CENTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH School of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley Data Are Your Friends: California’s Child Welfare Outcomes and Accountability System Barbara Needell, MSW, PhD Center for Social Services Research University of California at Berkeley The Performance Indicators Project is a collaboration of the California Department of Social Services and the University of California at Berkeley, and is supported by the California Department of Social Services and the Stuart Foundation

CENTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH School of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley Entry Cohorts Exit Cohorts Point in Time Data 3 Key Data Samples

CENTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH School of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley January 1, 2005January 1, 2006 How long do children stay in foster care? July 1, 2005 Child 1 Child 2 Child 3 Child 4 Child 5 Child 6 Child 7 Child 8 Child 9 Child 10

CENTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH School of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley California: Referrals, Substantiations & Entry Rates (per 1,000 Children) Referral Rates (-2.8%) Substantiation Rates (-10.6%) Entry Rates (-3.0%)

CENTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH School of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley 1998 to 2008 California: Entry Events by Placement Type (entries lasting 8 or more days) Group/Shelter Kinship FFA Foster TOTAL Entries ,884 36,777

CENTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH School of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley 1998 to 2008 California: Foster Care Caseload by Placement Type Group/Shelter Kinship FFA Foster TOTAL Caseload 70, ,325

CENTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH School of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley

Tracking Child Welfare Outcomes Counterbalanced Indicators of SystemPerformance PermanencyThroughReunification, Adoption, or Guardianship Length of Stay Stability of Care Rate of Referrals/ Substantiated Referrals Home-Based Services vs. Out of Home Care Positive Attachments to Family, Friends, and Neighbors Use of Least Restrictive Form of Care Source: Usher, C.L., Wildfire, J.B., Gogan, H.C. & Brown, E.L. (2002). Measuring Outcomes in Child Welfare. Chapel Hill: Jordan Institute for Families, Reentry to Care

CENTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH School of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley Outcomes, outcomes, everywhere Government Performance Results Act of 1993 (GPRA) Annual Outcomes Report to Congress mandated by Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) of 1997 Statewide Data Indicators in Child and Family Services Reviews -- a subset of the Annual Outcomes—from National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) and Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) Round 1 of CFSR FFY (CA 2002) Round 2 of CFSR FFY (CA 2008) California Child Welfare Outcomes and Accountability System (2004)

CENTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH School of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley Purpose of CFSRs To assess State conformance with title IV-B and IV-E State plan requirements such that: The State is achieving desired outcomes for children and families in the areas of safety, permanency, and well-being (7 outcomes) The State system is functioning at a level that promotes achievement of the identified outcomes (7 systemic factors)

CENTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH School of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley CFSR Review Process  Statewide Assessment  Onsite Review  Determination of substantial conformity  Program Improvement Plans

CENTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH School of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley Changes to the CFSR Round 1 of the CFSRs –2 of the “outcomes” = 6 items (2 for safety, 4 for permanency) –National Standards attached: based on the 75 th %tile of reporting states –States failing to meet a given standard had to include that item in their Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs) Round 2 of the CFSRs –Also comprised of 6 items with standards attached –BUT…this time the permanency standards are comprised of 15 different measures distilled into four composites –TOTAL of 17 FEDERAL MEASURES

CENTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH School of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley CA CWS Outcomes System California Child Welfare System Improvement and Accountability Act (AB636) became law in 2001 and went into effect in January 2004—quarterly outcomes reports at state and county level. –Includes federal measures, has changed to reflect federal changes –Provides additional measures needed to understand performance (e.g., % of siblings placed together). –We are working on additional measures of well-being. Mirrors Family to Family Outcomes Retains key process measures (e.g., child visits, time to investigation) Began with county self assessments and System Improvement Plans (SIPS) that identified key challenges and strengths, updated periodically Peer Quality Case Reviews (PQCRs) are being conducted in each county to dig deeper into specific issues

CENTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH School of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley CFSR: Seven Outcomes Safety Children are, first and foremost, protected from abuse and neglect. Children are safely maintained in their homes whenever possible and appropriate. Permanency Children have permanency and stability in their living arrangements. The continuity of family relationships and connections is preserved for children. Child and Family Well-Being Families have enhanced capacity to provide for their children's needs. Children receive appropriate services to meet their educational needs. Children receive adequate services to meet their physical and mental health needs.

CENTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH School of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley CFSR: Seven Systemic Factors Statewide information system Case review system Quality assurance program Staff and provider training Service array Agency responsiveness to the community Foster and adoptive parent licensing, recruitment and retention

CENTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH School of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley National Standards National standards for both the safety indicators and permanency composites are based on State performance in 2004, 75 th percentile In California, we at CSSR attempt to replicate each of the measures and composite scores, break them out by child welfare and probation agencies, and report/update quarterly. Although national standards have been set for the composites rather than individual measures… –The goal is to improve State performance on all measures (every improvement reflects a better outcome for children) –Improvement on any given measure will result in an increase in the overall composite score –We post the 75 th percentile performance for each indicator/measure and call it the national goal

CENTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH School of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley Safety Indicator 1 Indicator 2 Permanency Composite 1 Composite 2 Composite 3 Composite 4 Component A Component B Component A Component B Component C Component A Component B Measure 1 Measure 2 Measure 3 Measure 4 Measure 1 Measure 2 Measure 3 Measure 4 Measure 5 Measure 1 Measure 2 Measure 3

CENTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH School of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley Safety S1.1 S2.1 Permanency Composite 1: Reunification Composite 2: Adoption Composite 3: Long-Term Composite 4: Stability C1.1 C1.2 C1.3 C1.4 C2.1 C2.2 C2.3 C2.4 C2.5 C3.1 C3.2 C3.3 C4.1 C4.2 C4.3

CENTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH School of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley Measure Contributions to Composites Reunification Within 12 Months (Exit Cohort) Median Time To Reunification (Exit Cohort) Reentry Following Reunification (Exit Cohort) Reunification Within 12 Months (Entry Cohort)

CENTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH School of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley Measure Contributions to Composites Adoption Within 24 Months (Exit Cohort) Median Time To Adoption (Exit Cohort) Adoption Within 12 Months (17 Months In Care) Legally Free Within 6 Months (17 Months In Care) Adoption Within 12 Months (Legally Free)

CENTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH School of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley Measure Contributions to Composites Exits to Permanency (24 Months In Care) Exits to Permanency (Legally Free At Exit) In Care 3 Years Or Longer (Emancipated/Age 18)

CENTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH School of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley Measure Contributions to Composites Placement Stability (8 Days To 12 Months In Care) Placement Stability (12 To 24 Months In Care) Placement Stability (At Least 24 Months In Care)

CENTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH School of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley Measure Contributions to Composites

CENTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH School of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley Percent Change Time Period 1Time Period 2 10%12% % %

CENTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH School of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley January 2004-October 2008 California CWS Outcomes System: AB636 Measures, % IMPROVEMENT (+) or (–) indicates direction of desired change Decline in Performance Improvement in Performance

CENTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH School of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley January 2004-October 2008 California CWS Outcomes System: Federal Measures, % IMPROVEMENT (+) or (–) indicates direction of desired change Decline in Performance Improvement in Performance

CENTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH School of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley October 2008 California CWS Outcomes System: Performance Relative to Federal Standard/Goal Federal Standard/Goal 100%

CENTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH School of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley 1998 to 2008 California: Children First Entering Care by Placement Type (children in care for 8 or more days) Group/Shelter Kinship FFA Foster TOTAL First Entries 24,034 28,625

CENTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH School of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley 1998 to 2008 California: Exit Events by Placement Type (exits after episodes in care of 8 or more days) Group/Shelter Kinship FFA Foster TOTAL Exits 36,618 32,262

CENTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH School of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley 2002 to 2006 California: Children Still in Care 12m After Entry Placement Distance from Home by Kin vs. Non-Kin (missing distances excluded from the percent calculations) Kin PlacementsNon-Kin Placements

CENTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH School of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley Kin Placements 2002 to 2006 California: Children Still in Care 12m After Entry Placed Within 5 miles of Home Non-Kin Placements

CENTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH School of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley 2002 to 2008 California: Sibling Placements All Siblings Placed Together Some or All Siblings Placed Together

CENTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH School of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley 2002 to 2008 California: C4.1,2,3: Placement Stability 24+ Months In Care 12 to 24 Months In Care 8 Days to 12 Months in Care

CENTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH School of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley 2002 to 2008 California: C4.1,2,3: Placement Stability Count

CENTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH School of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley 2002 to 2008 California: C3.1: Exits to Permanency (24m In Care), by Exit Type % Reunification % Guardianship % Adoption % Exits to Permanency TOTAL # in Care 24m+ 28,275 44,873

CENTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH School of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley 2002 to 2008 California: C3.3: In Care 3 Years Or Longer (Emancipated Or Age 18) National Goal % In Care 3+ Years goal # Emancipating or Age 18 in Care4,699 4,249

CENTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH School of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley 2007 California: Ethnicity and Path through the Child Welfare System (Missing Values & Other Race Excluded from % Calculations, <18 years of Age)

CENTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH School of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley 2007 California: Ethnicity and Path through the Child Welfare System (Missing Values & Other Race Excluded from % Calculations, <18 years of Age)

CENTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH School of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley 2007 California: Ethnicity and Path through the Child Welfare System (Missing Values & Other Race Excluded from % Calculations, <18 years of Age)

CENTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH School of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley 2007 California: Ethnicity and Path through the Child Welfare System (Missing Values & Other Race Excluded from % Calculations, <18 years of Age)

CENTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH School of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley 2007 California: Ethnicity and Path through the Child Welfare System (Missing Values & Other Race Excluded from % Calculations, <18 years of Age)

CENTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH School of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley 2007 California: Ethnicity and Path through the Child Welfare System (Missing Values & Other Race Excluded from % Calculations, <18 years of Age)

CENTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH School of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley 2007 California: Referrals per 1,000 by Age and Ethnicity *Series Total

CENTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH School of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley 2007 California: Substantiated Referrals per 1,000 by Age and Ethnicity *Series Total

CENTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH School of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley 2007 California: Entries to Foster Care per 1,000 by Age and Ethnicity *Series Total

CENTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH School of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley 2007 California: Children in Foster Care per 1,000 by Age and Ethnicity *Series Total

CENTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH School of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley 2007 California: Exits from Foster Care per 1,000 (In Care Population) by Age and Ethnicity *Series Total

CENTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH School of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley 2007 California: Referrals, Substantiated Referrals, Entries, & In Care Rates per 1,000 by Age and Ethnicity Black Children Asian/PI ChildrenHispanic Children White Children

CENTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH School of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley Native American Hispanic Asian/PI California: Racial Disparity Indices (group compared to White) UnderrepresentedOverrepresented Black

CENTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH School of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley 1998 to 2007 California: Children Entering Care by Race/Ethnicity Black White Native American Hispanic Asian/PI TOTAL Entries 36,011 39,644

CENTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH School of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley 1998 to 2007 California: First Entries by Race/Ethnicity Black White Native American Hispanic Asian/PI TOTAL First Entries 29,156 32,580

CENTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH School of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley 1998 to 2008 California: Foster Care Caseload by Race/Ethnicity Asian/PI Black White Hispanic Native American TOTAL Caseload 70, ,

CENTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH School of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley 1998 to 2007 California: Children Exiting Care by Race/Ethnicity Asian/PI Black White Hispanic Native American TOTAL Exiting 33,050 23,575

CENTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH School of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley 2000 July-December First Entries California: Percent Exited to Permanency 84 Months From Entry 87%

CENTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH School of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley 2000 July-December First Entries California: Percent Exited to Permanency 84 Months From Entry 90% 81%

CENTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH School of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley 2000 July-December First Entries California: Percent Exited to Permanency 84 Months From Entry by Relative vs. Non-Relative Placement =94% =87% =85% =77%

CENTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH School of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley

Using the UCB/CDSS Website Quarterly reports, including dynamic compare feature New Composite Planner (coming soon!) Ability to examine breakouts (age, race, gender, etc.) and performance over time Additional reports above and beyond CA Child Welfare Outcomes System and CFSR (enhanced recurrence and entry cohort tables, entry cohort stability table)

CENTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH School of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley Using the UCB/CDSS Website Child Welfare Course Curriculum? Student Research? Faculty Research? Field Work Preparation? IVE Placement Preparation?

CENTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH School of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley CSSR.BERKELEY.EDU/UCB_CHILDWELFARE Needell, B., Webster, D., Armijo, M., Lee, S., Dawson, W., Magruder, J., Exel, M., Glasser, T., Williams, D., Zimmerman, K., Simon, V., Putnam-Hornstein, E., Frerer, K., Cuccaro-Alamin, S., Winn, A., Lou, C., & Peng, C. (2008). Child Welfare Services Reports for California. Retrieved [month day, year], from University of California at Berkeley Center for Social Services Research website. URL: Barbara Needell Presentation Developed by Emily Putnam-Hornstein and Christine Wei-Mien Lou