The multiple challenges facing the county directors have led to a continuous stream of BASSC policy reports that have been published with the assistance of The Zellerbach Family Fund and the VanLobenSels/RembeRock Foundation. Since 1994, BASSC has completed policy reports that have been useful in assisting county directors in identifying and acting upon various policy initiatives. These reports are available through the BASSC database.
This BASSC Policy Report released in February 2006 focuses on youth aging out of
the child welfare foster care system. This report updates an earlier BASSC
report and reflects activities in the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern
California and a new call for action.
This is the latest report from the BASSC Human Resources Policy Group and provides the latest information on how counties have sought to become learning organizations (see Guidebook section of the report) as well as the first effort to define and assess the transfer of learning as a key ingredient of the learning organization. This report on the learning organization will be complemented by a future report on the organizational implications of implementing evidence-based practice to be published in August 2006.
Edited by Michael J. Austin, PhD Professor, School of Social Welfare, University of California, Berkeley
For details please visit the Website.
The BASSC Case Studies of Promising Practices Emerging out of Welfare Reform Implementation (1999-2001) is a recent example of the promising practices being implemented in human service agencies throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. A total of 24 case studies were developed and published by BASSC to capture the promising practices emerging from welfare reform implementation. The following case studies and copies of other reports are available through the BASSC database.
Changing Welfare Services: Case Studies of Local Welfare Reform Programs describes promising programs and practices that have emerged in the United States since the enactment of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996. Using case studies, this reference provides important lessons that will help social service directors and staff to develop strategies that will improve local welfare-to-work services. This casebook focuses on the agencies rather than the welfare population, emphasizing the guiding values of these agencies and the lessons they learned.
In response to the many calls for Child Welfare Services reform, this
publication presents the many innovative programs developing and operating
in the following Bay Area counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin,
Monterey,
Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano, and
Sonoma. It is important to remember that these practices were developed
through experience in the field and are not necessarily based on research
or longterm evaluations. The goal is for each county to develop as full an
array of innovative practices as possible in the form of a continuum of
services that matches the needs of its own community. This publication
begins with a discussion of the challenges in the Child Welfare System and
a vision for the future. Section II presents a set of figures that
illustrate the typical pathway of a child welfare case through the system
and the wealth of promising practices that a child may encounter along the
way. A preliminary set of outcomes describes some of the impacts of these
programs. Section III includes the definitions of nine categories of
services and highlights several promising practices in each of those
areas.
A national and historical overview of the Child Welfare system is included
in the Appendix.
2001
BASSC Recruitment & Retention Project Final Report
Step by Step: Building the Infrastructure for Transforming Public Social Service Agencies into Learning Organizations (Carnochan & Austin) -- Chaired by Madelyn Martin
Overview of Directors' Perceptions of Implementing Welfare Reform (Carnochan and Austin) -- Chaired by Will Lightbourne
Overview of Affordable Housing Issues in Relationship to Welfare Reform Implementation (Leibsohn) -- Chaired by Maureen Borland and John Cullen
Overview of Transportation Issues in Relationship to Welfare Reform Implementation (Flemer - MTC) -- Chaired by Maureen Borland and John Cullen
Overview of Child Care Legislative Issues in Relationship to Welfare Reform Implementation (CIRCCN - Siegel) -- Chaired by Maureen Borland and John Cullen
Overview of Issues Related to Ups and Downs in the Business Cycle Affecting Current and Former Welfare Recipients (Prince, Doyle, & Austin) -- Chaired by John Cullen
Supporting Low-Income Workers in the 21st Century: An Evolving BASSC Vision Statement
Riding the Wave: Assessing the Future Directions of Adult and Aging Services (Svihula & Austin) -- Chaired by Rodger Lum and Linda Kretz
1998
Assessing the Child Care Implications of Welfare Reform -- Chaired by Dianne Edwards
1996
Social Welfare at a Crossroads: A briefing packet for opinion leaders in anticipation of CalWORKs -- Chaired by Dick O'Neil and Will Lightbourne
Assessing the Feasibility of a Regional General Assistance Program -- Chaired by Michael Wald
1997
Assessing the Linkages between Health and Welfare -- Chaired by Tom Peters and Terry Longoria
County Welfare Reform Plans -- Chaired by Maureen Borland
1994
Human Services 2000: An Evolving BASSC Vision Statement
