In the context of the Ιnterdepartmental MA “Community Work and Social Economy“, course “Needs Assessment and Social Planning”, coordinated by the Assistant Professor Kleio Koutra, Department of Social Workers of HMU, on Friday, November 25th of 2022, Dr Taylor Joyce, from the Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU) of the USA presented the importance of co-creation with the Integration and Implementation Science (I2S) method in assessing needs and planning social services in the community with a focus on child protection and the application of the ABCD Safety Paradigm.
Briefly about Dr. Taylor: In her former role as Deputy Commissioner at the Connecticut Department of Children and Families, led major reforms and increased accountability and efficiency within this large department with its $750 million annual budget and 2,700 employees. She chaired the governor’s interagency task force on the Juan F Consent Decree, which resulted from a federal class-action lawsuit for child welfare reform. She obtained increased federal revenues under Title IV-E in order to: establish more realistic caseload standards; increase staff training and supervision; and build capacity for collecting and analyzing data, which is vitally important in achieving positive outcomes for children. She proposed legislation and obtained $1 million state funds to develop the Adoption Assistance Program (AAP) at the UCONN Health Center, a post-master’s certificate program (UCONN and SCSU) for increasing therapeutic competencies for network of specialized clinicians to serve adopted children. and new college funds for adopted children.