Recruiting and Retaining Teams of People with Lived Experience: A Critical Element for Driving Change in Child Welfare
The Quality Improvement Center on Engaging Youth in Finding Permanency (QIC-EY) is producing a series of Lessons Learned to share fundamental insights about engagement of children and youth, especially in relation to permanency decisions. Each lesson brings to life insights and knowledge gained as the QIC-EY project progresses.
The Lesson
Recruiting and Retaining Teams of People with Lived Experience: A Critical Element for Driving Change in Child Welfare
At the heart of QIC-EY is a simple but powerful goal: to elevate how child welfare professionals engage with the children and youth they serve. Integral to achieving this is the authentic inclusion of individuals who have directly experienced the child welfare system as collaborators and partners in system change.
Before diving into the lessons learned, it’s important to understand the structure used across QIC-EY pilot sites:
Teams of Lived Experience (TLEs): Time-bound groups of individuals with lived experience, were recruited to support specific project goals and deliverables. Within QIC-EY, each site implemented a TLE facilitated by a Child and Youth Engagement Coordinator (CYEC), whose role was to ensure the TLEs perspectives informed the project’s work.
TLEs are a powerful mechanism for centering individuals with lived experience—especially now, as state plans under the Protect America’s Children Through Supporting Families Act must be informed by individuals with lived experience. The insights that follow reflect what it takes to recruit, support, and retain TLE members in ways that are meaningful, sustainable, and transformative.
1. Role Clarity is Foundational and Ongoing
TLE members thrive when expectations are clearly defined from the start, consistently reinforced, and meaningfully connected to the work. Leadership plays a central role in setting expectations and revisiting them regularly.
Across QIC-EY pilot sites, role clarity proved essential to strong engagement of those serving on Teams of Lived Experience (TLEs). When roles were grounded in project goals and supported by ongoing communication, individuals contributed more confidently and teams functioned more effectively.
TLEs were formed to meet the specific needs and scope of the QIC-EY project, reflecting the insights, leadership, and skills lived experts bring. Members of the TLE supported deliverables, informed implementation, and helped co-create solutions.TLE members participated as a collective team rather than in individualized roles. Their involvement was guided by a team charter that clarified expectations and outlined the ways of work.
The TLE was led by the Child and Youth Engagement Coordinators (CYECs): Project staff with lived experience —who coordinated engagement activities, supported TLE members, and ensured individuals with lived experience shaped decisions and implementation. They served as the primary link between the TLE and site leadership, communicating feedback and elevating lived experience perspectives. The CYEC was also a bridge, translating between system goals and lived realities.
What We Learned
Sites that actively involved their TLE by giving them meaningful project-related tasks, guiding the work, and clearly closing the loop on how their feedback was used built stronger collaboration and deeper trust. Intentional structure positioned lived experience at the center of the work, but written roles alone weren’t enough. Ongoing leadership support, structured touchpoints, and purposeful assignments helped TLE members understand and stay grounded in their role. Without this guidance and support, TLE engagement drifted and participation declined.
What Systems Can Do
- Define roles clearly and in writing—outline responsibilities, boundaries, and decision-making authority.
- Connect each role to purpose—explain how individuals with lived experience shapes goals, deliverables, and system change.
- Establish clear communication pathways—clarify support structures, information flow, and influence.
- Equip CYECs and leaders with strong supervision—ensure they can guide and reinforce role expectations.
- Revisit roles regularly—affirm responsibilities and adjust as the work evolves.
- Budget for compensation—pay TLE members for their time and individuals with lived experience to support meaningful and sustained engagement.
2. Recruitment Must Be Personal and Clear
Recruitment is ultimately about building relationships, not simply filling roles. Recruitment involves intentionally assembling a varied group whose lived experiences mirror the populations being served. When systems lead with transparency, intentionality and consistency, they attract individuals who are ready—and supported—to contribute in meaningful ways.
What We Learned
Across QIC-EY pilot sites, recruitment was most successful when it was:
Relational
Strong efforts were built through trusted networks, community outreach, and word of mouth. Effective teams approached recruitment with a long-game mindset—understanding that trust takes time, especially with youth and young adults.
“We needed to meet lived experts where they were. That meant texting, offering rides, and doing check-ins outside of meetings.” — Alex
Transparent
Sites that clearly communicated expectations for doing the work, compensation, and requirements (such as reference checks) set the foundation for trust and commitment. It was essential to be upfront about what kind of lived or professional experience was needed, and what support would be available.
“Be honest about what you’re looking for… Let people know what the role really involves—and what might be a barrier to participation.” — Kayana
Intentional
Recruiting efforts that intentionally went beyond existing personal connections helped engage a range of voices and experiences. Over-reliance on known, internal networks often led to lower engagement or weaker alignment with project goals. Community outreach—like health fairs —was especially effective in reaching people not already at the table.
