Category: Blog

How Collaborations Can Help You Improve Outcomes

For the vast majority of teenagers turning into adults, turning 21 represents a time of wonder and excitement. This is a time of planning for the future that includes job training, college applications and attendance, and learning practical skills. However, for the more than 400,000 children currently in foster care in the United States, this […]

Preventing A Wave of Homelessness: Tenant Rights and Rent Moratorium 2021

Maryellen Hess Cameron Maryellen Hess Cameron spent over 25 years as the Executive Director of non-profit agencies in the social…. Renters in financial distress are facing a loss of housing in calamitous numbers. You and your clients may be confused and frustrated with programs that are supposed to prevent peoples’ loss of housing. Take heart. […]

Transitioning Out of Foster Care and Into Opportunity

How to best serve the needs of youth aging out of foster care? The law may believe they’re old enough for independent living, but in reality the barriers to doing so can feel insurmountable. It’s a challenging question for even the most seasoned child welfare professionals, but there are actions that government agencies and non-profit […]

Casebook Security: Passwords, Permissions & Encryption

Everyone has personal information that can’t get into the wrong hands. Whether you’re in child welfare, workforce development, foster care, community services or any area helping others, working in the social services sector means the most sensitive parts of their lives are in your hands, or at least your case files. How you protect, store, and […]

Apprenticeships: Bridging the Gap Between the Old and New Economy

For non-profits and social service organizations working in the career training and workforce development space, offering apprenticeship programs is a great way to ensure that entry-level workers and career changers alike can overcome the pressing challenges of today’s economy. What do the fledgling designers and software engineers at Nava PBC, and aspiring electricians at Georgia Power have in common […]

The Priority to Combat Staff Turnover in Social Services: Leadership Development

Welcome back to the second part in a two-part series on combating staff turnover in social services. Previously we talked about the budget dilemmas that typically put the least experienced and least paid staff on the frontlines, spending most of their time with the clients. Moreover, the heavy toll often inflicted on frontline social service workers means […]

The Priority to Combat Staff Turnover in Social Services

A little less than 20 years ago, almost to the day, I received a call that would unknowingly launch a 13-year career in child welfare services. That’s quite a remarkable tenure considering that when the organization called me for the interview, I couldn’t even remember who they were and when I applied. I had just […]

The Impact of One Trusted Adult in a Former Foster Youth’s Life

For most of us reading this article, we didn’t have life completely figured out when we turned 18 years of age. I turned 18 in the middle of boot camp with the United States Marine Corps. I declined to notify my Drill Instructors that it was my birthday, lest they plan a special “celebration” for […]

A COVID-19 Call to Action for Foster Parents

Nearly 20 years ago, I embarked on what would be a fascinating career serving some of our nation’s most troubled youth. A remarkable career considering that when I started, I didn’t know anything about kids. I was a Political Science major in need of a job post-college when one of the nation’s most respected youth […]

CARES Act Support for Non-Profits

During Nonprofit Giving Season, we’ll review the impact the pandemic has had on philanthropy and how support put in place by CARES Act could impact your nonprofit.  CARES (which stands for Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security), passed in early Spring and has six key areas that support nonprofits during the economic crisis caused by COVID-19. Employee […]