. Success will be measured by increased data informed decision-making capacity; improvements in recruitment capacity, retention rates, worker satisfaction, and intention to stay; and improved agency culture and climate that supports worker recruitment and retention.
Purpose of the Program
The purpose of this NOFO is to establish by cooperative agreement a Quality Improvement Center on Workforce Analytics (QIC-WA). The QIC-WA will emphasize development and evaluation of workforce analytics to inform worker recruitment, performance, and well-being strategies that support workforce innovation and retention; while also undertaking an array of activities to increase recruitment and decrease the turnover of child welfare staff from the case management workers to top leadership.
Project Goals
The QIC-WA will expand child welfare workforce evidence and innovation, increase data-driven decision-making capacity of selected pilot sites, and inform national workforce technical assistance and data collection. The work of the QIC-WA must be informed by systemic considerations including the need to advance racial equity priorities in the child welfare workforce; the realignment of child welfare priorities in the Families First Prevention Services Act; and workforce capacity to address family engagement, well-being, safety, and permanency requirements. Through a concentration on data analytics, the QIC-WA will establish data-driven processes to inform innovative child welfare workforce interventions designed to improve workforce stability and effectiveness.
The QIC-WA will:
- Contribute to a national understanding of child welfare workforce metrics;
- Identify and establish efficiencies in workforce data collection and analysis, inclusive of, but not limited to, linkages with child welfare outcomes, human resources, learning management systems, and equity goals.
- Collect, develop, and disseminate evidence-based or evidence-informed strategies related to child welfare workforce recruitment and development;
- Support jurisdictions to establish workforce analytics systems designed to improve worker recruitment, retention, well-being, and performance strategies;
- Provide technical assistance support for implementation of data analytics framework and workforce strategies established in partnership with jurisdictions;
- Evaluate the effectiveness of these interventions; and
- Develop capacity for jurisdictions to maintain established workforce data analytics and effective workforce strategies.
Funding Information
- Estimated Total Funding Amount: $1,270,000
- Maximum Funding Amount: $1,270,000
- Minimum Funding Amount: $1,000,000
- Period of Performance: 60-month project period with five 12-month budget periods
Eligible Applicants
- Small businesses
- Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
- State governments
- Independent school districts
- Public and State controlled institutions of higher education
- Special district governments
- For profit organizations other than small businesses
- Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
- Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities
- Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)
- Private institutions of higher education
- County governments
- Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments)
- City or township governments
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
