1. The Child Welfare Policy and Practice Group
QSR PROCESS OVERVIEW
The Child Welfare Policy and Practice Group

2. Core Practice Model Principles
Trusting relationships foster acceptance of help
Families pursue plans they help design
Affirming strengths builds confidence in taking the risks of change
Assessments are more accurate when based on underlying needs
Children in placement do better connected with home and neighborhood
Needs based plans are more likely to produce change
Informal supports are essential to sustaining change
Family team based decisions are most effective
Coordination is most effective through team conferencing
Success in school produces improved well-being
Services should be flexible
Normalized visiting produces better outcomes

3. Child Status
Safety (of the child) If rated 3 or less, Child Status will be Unacceptable
Stability
Appropriateness of placement
Permanency
Health/physical well-being
Learning progress – OR- Developing/learning progress (under age 5)
Caregiver functioning (substitute caregiver)
Family functioning and resourcefulness
Satisfaction

4. System Performance Child/Family Participation
Child and Family Team & Coordination
Functional Assessment
Long-term View
Child and Family Planning Process
Plan Implementation
Formal and Informal Supports and Services
Successful Transition
Effective Results
Tracking and Adaptation
Caregiver Support

5. CWG QSR Findings Nationally
Despite strengths language, the capacity of families to change is not consistently respected
Families are not regularly involved as meaningful participants in decision making about their lives
Family assessments tend focus on deficits and services, not underlying needs
There are too few functional family teams
Plans are not routinely individualized – one size fits all
Plans serve as mechanisms for court orders compelling compliance. not practical road maps for families
Plans focus on immediate and urgent needs to the detriment of attention to goals for family independence
Coordination and communication between team members are unreliable
The families’ informal support system is underutilized

6. The Foundations of QA Design

7. Contributions of Primary Quality Assurance Measures
Standards Conformity Reviews
Was it done as required?
How consistently was it done?
Qualitative Reviews
Is it working now?
What is causing it to work or preventing it from working?
Outcome Tracking
Is it changing over time?
Does it have lasting effects?

10. QSR Influences on Practice in Utah
Better engagement with families
Clearer expectations about using family teams
Redesign of the assessment process
Redesign of the child and family planning process
Greater emphasis on informal supports
Recognition of the importance of the long-term view at the case level
Better planning for transitions
Broader stakeholder understanding of the child welfare environment
Improved accountability for practice at the case level

11. System Leadership and the QSR How system leaders have contributed to the success of QSR implementation
Modeling its importance and the centrality of practice
Acting on findings
Sharing the discovery of practice with the community
Providing clarity about the central office role in supporting the field
Defining QSR improvement as a key measure of success