Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Family Safety Program

Welcome: Cherokee Indian ReservationThe Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) is a federally-recognized tribe. The Family Safety Program (FSP) is the child welfare program that serves the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, under the tribal Division of Public Health and Human Services.

Addressing Historical Trauma and Preparing the Child Welfare Workforce

In this video, an EBCI elder discusses historical trauma and why it is important for child welfare workers to understand it, so they can be successful.  

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Background

Onboarding

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians worked with the QIC-WD to develop an onboarding program. This video highlights the experience of workers, supervisors, and leaders who speak to the importance of cultural understanding and implementing a process that introduces workers to all functions of the agency as well as the job.

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During the needs assessment process facilitated by the Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development (QIC-WD) three areas of need were discussed for possible intervention at Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) Family Safety Program (FSP): 1) team cohesion across the various agency units, 2) unhealthy levels of employee stress and work overload, and 3) inconsistent onboarding practices.

The Implementation Team

Exploration of Needs

What is onboarding and why was this intervention selected?

The QIC-WD evaluation was conducted with the support of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Family Safety Program (EBCI FSP) to determine if an Onboarding intervention was effective in improving workforce outcomes.

Research Questions

The evaluation of the newly developed onboarding program for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Family Safety Program (EBCI FSP) was designed to understand both implementation and early outcomes. Examples of primary implementation questions from the new employee’s perspective included: