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Home > Training & Technical Assistance > National Quality Improvement Center on the Privatization of Child Welfare Services
National Quality Improvement Center on the Privatization of Child Welfare Services
Who We Are
The Children's Bureau funded the University of Kentucky and Planning and Learning Technologies to create the National Quality Improvement Center on the Privatization of Child Welfare Services (QIC PCW) in 2005. The purpose of this 5-year project is to build knowledge and inform decision-making regarding public/private partnership in child welfare service delivery.
Background
The focus of this Center was designed in recognition of the work that public child welfare systems do to enhance service delivery and outcomes, acknowledging that some States were investing in moving some segments of the service array into the private sector. Little is known about the effectiveness or efficiency of these reforms and how a public/private partnership can be managed in such a way as to promote positive organizational and child and family outcomes.
Goals
The QIC PCW has three main goals:
- To promote and support an evidence-based and outcomes-focused approach to child welfare system development and organizational improvement
- To build consensus on appropriate models of reform and the respective roles and responsibilities of public and private agencies and to provide input on areas on which the child welfare policy and evaluation fields should focus
- To facilitate a collaborative information-sharing and problem-solving national network among subgrantees, the Children's Bureau's Training and Technical Assistance Network, public child welfare agencies, private service providers, and other stakeholders
Research
Research is taking place in two phases.
Phase I: Research and Knowledge Dissemination
The first phase of the process included a multifaceted literature review and knowledge gaps analysis to determine the current status of privatization in child welfare, assess the depth and breadth of the evidence base, and identify a topical focus area upon which research and demonstration grants could be funded. Triangulation of the data revealed a critical and timely topic in need of research that three States (Florida, Illinois and Missouri) have been funded to study.
Phase II: Innovative Performance-Based Contracting and Quality Assurance Systems
In Phase II, the QIC PCW and its funded projects will be working to answer a number of research questions regarding how the planning, implementation, and evolution of such systems relate to desired systemic, organizational, and client outcomes.
In addition, the QIC PCW is working to facilitate ongoing knowledge development and dissemination through:
- Promotion of more rigorous, comparative evaluation related to privatization in child welfare
- Making evolving information available to the field
- Providing opportunities for ongoing dialogue among a network of public and private child welfare agencies, policymakers, and stakeholders
Our ongoing approach to technical assistance, dissemination, and diffusion of knowledge includes:
- Website/listservs/discussion boards
- Presentations at conferences/meetings
- Periodic reports and publications
- Provision of consultation to child welfare administrators, services providers, and others regarding what has been learned
- Facilitation of opportunities for dialogue on issues related to child welfare privatization with the broader field
- Dissemination of projects and materials developed by States and agencies for use in privatization initiatives
- Ongoing literature review and posting of updated annotated reference list
- Collaboration with the Children's Bureau Training and Technical Assistance Network
For More Information
Return to the Children's Bureau Training and Technical Assistance Network
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