Tribal & Youth Engagement

SVC has always valued and respected the importance of engagement with people with lived experience.  A focus is to ensure that every process works on relationship building to enhance authentic collaboration. SVC has coached youth, tribal partners, caregivers  and others to facilitate meetings and focus groups, train professionals, write statewide curricula and participate in processes as advocates. 

Tribal Engagement

Child & Family Services Review

  • As part of the first federal CFSR State Self-Assessment, SVC was part of the team to conduct statewide focus groups, including Tribal focus groups.  

  • SVC worked with the Tribal community in San Diego County to allow Tribal members participating in the county’s Peer Review teams to have a specific conversation regarding ICWA cases to increase learning potential. 

  • SVC continues to conduct focus groups with Tribal representatives for the C-CFSR process in multiple counties.  

Listening Sessions

As part of the California Partners to Permanency Federal Grant, then the Extension of Foster Care, and in collaboration with CDSS, SVC conducted listening sessions with Tribal members. 

Indian Child Welfare Act

SVC has developed curricula for the Administrative Office of the Courts in collaboration with Tribal partners regarding the Indian Child Welfare Act and Active Efforts.  SVC also presented the curricula at the ICWA Conference. 

Youth with Lived Experience

SVC is committed to and demonstrates the value of youth participation in the C-CFSR process. In addition to conducting dozens of youth focus groups, in Napa County SVC worked closely with Child Welfare, Probation, and VOICES Youth Programs. SVC coached, prepared, briefed and debriefed youth in process, policies, and procedures.  SVC and youth co-facilitated focus groups for the CSA, including parent and caregiver focus groups. Youth joined the Peer Review Interview Teams to conduct case review interviews with social workers and probation officers. 

As part of the Positive Youth Justice Initiative, SVC worked diligently with Sacramento County Probation, Child Welfare, Behavioral Health, CYC, County Office of Education and Elk Grove School District to engage more than 65 youth in the process.  

SVC partnered with California Youth Connection to collaborate on facilitating groups with their members on various topics including the Extension of Foster Care.