Alia

09/29/2026

When families have the resources they need, children are more likely to thrive.

We appreciated this thoughtful article from our friends Sandy Santana of Children's Rights and Kristen Weber of the Center for Youth Law. They explore the connection between food security, family well-being, and child welfare involvement, and why policies that support families matter for children, too.

It's an important reminder that helping families meet their basic needs can be a powerful part of keeping children safe, healthy, and connected to the people who love them.

"We should not make families poorer and then punish them for their poverty," write Sandy Santana and Kristen Weber of the National Center for Youth Law.

08/31/2026

The challenges facing children and families can't be solved from a single perspective.

Instead, our strongest solutions emerge when we listen deeply, share ownership, and build something better together.

Sometimes that looks like a small change in practice. Sometimes it looks like a larger effort to shift how a system works.

Either way, lasting change is built when people are willing to learn from one another and move forward together.

What work in your agency is moving forward because people chose to build it together? We'd love to hear about an initiative, project, or shift you're proud of, and the people who helped make it possible.

Drop it in the comments below!

08/26/2026

Every agency is working within a unique mix of strengths, constraints, opportunities, and challenges.

Those conditions shape what's possible and how change takes hold.

A clearer understanding of your starting point can make it easier to determine what comes next.

Curious about your agency's readiness for change?

Take our free Change Readiness Snapshot: https://hubs.ly/Q04tJkTg0

08/20/2026

You can lead an agency and still feel alone in the rooms where you're supposed to have the most power.

You can care deeply and still find yourself withdrawing when the pressure becomes too much.

What might feel like a leadership failure is actually just a human response.

Our latest blog reflects on a reality we don't talk about enough: the same nervous system dynamics we recognize in children are at work in leaders, workers, and families throughout the system.

Because the question underneath it all is the same: am I safe here?

Read more: https://hubs.ly/Q04tKBZd0

08/11/2026

Last call to join our upcoming UnSystem Roundtable!

If you're leading through this moment, we invite you to apply → https://www.aliainnovations.org/roundtables

How do we support families when needs are rising, but budgets are shrinking?

Across the country, child welfare and human services leaders are navigating a difficult reality: reduced resources, increasing demand, and growing pressure on the systems families depend on.

If you're a leader confronting these challenges in your system, apply to join Amelia Franck Meyer for our next UnSystem Roundtable: Family Stability in the Era of Budget Cuts on Thursday, August 20.

This is a solution-focused conversation about navigating increased demand with fewer resources, strengthening supports before families reach crisis, and building community-based solutions that keep families stable and out of the system whenever safely possible.

Learn more and apply → https://www.aliainnovations.org/roundtables

07/28/2026

How do we support families when needs are rising, but budgets are shrinking?

Across the country, child welfare and human services leaders are navigating a difficult reality: reduced resources, increasing demand, and growing pressure on the systems families depend on.

If you're a leader confronting these challenges in your system, apply to join Amelia Franck Meyer for our next UnSystem Roundtable: Family Stability in the Era of Budget Cuts on Thursday, August 20.

This is a solution-focused conversation about navigating increased demand with fewer resources, strengthening supports before families reach crisis, and building community-based solutions that keep families stable and out of the system whenever safely possible.

Learn more and apply → https://www.aliainnovations.org/roundtables

07/23/2026

Like any living thing, wellbeing needs to be planted, tended, and given space to take root.

Ramsey County, Minnesota's Child and Family Services unit gathered at the Alia office for a full day to do something their jobs rarely allow: step away from the chaos, reconnect with each other, and discover simple ways to weave wellbeing into their everyday lives.

What's most exciting is that this wasn't just a one-day event. An internal team of Wellbeing Champions from within CFS helped design and host this gathering, and they're committed to carrying these practices forward for their colleagues. The planting happened here, and the tending is just beginning!

06/29/2026

This week, our team is taking a week-long pause to rest, recharge, and reconnect.

We know that doing meaningful work takes energy—and that energy needs care. This time away isn’t stepping back from our mission, but pouring into the people who make it possible.

We’ll return refreshed and ready to keep showing up for the children, families, and communities we’re so honored to partner with and support.

06/26/2026

Child welfare workers are trained to show up for others. But who's showing up for them?

Our Associate Director of Transformation, Laura Witham, wrote something we think a lot of people in this field need to hear right now — about self-compassion, what the research actually says about it, and why it might be one of the most underused tools in this work.

Read it here: https://hubs.ly/Q04mJv-H0

FYI, insights like this go to our newsletter subscribers first! You can sign up from any page on our website.

Explore how mindfulness and self-compassion can enhance emotional resilience in child welfare professionals, fostering greater compassion for themselves and others.

06/22/2026

We could not be more thrilled for our friend and partner, Kate Luster, Director of Rock County Human Services, on receiving the 2026 APHSA Excellence Award for Local Member!

Kate's leadership demonstrates what is possible when public systems move beyond compliance to reconciliation, shared accountability, and human-centered design—creating sustainable change that keeps families safely together.

Congratulations, Kate!

Learn more about Kate's visionary leadership and the impact she is making in Rock County and beyond:https://aphsa.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/2026-06-16_Press-Release_Summit-Local-Award_Kate-Luster.pdf