The Oregon Child & Family Center for Excellence

The Oregon Child & Family Center for Excellence supports children and families in Oregon by strengthening the programs, service delivery, and systems that contribute to their well-being. The Center’s mission and scope were crafted to meet the needs of these most vulnerable members of our communities, and our work continues to evolve to address new challenges.

The Center for Excellence staff work with communities, providers, researchers, and government agencies to:

• Create and deliver learning and training opportunities for the human services workforce.
• Bring together stakeholders to better understand and address challenges to youth success.
• Support service providers as they respond to new challenges and ever-changing needs.
• Investigate best practices for organizations and state agencies alike, to ensure the highest quality of care for children, youth, and families in Oregon.

The Center was designed with an ever-changing Oregon in mind. To date, its projects have included deep dives into child welfare programs, research efforts to more accurately measure the impact of residential care, and the development of effective trainings for human service sector staff. The Center has played and continues to play a variety of roles in these efforts; we collect and synthesize data, facilitate groups of stakeholders, and partner with government agencies to analyze policy approaches.