BAA centers race equity in its services and offers several dedicated programs that attend to race equity, diversity and inclusion. Beginning in 2017, BAA partnered with Alameda County to co-create the Equity and Inclusion Fellowship, a multi-day intervention that has been mandated for the child welfare workforce throughout Alameda County. Over the next several years, BAA scaled this project to design a regional approach for leadership throughout the 12 Bay Area Counties that continues to grow and expand. In 2022, BAA led a Race Equity Inclusion Statewide Curriculum Integration project leveraging the expertise of a team of Subject Matter Experts that proposed content connecting the four pillars of racism into over 40 statewide mandated courses for the child welfare workforce. In 2023, BAA began developing a Race Equity Integration Training for Trainers to support the capacity-building skills of facilitators that will be delivering the curriculum with the newly integrated race equity content.

BAA's Implementation Science Academy (ISA) is designed to support all levels of the child welfare workforce apply implementation science-informed strategies to any intervention, initiative or practice in which they are engaged. Implementation Science is an evolving body of work that is growing and adapting in sync with complex human services work. Foundational concepts that are organized around building readiness, workforce development, partnerships and continuous quality improvement provide the necessary framework to successfully implement interventions. The ISA pairs Implementation Science with practical strategies for application in child welfare in support of working effectively and efficiently in the growing demands within today's child welfare system.

The Alameda County Training Project is partnering across Children and Family Services, Bay Area Academy and key stakeholder organizations to deliver cutting-edge workforce development experiences inside and outside of the traditional training classroom. With an acute focus on the multiple dimensions of adult learning, the project is using didactic training, person-centered skills-based coaching, simulation labs and e-learnings as platforms to increase staff confidence and competence in social work best practices. This year's special collaborative projects include:

• Beginning and Advanced Safety Organized Practice (SOP)
• Child and Family Teaming and Facilitation (CFTs)
• Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Exploration (SOGIE)
• The Equity and Inclusion Fellowship Project - Equity & Inclusion Fellowship Cohort Site

Contra Costa County Children and Family Services strives to apply Safety Organized Practice throughout the agency. Through ongoing implementation supports including training, field-based training and coaching they are pioneering an approach that supports Supervisors and leads to staff retention throughout the agency. This approach is intended to strengthen Contra Costa’s infrastructure in support of implementation of California's Core Practice Model enabling the county to deliver services that improve outcomes for the children and families in Contra Costa.   Contra Costa’s goals are to:

• Build the internal capacity of staff to become Field Advisors
• Create and implement a structured coaching service delivery plan that outlines clear objectives, benchmarks and outcomes
• Implement the rollout of SOP countywide and provide field-based training support; and to progress in implementation of the Core Practice Model

The Marin County Training Project was established to provide workforce development and organizational support to the division of Children and Family Services. Each year this encompasses the development and implementation of a strategic training plan that prioritizes the workforce learning needs of their agency with purposeful attention to internal capacity building for sustainability of child welfare best practices and alignment to the mission and values of the California Core Practice Model.

• Training - Assessment, SOGIE, Teaming Framework, Legal Overview, Racial Sobriety, and Ethnographic Interviewing
• Coaching/Field-based Training/Group Facilitation: SOP, Behaviorally Based Case Plans, CC3.0 Field Advising, and STS Group for Visitation Supervisors
• Leadership Development: Individual Coaching for Supervisors

Monterey County’s Family and Children’s Services offers child protective services, foster care services, and adoption services to children and youth in Monterey County. The mission of Family and Children’s Services is to prevent the occurrence of child abuse and neglect. Service goals strive to keep children and youth safe and within the protection of a permanent family.  

In order to meet these goals, Monterey County has been collaborating with the Bay Area Academy to infuse the California Core Practice Model, including cultural humility and institutional equity, and trauma-informed practices into all training, coaching and consultation that support the work of the agency.   

Key projects in 2018-2019 include: 

• Executive leadership development: Implementation science to support the CPM rollout  
• Participation in the pilot of Advanced Art of Coaching Academy 
• Visitation model development and implementation  
• Safety Organized Practice 
• Child & Family Teaming and meeting facilitation 
• Culturally-humble & trauma-informed practices, i.e., becoming a SOGIE-competent agency 

The Napa County Training Project was established to provide workforce development and organizational support to the division of Child Welfare Services. Each year this encompasses the development and implementation of a strategic training plan that prioritizes the workforce learning needs of their agency with purposeful attention to internal capacity building for sustainability of child welfare best practices and alignment to the mission and values of the California Core Practice Model.  

Napa’s goals this year include: 

• Training - SOP, Family Engagement, Advanced Permanency, Trauma Informed Practice, Understanding Addiction, and CPM 

• Coaching and Field-based Training: SOP, SDM, and CC3.0 Field Advising

San Benito County’s Children and Family Services provides protection for children who are at risk of, or are experiencing physical, sexual, or emotional abuse, or emotional or physical neglect. The focus is on the safety of the child and support for parents to strengthen families and promote safe nurturing homes for children.   

