Consultation & Strategic Intelligence
Turn complex child welfare questions into a clear path forward. The National Center helps states, community-based organizations and their partners connect evidence, policy, funding and implementation.
Our consultation brings the work of our national initiatives into your context, from exploring a Community-Based Care (CBC) framework to strengthening an existing system or understanding what comes next.
Our initiatives, applied to your work
Start with a focused question or a broader strategic challenge. We assess each request before agreeing to an engagement. The areas below describe potential support, subject to fit, available expertise and capacity, and an agreed scope. Specialist support may require a separately agreed partner engagement.
Explore whether and how a CBC approach fits your state. Assess readiness, compare governance models and develop a framework for local accountability, provider networks and a phased transition.
Example outputs: readiness assessment, model options and an implementation roadmap.
Examine the resources needed to deliver contracted responsibilities. Separate core operating needs, pass-through funding and transferred risk, and explore how funding assumptions affect sustainability.
Example outputs: funding scenarios, cost assumptions and executive discussion briefs.
Compare how states structure responsibilities, payment, performance expectations, risk sharing and transition provisions. Identify operational questions to resolve before implementation or renewal.
Example outputs: comparison matrices, responsibility maps and contract discussion priorities.
Translate available child welfare data and implementation lessons into context for your organization or community. Define meaningful measures, interpret trends and communicate the value of your work.
Example outputs: outcome profiles, performance frameworks and evidence briefs.
Discuss board oversight, organizational capacity, quality assurance and accountability. The National Center’s standards initiative is in development and is not an adopted standard or certification.
Example outputs: organizational gap reviews, governance priorities and improvement plans.
Connect legislative developments, state priorities, funding trends and provider needs to your next decision. Explore growth opportunities, partnerships and the implications of a changing environment.
Example outputs: state scans, opportunity assessments and strategic planning briefs.
For states exploring Community-Based Care
CBC implementation involves decisions about who leads, who is accountable, how services are funded and how communities help shape the system. We help states work through those decisions in the context of their own needs and public responsibilities.
Whether you are exploring a formal CBC governance and contracting model or strengthening community-based practice within your current structure, the starting point is your goals for children and families.
Review the current system, community priorities, provider capacity and policy conditions. Identify the problems a new framework needs to solve.
Consider the roles of the state, local lead entities, providers and community partners, including meaningful input from families and people with lived experience.
Examine funding adequacy, risk allocation, service networks, workforce and the infrastructure needed to support implementation.
Set out phases, decision points, stakeholder engagement, readiness milestones and service continuity priorities.
Define outcomes, reporting and oversight so leaders can assess progress and adjust the approach as experience develops.
Intelligence that informs action
Our intelligence offerings connect research and analysis to the questions leaders are trying to answer.
Drawing on the National Center’s initiatives and National Center Intelligence Platform work, consultation can bring together relevant public data, policy developments, state comparisons and member experience in a form your team can use.
We define the sources, scope and audience with you. Potential engagements may include a focused analysis or leadership briefing, subject to agreed scope and available capacity.
Who we work with
Explore system design, CBC readiness, funding structures and implementation choices.
Strengthen strategy, financial sustainability, performance and organizational readiness.
Equip members with relevant intelligence, cross-state comparisons and shared policy analysis.
Understand community needs, identify opportunities for collaboration and align support with system priorities.
Start a conversation
Tell us about your organization or state, the challenge you want to address and your timeline. We will discuss fit and define the scope, deliverables and any fees before work begins.
An engagement might begin with a strategy session, a focused research brief or a CBC implementation planning discussion. Together, we can identify the right starting point.