Core Values of the Learning Affiliates

We commit to contributing in some way, shape, or form each year. This might be facilitating a large group call, developing a shared resource, bringing forward a piece of good practice, etc. 

1. We’re planning to have bi-monthly calls where we share, collaborate and consult.  We’re not expecting everyone to attend all calls, but hope people can attend at least 50% of the calls each year. We’ll have a few small groups working on specific projects.  

2. We commit to contributing in some way, shape, or form each year. This might be facilitating a large group call, developing a shared resource, bringing forward a piece of good practice, etc.  

3. We agree to respect our shared boundaries and guidelines around how resources can be used.  

What is the International Learning Affiliate group all about? 

We’re an informal international community of current and retired child welfare professionals who have a passion for growing personally and professionally.  We share, collaborate, consult, develop resources and encourage each other to keep innovating and pushing practice forward.  We’re confident this will ultimately lead to better outcomes for families, practitioners, and organizations.   

Who is a learning affiliate? 

We’re all coming from different backgrounds and yet have shared hopes for how we enter into this community.  We enter this space with:  

• • A background in child welfare, whether it’s as a social worker, supervisor, or leader.  

  • A passion for developing social workers and leaders in a solution focused approach whether as a trainer, coach or mentor. 

  • A desire to stay connected to real life practice – even if we’re not in the field on a day-to-day basis. A strong desire towards equitable practice for BIPOC and other marginalized populations. 

  • A growth mindset focused on personal and professional growth and learning in child welfare. 

  • A willingness to share, give and receive constructive feedback. We want to be the sort of people who would pick up, polish and put back someone’s crown for them, rather than tip it off and crush it. 

  • A desire to represent the diversity of the communities we live and work in. 

  • A passion for mentoring and coaching others and a willingness to mentor and coach each other. 

What commitments do we make as a learning affiliate group? 

• • Pursue equity 

  • Act with intention and purpose 

  • Communicate well

  • Have fun, bring joy, and bring hope 

  • Share work with each other 

What does participation look like? 

• • We’re planning to have bi-monthly calls where we share, collaborate and consult.  We’re not expecting everyone to attend all calls, but hope people can attend at least 50% of the calls each year. We’ll have a few small groups working on specific projects.

  • We commit to contributing in some way, shape, or form each year. This might be facilitating a large group call, developing a shared resource, bringing forward a piece of good practice, etc. 

  • We agree to respect our shared boundaries and guidelines around how resources can be used. 

What’s SafeGenerations role in all of this? 

We’ve agreed that SafeGenerations will act as a sponsor and general host.  This would include: 

• • Coordinating large group calls 

  • Coordinating small group projects 

  • Providing technology resources for collaboration  

3 Other Kinds of SafeGen Affiliates