The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Experts tackle “wicked problems” of child welfare Feb. 22-23

Numerous challenges face the child welfare field. But thanks to the efforts of UNC School of Social Work professors, organizations from across the country will work together to forge solutions to keep children safe and healthy.

Experts in the field have deemed certain challenges “wicked problems” because of their complexity. The term was coined to describe tricky policy problems that defy ordinary solutions.

During the coming year, dozens of experts will gather for a series of three roundtables called the Wicked Problems Institute. Attendees represent a broad spectrum of foundations, associations, agencies, consultants and educators.

The first meeting Feb. 22-23 at the UNC School of Social Work will focus on the problem of how to balance innovation with evidence-based practice: in other words, making sure child welfare providers can quickly rise to challenges with new, innovative solutions, while also building a solid evidence base for what works.

In conjunction with the institute, members of the campus community and the public may attend a free lecture titled "Using Evidence on Cost-Effectiveness to Guide Social Policy and Spending," on Wednesday, Feb. 22 , 3:30 p.m. – 5 p.m.

The series is organized by the school and the Children’s Home Society of America, a nationwide network of voluntary child welfare agencies. Mark Testa, Spears-Turner Distinguished Professor, and Jack Richman, the school’s dean, are spearheading the effort. The Chapel Hill leg of the series is sponsored by the school's Jordan Institute for Families.

Meetings also will be held in Chicago in October and in Washington, D.C., in February 2013. The September gathering will focus on whether privatizing child welfare services yields a better return on public investment dollars. The March 2013 meeting will consider how the field should deal with the broad goal of child well-being – issues such as children’s health, education and other aspects that go beyond basic safety.

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Published February 20, 2012.

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