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Child Welfare Monitoring
In order to help States achieve positive outcomes for children and families, the Children's Bureau monitors State child welfare services through the Child and Family Services Reviews (CFSRs), Title IV-E Foster Care Eligibility Reviews, the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS), and the Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System (SACWIS) Assessment Reviews.
Child and Family Services Reviews
General Information and Overview of the CFSR Process
Includes 2007-2010 CFSR information, legislation and policy related to the CFSRs, factsheets, tentative schedules, and the Child and Family Services Reviews Update.
- Child and Family Services Reviews Factsheet - Explains the history, purpose, and process of the CFSRs.
- Legislation, Policy and Technical Bulletins Related to the CFSRs - Child Welfare Final Rule, Adoption and Safe Families Act, Policy Issuances (PI), Information Memoranda (IM), and Technical Bulletins.
- Schedules and Resources for Round 2 - Includes Round 2 review schedules and resources.
- Factsheets - Factsheets about the CFSRs for specific groups, including Governors, legislatures, courts, Tribes, and mental health professionals.
- Child and Family Services Review Update - A newsletter distributed periodically by email and designed for professionals interested in the Children's Bureau Child and Family Services Reviews.
- Status of Program Improvement Plans (PIPs) and Subsequent Child and Family Services Review (Updated June 2009) -A chart of review dates and PIP implementation dates relevant to the Child and Family Services Reviews. (PDF - 109 KB)
- Children's Bureau Funded Child Welfare Review Projects - The Children's Bureau funds four projects that provide support to the Children's Bureau in administering child welfare reviews: The Child Welfare Reviews Project, Program Support for Child Welfare Monitoring Project, Technical Assistance to State Legislatures on the Child and Family Services Reviews, and Title IV-E Foster Care Eligibility Reviews Project.
- Child Welfare Reviews Project Factsheet - Information on the contractor's support to the Children's Bureau in administering the child welfare reviews, including the Child and Family Services Reviews and the Title IV-E Reviews.
- Program Support for Child Welfare Monitoring Project Factsheet – Information on the contractor's support to the Children's Bureau in administering the child welfare monitoring, including the Child and Family Services Reviews (CFSRs) and other state child welfare program monitoring activities.
- Child and Family Services Reviews Key Children's Bureau and Federal Contractor Staff (as of April 2008) - Contact information for the Children's Bureau CFSR leadership and data team and the Federal contractors who provide support to the CFSRs.
- Resources From Round 1 of the CFSRs - Includes Reports and Results and presentations on Round 1 data.
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Planning a Child and Family Services Review
Includes the Procedures Manual, CFSR planning documents, and training materials.
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Instruments, Tools, and Guides for CFSRs
Includes Child and Family Services Review Instruments, reporting guidelines, and forms.
Onsite Review Tools
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Post-Review Tools
- CFSR Summary of Findings Form (Last updated January 2007) - Provides a format for the child and family services review teams to consolidate information into one comprehensive report to the State agency. (Word - 648 KB) or (PDF - 127 KB)
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Program Improvement Plan Instructions and Matrix (Last updated October 2007) - This document is intended to provide guidance for States in developing a Program Improvement Plan (PIP) following receipt of the Final Report on the child and family services review. (Word - 734 KB) or (PDF - 577 KB)
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Consultant Reviewer Information
Includes cross-State participant resources and consultant reviewer information.
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Results of the Child and Family Services Reviews
Includes reports from the first and second rounds of the CFSRs and compiled results from the first round of reviews.
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Reports
Publications related to the CFSRs, including presentations and comments by Children's Bureau and other Federal staff.
- Assessing Promising Approaches in Child Welfare: Strategies for State Legislators
(PDF - 195 KB) - Designed to encourage State legislators and legislative staff to work collaboratively with State child welfare administrators when considering best practices during child welfare reform efforts, especially those associated with the Child and Family Services Reviews (CFSRs). It offers information on how State legislators and legislative staff can effectively consider the appropriateness of promising child welfare approaches in relation to the program improvements being made through the CFSRs.
- Changing the Culture of the Workplace - Comments by Jerry Milner, Closing Plenary Session, Annual Meeting of States and Tribes. January 29, 2003.
- Engaging State Legislators in the Federal Child and Family Services Reviews: An Information-Sharing Tool for Child Welfare Agency Administrators - A tool for keeping legislators informed about the State's performance on the latest Child and Family Services Reviews, Program Improvement Plan (PIP) goals and achievements, PIP partners, and areas requiring legislative support. It is designed to be adapted for use by each State. (Word - 232 KB) (PDF - 187 KB)
- Focusing on Child Welfare Systems: Collaborating With State Legislators on Reform
(PDF - 270 KB) - Offers State child welfare agency administrators information on effective strategies for using the Child and Family Services Reviews to work more closely with legislators to improve child welfare systems. This report covers the importance of legislative engagement in child welfare and strategies for building partnerships with State legislators and engaging them in the reviews.
