Colorado's Practice Initiative

Child Welfare Excellence Colorado's Practice Initative

The Colorado Practice Initiative is an effort to develop a clear, consistent and cohesive approach to practice and service delivery.

Child Welfare Excellence: Colorado's Practice Initiative The Division of Child Welfare Services with the assistance of the Mountain and Plains Child Welfare Implementation Center (MPCWIC) is proud to introduce the Colorado Practice Initiative (CPI). Colorado is committed to achieving positive outcomes for children and their families involved with the child welfare system. The Colorado Practice Initiative is an effort to develop a clear, consistent and cohesive approach to practice and service delivery. This framework will be designed and developed collaboratively with child welfare staff and stakeholders across the state. To support Colorado on this journey, the Mountains and Plains Child Welfare Implementation Center is supporting a three-year implementation project, which will explore and define a Colorado practice model and implement specific practice strategies that are directed towards improved outcomes for children and families.

Mountains and Plains Child Welfare Implementation Center (MPCWIC) The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Children’s Bureau awarded a cooperative agreement to The University of Texas at Arlington, School of Social Work, Center for Child Welfare to work in collaboration with University of Denver’s Butler Institute for Families and the Native American Training Institute, over a five year period to establish the Mountains and Plains Child Welfare Implementation Center (MPCWIC). The Implementation Center provides services to tribal and state child welfare agencies in federal Regions VI and VIII (Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, New Mexico, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Montana, and Wyoming).

As a member of the Children’s Bureau’s training and technical assistance network, MPCWIC’s goal is to provide in-depth, long-term consultation and support to state and tribal child welfare agencies to develop and implement projects for systemic practice changes to improve outcomes for children, youth, and families. Colorado submitted an application and was selected and has been approved as one of MPCWIC’s implementation sites and the work for year one of the three year initiative is ready to begin.

Colorado is committed to achieving positive outcomes for children and their families involved with child serving agencies across the state and to shaping and implementing practice and system reform. To support Colorado on this journey, the MPCWIC three‐year implementation project will explore and define a Colorado practice model and implement specific practice strategies that are directed towards improved outcomes.

Partnership between Colorado Division of Child Welfare, County Departments of Human Services, tribal agencies, clients and community stakeholders to identify the elements of a practice model and develop a plan for implementation. MPCWIC Project Description Year One Colorado Practice Initiative Timeline Colorado Practice Initiative Summary For more information on the Colorado Practice Initiative, please contact Dr. David Menefee, Associate Director of Operations, Division of Child Welfare Services at 303-866-4379.