The Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare announces the new Multidisciplinary Institute for Child Welfare

Published on 2024-10-31 by nich0121

The Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare is excited to announce an updated organization structure, and as part of that, the new Multidisciplinary Institute for Child Welfare. 

The Multidisciplinary Institute for Child Welfare is a new entity which houses several dynamic research and training entities; the Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare (CASCW), the Minnesota Linking Information for Kids (Minn-LinK) project, and the Minnesota Child Welfare Training Academy (MNCWTA). MNCWTA is a collaboration between the Child Safety and Permanency (CSP) Division at the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) and the University of Minnesota.

Multidisciplinary Institute for Child Welfare chart. It shows how the Institute houses CASCW, Minn-LInK and the MN Child Welfare Training Academy. The Institute is housed under the School of Social Work

CASCW has experienced tremendous growth over the last five years within the university system and in the community. Because of this evolution, we took a purposeful pause with some time for reflection as we prepared to embark on an important strategic planning initiative to help the organization prioritize and better define its five year plan. 

It is so important to have clarity, and during an early phase of this strategic planning process, we recognized the need for a new organization structure. The creation of the Multidisciplinary Institute for Child Welfare emerged as an essential element in continuing to support the growth and productivity of these three entities, while also continuing the mission of the University of Minnesota’s School of Social Work and the College of Education and Human Development, as it pertains to continued community service, growth and innovation.

We would like to assure you that the CASCW which you already know and trust will continue to operate in a similar fashion. We are still deeply dedicated to translating research to practice for the child welfare audiences whom we serve. 

While a more formal announcement about the organization structure will be released in Spring 2025, we are excited about this upcoming change and hope that you will stay tuned as we share more updates regarding the new Multidisciplinary Institute for Child Welfare.

Questions may be directed to CASCW Senior Executive Director, Traci LaLiberte ([email protected]).