- Focusing on Child Welfare Systems: The Role of State Legislators
(PDF - 214 KB) - Offers legislators information on using the CFSRs to enhance their role in supporting State child welfare agency administrators and creating effective child welfare policies and practices. The report discusses the CFSRs as a resource for legislators, and offer strategies that legislators can use to become involved in the reviews. The report is also available in a three-page brief
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- Funding of Child and Family Services Reviews Program Improvement Plans
(PDF - 364 KB) - Describes how some States are using new resources or are re-allocating existing resources for Program Improvement Plan (PIP) implementation following the first round of Child and Family Services Reviews.
- Legislative Brief: Child Welfare Caseworker Visits With Children and Parents
(PDF - 345 KB) - Presents background information about caseworker visits, including the elements that comprise quality visits. It also offers questions that legislators and their staff can use to facilitate a dialogue about caseworker visits with their child welfare agency administrators.
- Partners in Progress: Improving Outcomes Through Systemic Change - Presentation by Joan Ohl, Annual Meeting of States and Tribes. January 28, 2003.
- State Child Welfare Legislation: 2006
(PDF - 226 KB) - Describes some of the State legislation related to child welfare issues that was enacted during calendar year 2006. It includes citations and summaries of specific child-welfare-related laws in each State.
- Strategies That Address Critical Practice Areas: Successes and Challenges in Implementation (PPT - 282 KB)
- Supporting Improvements in Child Welfare Systems Through the Child and Family Services Reviews: A Resource for State Legislators
(PDF - 421 KB) - Provides key questions for State legislators and their staff to ask State child welfare agencies about the Child and Family Services Review process. The document is designed as a tool for enhancing relationships between State child welfare administrators and State legislators who have child welfare agency oversight responsibility.
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Promising Approaches
- Promising Approaches - Information about innovative efforts in child welfare implemented by the States to meet the needs of children and families. These approaches are recognized as potential contributions toward good child welfare practice.
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Peer Reviewer Information for Title IV-E Reviews
The regulatory reviews of the Title IV-E Foster Care Program focus on determining whether children in foster care meet the Federal eligibility requirements for foster care maintenance payments.
General Information
Includes legislation, policy, and schedules.
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Instruments, Tools, and Guides for Title IV-E Reviews
Includes the Title IV-E Foster Care Eligibility Reviews Guide and On-Site Review Instruments.
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Consultant Information for Title IV-E Reviews
Includes resources for training child welfare professionals to serve as reviewers.
- Peer Reviewer Recruitment - Children's Bureau, through the Child Welfare Reviews Project, recruits and trains child welfare professionals to serve as reviewers to supplement the Federal review team.
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Reports
Includes Title IV-E State Reports and Program Improvement Plans (PIPs).
- Title IV-E State Reports - Following the onsite review, the Children's Bureau prepares a Final Report containing the review results, including a summary of the errors and the improper payments; strengths and promising practices revealed during the review; and weakness or deficiencies that need to be addressed in the program improvement plan. Copies of the Final Reports and Program Improvement Plans (PIP) released to-date are provided below.
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Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) Assessment Reviews
The Children's Bureau has developed an assessment review process for the purpose of more fully assessing and evaluating States' AFCARS. AFCARS data is used throughout the CFSR process.
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Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System (SACWIS) Assessment Reviews
After a State's child welfare automated system is operational for a approximately 1 year, the Division of State Systems (DSS) conducts a review to assess the system's functionality. SACWIS data is used to support AFCARS and the CFSR process.
SACWIS Assessment Review Process - General information about the SACWIS review process.
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SACWIS Assessment Review Guide (PDF - 580 KB) or (Word - 1,522 KB) - In order for states to prepare for the review, and provide DSS with background information, they complete the SACWIS Assessment Review Guide, which is typically submitted at least six weeks prior to the onsite review.
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Other Related Links
- CFSP/APSR Toolkit - This toolkit is designed to create a central location for all technical assistance documents and materials, as well as references to specific laws, policies, and checklists that relate to the development of the State and Tribal Child and Family Service Plan (CFSP)/Annual Progress and Services Report (APSR).
- Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System (SACWIS) - General information about SACWIS, including meetings and conferences and Federal guidance.
- Statistics and Research - The Children's Bureau provides State and national data on adoption and foster care, child abuse and neglect, and child welfare. The Children's Bureau also funds research in collaboration with other organizations.
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