Giving Compass' Take:

• Families call for improvements to primary prevention processes within the child welfare system, which will require more collaboration to address gaps in the current system. 

• How can donors help facilitate the types of partnerships that families are calling for between agencies? 

• Learn more about using integrated data systems to improve child welfare outcomes. 

In a moment when people across the country are rallying not just for reform but for a complete redesign of society’s institutions, calls for reforming and even abolishing the child welfare system cannot be ignored. For years, families, researchers, advocates, and policymakers have demanded further dedication to preventing child maltreatment, and, by extension, child welfare system involvement. These advocates note the disproportionate involvement of children and families of color in child welfare and call for a system that invests in strengthening, rather than separating, families. Recent federal legislation aims to shift resources toward prevention services to address this need, but is it enough to build the system families want?

The Family First Prevention Services Act (Family First) of 2018 created incentives to encourage agencies to provide families with evidenced-based services—such as mental health services, substance-use treatment, and in-home parenting training—to prevent their children from entering foster care. Though Family First is a step in the right direction, its narrow focus on preventing foster care entry is akin to waiting until the bow of a boat is hanging over a waterfall before intervening to keep it from falling over. Families who have experience with the child welfare system want help steering their boat away from the rapids long before the waterfall is even in sight.

Building evidence to create the child welfare system families are calling for will require collaboration between child welfare agencies and other sectors, including housing, education, employment, and health.

Read the full article about building a better child welfare system by Katrina Brewsaugh, Marla McDaniel, Audrey Richardson at Urban Institute.