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 2007-2011 CFSR information, legislation and policy related to the CFSRs, fact sheets, tentative schedules, and the Child and Family Services Reviews Update.

• Federal Register Notice Requesting Public Comment and Consultation Meetings (PDF - 57 KB) - April 5, 2011 (Volume 76, Number 65).
• Child and Family Services Reviews Fact Sheet - Explains the history, purpose, and process of the CFSRs. (PDF - 764 KB)
• 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.
• Fact Sheets - Fact sheets 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 (PDF - 162 KB) - A chart of review dates and PIP implementation dates relevant to the Child and Family Services Reviews. (Updated May 2012)
• Children's Bureau-Funded Child Welfare Reviews Project - The Children's Bureau funds the Child Welfare Reviews Project, which supports the Children's Bureau in administering child welfare reviews. The four components of the project are the Support for the Child and Family Services Reviews (CFSRs), State Team Training, Technical Assistance to State Legislatures on the CFSRs, and Title IV-E Foster Care Eligibility Reviews.
• Child Welfare Reviews Project Fact Sheet - 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.
• Child Welfare Specialist Team Fact Sheet – 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 November 2010) - 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 and Round 2 of the CFSRs - Includes Reports, Results, and Presentations on Round 1 and Round 2 data.

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Planning a Child and Family Services Review

Includes the Procedures Manual, CFSR planning documents, and training materials.

• Procedures Manual - Provides information regarding the framework and goals of the new Child and Family Services Review process and instructions for conducting the two-stage review process and for determining whether States have achieved substantial conformity in all areas assessed.
• Child and Family Services Review Planning Documents - Information for planning, scheduling, and completing a review.
• Child and Family Services Review Training Materials – Information on the steps in the CFSR process as well as tips for reviewers.
• 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)

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Instruments, Tools, and Guides for CFSRs

Includes Child and Family Services Review Instruments, reporting guidelines, and forms.

Onsite Review Tools

• CFSR Statewide Assessment (Last updated December 2006) - The Statewide Assessment is the first stage of the review process. (Word - 320 KB) or (PDF - 214 KB)
• CFSR Onsite Review Instrument and Instructions (Last updated July 2008) - The onsite review is the second stage of the review process. (Word - 1,431 KB) or (PDF - 785 KB)
• CFSR Stakeholder Interview Guide (Last updated June 2008) - Identifies core questions that should be covered in the stakeholder interviews at each review site. (PDF - 293 KB)

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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)
• 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.

• Cross-State Participant Resources – Information on the Cross-State Participants Program, responsibilities, and training.
• Consultant Reviewer Resources – Includes recruitment, qualification, and responsibilities 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.

• Reports and Results of the First and Second Rounds of the Child and Family Services Reviews - The following reports are available by State: Statewide Assessments, CFSR Final Reports, Program Improvement Plans (PIPs), and Individual Key Findings Reports.
• 52 Program Improvement Plans: Strategies for Improving Child Welfare Services and Outcomes (PPT - 445 KB) - This PowerPoint presentation highlights findings from the Program Improvement Plans completed by all 50 States, Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico.
• Compiled Results of the Fiscal Years 2001 - 2010 Child and Family Services Reviews - The compiled results of the Child and Family Services Reviews completed in this time period.
• Table of Data Indicators for the Child and Family Services Reviews (January 2007) (PDF - 32 KB) and Table With Composite Weights (updated January 2007) (PDF - 20 KB) – Revised tables and national standards for the CFSR data indicators.

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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 - 142 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 format.
• 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.
• Involving State Legislators in the Child and Family Services Reviews (PDF - 242 KB) - Based on findings from a national survey of States conducted in June 2009, discusses ideas for State child welfare agencies on engaging State legislators and legislative staff in the CFSRs. The brief offers examples of how States are promoting collaboration on the reviews, key action steps, and descriptions of how States are using these and other ideas to engage legislators in the CFSR process.
• Leadership and Child Welfare Systems: The Role of State Legislators - Discusses the critical role that State legislators play in helping to support greater stability for child welfare agency leadership. Legislative involvement in child welfare is as important now as ever, given the costs that States incur when children are not well served. Leadership and Child Welfare Systems discusses those costs and the importance of the Child and Family Services Reviews (CFSRs) as a tool for legislators in assessing child welfare system performance. It also describes the role of legislator-agency collaboration in bringing about system improvement through the CFSR process.
• 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.
• Moving Children Out of Foster Care: The Legislative Role in Finding Permanent Homes for Children (PDF - 218 KB) - Focuses on the outcomes of round 2 of the Child and Family Services Reviews regarding State performance in moving children in child welfare systems toward permanency. The report also highlights strategies that States are using to improve permanency outcomes for these children and provides questions that lawmakers can use to engage in discussions with State agencies about strategies for improving permanency outcomes.
• 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.
• State Child Welfare Legislation: 2007–2008 (PDF - 465 KB) - Describes State legislation related to child welfare issues that was enacted during calendar years 2007 and 2008. It includes citations and summaries of specific child welfare-related laws in each State.
• State Progress Toward Child Welfare Improvement: Findings from Fiscal Years 2007 and 2008 of the CFSRs (PDF - 421 KB) - Provides State legislators with an overview of State performance so far in the second round of the Child and Family Services Reviews (CFSRs), using data from CFSR Final Reports. It also discusses key learnings from the second round, based on an analysis of the review results.
• State Child Welfare Legislation: 2009 – Describes some of the State legislation related to child welfare issues that was enacted during calendar year 2009. 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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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.

• Children's Bureau Program Assessment for Child and Family Services Reviews and Title IV-E Foster Care Eligibility Reviews Fact Sheet - Information on the history, purpose, and process of the Child and Family Services Reviews as well as a summary of Title IV-E reviews.
• Title IV-E Legislation/Policy - Information about legislation and policy related to the Title IV-E Reviews.
• Title IV-E Foster Care Eligibility Review Schedules - A listing of when States are scheduled to be reviewed.
• Child Welfare Reviews Project - An overview of the activities managed by the Child Welfare Reviews Project.

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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.

• Title IV-E Foster Care Eligibility Review Guide - Contains suggestions and guidance on planning, conducting, and completing a Foster Care Eligibility Review. (PDF - 637 KB) (WORD - 1580 KB)
• Title IV-E Foster Care Eligibility On-Site Review Instrument – The instrument completed during the onsite Title IV-E Foster Care Eligibility Reviews. (PDF - 234 KB)
• Title IV-E Foster Care Eligibility Onsite Review Instrument (Spanish version) - A Spanish-language version of the instrument completed during the onsite Title IV-E Foster Care Eligibility Reviews. (PDF - 398 KB) (WORD - 630 KB)

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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.

• 2010 AFCARS Assessment Review Schedule - Dates that States are scheduled for reviews.
• State AFCARS Assessment Review Reports by Fiscal Year - A listing of State reports by Federal fiscal year.
• State Guide - Helps States prepare for an AFCARS assessment review and provides more detailed information on the AFCARS assessment review 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.
• SACWIS Assessment Review Guide (PDF - 282 KB) or (Word - 181 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

• CBX Video - View here to find out more about the Children's Bureau's online digest.
• CFSP/APSR Toolkit - This toolkit is a central location for 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) and 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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