What Systems Can Do
- Be clear and honest in outreach materials—define expectations, qualifications, and logistical considerations (e.g., age, travel, paperwork,).
- Recruit to reflect the community being served—engage at community events.
- Plan for logistical barriers—offer support for transportation, communication, and scheduling flexibility.
- Avoid tokenism—recruit based on shared purpose and readiness, not familiarity or convenience.
- Build trust over time—don’t rush the process- particularly with young adults; meaningful engagement can take weeks or months.
3. Onboarding Sets the Tone
Thoughtful onboarding creates long-term stability. When systems invest early in orientation, support, and shared understanding, lived experts feel equipped, valued, and connected from the start.
What We Learned
Across QIC-EY sites, strong onboarding helped lived experts feel more confident and grounded when processes:
- Connected them to the mission, team culture, and purpose
- Clarified expectations, logistics, and communication pathways
- Signaled value through compensated onboarding time and intentional relationship-building
When onboarding was rushed or unclear, individuals reported confusion, uncertainty, and a weaker sense of belonging. Slow, steady trust-building—particularly with young adults—proved essential.
“We introduced the project, explained our culture, and paid people for onboarding. That made a big difference.” — Montana Site Team
What Systems Can Do
- Reinforce role clarity—align the team on the basics of the work.
- Build structured onboarding—include project grounding, team norms, and definition of roles and expectations.
- Compensate individuals for onboarding—honor time and expertise.
- Use trauma-informed practices—offer space, choice, and flexibility as expectations are set.
- Clarify logistics upfront—technology access, communication preferences, transportation.
- Create early opportunities for relationship-building before diving into deliverables.
4. Relationships Drive Retention
Belonging drives commitment. People stay engaged when they feel part of something bigger than themselves—supported by relationships rooted in trust, respect, and shared purpose.
What We Learned
Compensation matters and should always be fair—but it is not the determining factor. Retention suffered when systems relied on transactional interactions, inconsistent communication, or environments that lacked emotional and relational safety.
Individuals with lived experience stayed engaged when they:
- Felt seen and valued as whole people
- Had opportunities to grow, lead, and influence decisions
- Experienced genuine connections with teammates and partners
- Worked within a culture that made space for honesty, care, and shared purpose
“I stayed because of my team… I cared deeply about helping them.” — Miranda
“I stayed because of the people around me and the platform to create change.” — Tasha
What Systems Can Do
- Cultivate authentic relationships—offer regular check-ins, coaching, and supportive supervision.
- Ensure equitable compensation—develop guidelines that are fair, timely, and reflective of expertise and emotional labor.
- Provide practical supports—offer childcare, transportation, technology access.
- Create opportunities for growth—create space for leadership and shared facilitation.
- Foster a culture of feedback—welcome the voices of peoples lived realities.
- Create intentional feedback loops—consistently communicate how TLE feedback was used in decisions, actions, or revisions.
- Prepare supportive structures—recognize that TLE members bring lived histories and therefore, it’s important to identify resources and safety protocols that will help them navigate when difficult topics or challenging times arise.
5. System Readiness Can Make All the Difference
System readiness is a mindset and a practice. Progress happens when systems commit to learning, adapting, and growing alongside lived experts.
What We Learned
Authentic engagement requires inclusivity, reflection, and a willingness to evolve. Systems often struggled when they underestimated the internal changes required to meaningfully integrate lived experts. Success depended not on perfection but on commitment.
Systems that made progress:
- Created structured spaces with expectations and shared values; including time for both connection activities and project work Shared power through agenda-setting, decision-making, and transparent resource allocation
- Welcomed feedback as part of the work—not as a threat
- Normalized course corrections as growth, not failure
- Built leadership pathways rather than extracting expertise
What Systems Can Do
- Prepare staff and leaders—shift the mindset required to work in partnership with lived experts.
- Establish clear teaming structures—show how individuals with lived experience shapes decisions.
- Create intentional spaces—have trauma-informed, flexible spaces that support multiple modes of participation.
- Invest in supports—offer transportation, technology access, and childcare.
- Build leadership pathways—allow lived experts to grow within and beyond the project.
- Commit to ongoing reflection and adjustment—use feedback to reveal system needs.
Understanding that lived experience is essential is only the first step; building authentic, integrated partnerships requires practice, intention, and honest reflection. QIC-EY’s open sharing of what worked—and what didn’t—helps illuminate the path for systems that believe in this work but are still learning how to do it well. By embracing these lessons, child welfare systems can create the conditions for deeper engagement and better outcomes for children and youth.
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If this Lessons Learned resonated with you, check out these other QIC-EY Lessons Learned: