Established in 2007, Partners for Our Children works to improve the lives of vulnerable children and families in Washington state and across the country—especially those whose lives are touched by the child welfare system. Our mission is to advance research, policies, programs and practices that support the safety, security and well-being of children.
With a focus on partnership, this School of Social Work research and innovation center works with the Washington Department of Children, Youth, and Families and the School's Alliance for Child Welfare Excellence as well as state, federal and tribal stakeholders to improve workforce development, advance policy reform, share data, discover and scale evidence-based interventions, and involve private and public-sector funders.
Partners for Our Children initiatives include:
- Washington State Child Well-Being Data Portal—an online tool that collects free, detailed and timely information about children involved in the child welfare system in Washington state. The data are used to promote better policy decision-making, foster new research projects, and help guide system improvements.
- Strive—a parent-support and education program designed specifically for parents when their children are in the child welfare system. Strive teaches parents how to navigate the foster care system and work to build stronger bonds with their children, with the ultimate goal of successfully reuniting the family.
- Alliance for Child Welfare Excellence—a partnership in which P4C evaluates child welfare training to ensure a highly skilled workforce for the state’s foster caregivers and social workers.