In order to meet these goals, the Bay Area Academy is providing: 

• Field-based training to new workers to support their transfer of learning from Core e-learning and classroom training to their work with children, youth, families and their safety networks.

San Francisco County’s Family and Children’s Services Division works to ensure the safety, permanency and well-being of children in their community and provides services to families to gain and sustain the skills to maintain a safe home for their children. Bay Area Academy partners with San Francisco Family and Children Services to achieve these goals by supporting the development of the professional workforce through a strategic plan that prioritizes resources and creates a cohesive training program focused on staff development and leadership capacity. Through culturally competent training, an emphasis on coaching and creating opportunities for the intentional  transfer of learning, the partnership of BAA and FCS strengthens the San Francisco’s capacity to serve its community and improve outcomes for children and families.  

Practices and Innovations to highlight in San Francisco County: 

• Integrating Core Practice Model implementation planning  with the outcomes of the county’s Comprehensive Organizational Health Assessment 
• Focus on family-centered practices designed to improve outcomes for families including innovative visitation programs, emphasizing behaviorally-based case planning and Safety Organized Practice integration throughout the division 
• Secondary trauma support is available to staff through regular processing groups to assist in staff retention, reduce burnout and support the workforce in continuing to provide excellent service to families.  
• Dedicated coaching staff is available to all FCS supervisors to assist in the development of staff, support the delivery of Safety Organized Practice techniques and reinforce standardized practices across the division.  

San Mateo Department of Children and Family Services works to protect the welfare of children; improve the lifelong stability of children and youth; and improve the health and strength of families.  The Bay Area Academy is supporting San Mateo in reaching their mission by providing a variety of services. 

The partnership between Bay Area Academy and San Mateo has resulted in the following innovative practices and trainings 

• Person-centered coaching is used to support the transition of staff to their new roles. A Field Advisor works with new workers and guides them through their field activities and reinforces their CORE transfer of learning by connecting their learning to their practice.  
• An innovation in San Mateo is the ABCs of Child and Family Teaming. The training is interactive and was designed to promote and strengthen teaming between mental health clinicians and social workers in collaboration in conducting CFTs.   
• Another teaming innovation is the Foster Youth Advisor Board presentation. San Mateo lifts up the youth’s voice and perspective through the Foster Youth Advisory Board. The Foster Youth Advisor Board (FYAB) was created out of the desire to include the youths’ perspective and voice in decision making, policy and practices that affect all youth who have or will experience out of home care in San Mateo County. The board is constituted of current and former foster youth and they serve as an advising body to key issues and programming identified CFS. FYAB delegates serve on various county committees, panels, forums and conferences. One of the highlights of the new worker induction training is a FYAB Presentation, where there is a meet and greet followed by a panel of youth who share experiences in care and offer recommendations on youth engagement.

Santa Cruz Department of Family and Children Services first priority is always to keep children safely in their own homes with their parents.  Bay Area Academy partners with Santa Cruz by supporting them in workforce development by providing training, field-based training and coaching services 

 This year Santa Cruz’s focus is: 

• SOP implementation, training and coaching -- SOP coaching opportunities are used to support staff in becoming more fluent in incorporating SOP strategies into their practice.  
• Supervisors in Santa Cruz are supported through a well-established long running Supervisor Group. This group convenes monthly for a two-hour guided discussion on topics the group agrees upon to further their teaming and skill development to enhance their leadership. The group discusses challenges, emerging issues, navigating systems and self-care. 

The vision and mission of the Solano County Child Welfare Division is to protect children from abuse and neglect by strengthening their families or finding safe, permanent homes so that they can grow into healthy productive adults.  BAA supports the vision and mission of the Solano County Child Welfare Division by providing services that align with the ongoing professional development of staff ensuring competently trained staff, reinforcing standardization of practice and supporting leadership building.  These supports are intended to help strengthen Solano's infrastructure in service to implementation of California's Core Practice Model enabling Solano to deliver services that improve outcomes for the children and families in Solano.  Solano’s goals are to ensure competently trained staff; enforce skill development; reinforce standardized practice; support leadership building; provide structure to introduce and operationalize mission and vision of agency; team building; reinforce value, practice, competencies; support retention; operationalize CPM for agency; reinforce skill set for improved practice and improved outcomes 

• Safety Organized Practice 
• Leadership Coaching

The Sonoma County Training Project was established to provide workforce development and organizational support to the division of Family, Youth and Children's Services. Each year this encompasses the development and implementation of a strategic training plan that prioritizes the workforce learning needs of their agency with purposeful attention to internal capacity building for sustainability of child welfare best practices and alignment to the mission and values of the California Core Practice Model.  

Sonoma’s focus this year is: 

• Training - SOP, Advanced SDM & Safety Planning, Cultural Humility, Father Engagement, Field Advisor, Permanency, SOGIE 
• Coaching and Field-based Training: CFT & Teaming and CC3.0 Field Advising