Quality Improvement Center for Engaging Youth in Finding Permanency (QIC-EY)
About
Funded by the United States Department of Health & Human Services, Administration for Children & Families, Children’s Bureau, beginning in October 2021, the Quality Improvement Center on Engaging Youth in Finding Permanency (QIC-EY) is charged with advancing child welfare programs and practice to ensure that they are authentically engaging and empowering children and youth in foster care throughout the U.S., especially in relation to permanency decisions. It is expected that the components and impact of the QIC-EY will bring about systemic changes in how children and youth are authentically engaged as reflected in intentional policy, practice, and culture shifts in the 6-8 pilot sites.
The QIC-EY is a five-year, cooperative agreement led by Spaulding for Children in partnership with the North American Council on Adoptable Children (NACAC), the New England Association of Child Welfare Commissioners and Directors (NEACWCD), the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) and the University of Washington (UW).
The NEACWCD is responsible for facilitating the QIC-EY’s National Youth Engagement Advisory Council (Council). The purpose of the Council is to ensure that youth voice is amplified in the activities of the QIC-EY. The Youth Council will be comprised of eight nationwide youth serving agencies: including one staff and one young adult with lived experience. The Council will provide ongoing guidance and support to the partner agencies and pilot sites as they implement their projects.