Leadership in a Changing Environment: A Leadership Model for Child Welfare

Abstract

Numerous studies have shown that a comprehensive and unifying leadership model, with an associated defined set of leadership competencies, has largely been absent from the field of human services. In the complex and turbulent field of child welfare, leadership skills are necessary at all levels of the agency. The purpose of this article is to describe a leadership model specific to child welfare developed by the National Child Welfare Workforce Institute (NCWWI) and to provide examples of how its application in a national training and capacity-building program has led to personal leadership development and systems change.