The Colorado-based Morgridge Family Foundation launched a $1.4 million project on Monday to expand child welfare research and professional training across the country, according to a press release.
With the goal of keeping families together, the initiative seeks to find solutions to pressing issues in the child welfare system by partnering with child welfare organizations, leaders, policy experts and those impacted by the system.
“The more we learned about the child welfare system, the more opportunities we saw for disruption in this space,” Carrie Morgridge, co-founder of the Morgridge Family Foundation, said in the press release. “MFF was uniquely positioned to bring together organizations and leaders with the knowledge and ideas to drive change.”
The foundation is contributing $1.1 million to the Colorado Research & Implementation Science Team to increase federal funding for prevention services, improve access to evidence-based child welfare programs and prioritize culturally relevant programs.
Another partnership with MindSpark, a social-design firm, will establish accelerators across the country to support frontline staff with executive training and research. The first accelerator launched in North Dakota in October, and others are planned across the country. The Morgridge Family Foundation will put $330,000 toward this effort.
With more than 7 million reports made each year of alleged abuse or neglect, according to the news release, the foundation recognizes that the child welfare system as it exists “can trigger negative consequences” in terms of education and mental health.
“While the child welfare system attracts dedicated and caring professionals, they often lack the resources and support they need to serve their clients at full capacity,” the press release stated. “Through collaborations with partner organizations and experts, MFF has already helped drive critical improvements to the child welfare system.”
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