Adaptable Text for Use by State Child Welfare Administrators When Disseminating Information to State Legislators Using the CFSR Information-Sharing Tool

December 2006

Dear [enter title and name of the State legislator]:

As you may know, in [enter year], [enter name of State child welfare agency] participated in its first Federal Child and Family Services Review (CFSR). The CFSRs are a Federal-State collaborative effort to review State child welfare agencies' performance in achieving positive outcomes for children and families.

The attached summary provides information about the results of [enter name of State]'s [enter year] CFSR and our efforts to identify and make needed program improvements. It also provides highlights of the State's recent accomplishments and information about upcoming key CFSR-related activities. As you will note, because the CFSRs emphasize continuous quality improvement, we have negotiated a specific amount of improvement necessary for each program improvement goal whenever possible and/or appropriate. Our overall plan, however, is to achieve conformance with Federal requirements through ongoing improvements to our child welfare system.

[Note to the State: You might wish to add a paragraph here highlighting some of the information in the attached summary document.]

We look forward to the opportunity to discuss the information in the summary with you further. During those discussions, we also would be happy to explain the approach that we have taken toward establishing goals for needed improvements and the strategies that we have selected to enhance services to children and families.

Please feel free to call me at [enter telephone number] if you have questions.

Sincerely,

[enter name, title, and agency]