Chapin Hall

The Child Welfare League of America 2022 National Conference on April 27–29 in Washington, DC, included a Chapin Hall Spotlight Track: Re-imagining a Prevention-Focused and Equitable Child Welfare System for the 21st Century.

Chapin Hall’s Executive Director, Bryan Samuels, and CWLA’s Christine Brown opened the Spotlight Track with a panel including Aysha Schomburg, the Children’s Bureau Associate Commissioner, and Miranda Lynch-Smith, Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. The panel explored prevention, equity, and creating “the possible” for children and families in a 21st century child welfare system. Both panelists thanked Casey Family Programs for the generous support of the conference.

Chapin Hall experts and state partners presented six Action Labs and engaged with participants to define the actions they can take at the national, jurisdictional, organizational, and personal level. The Action Labs’ descriptions and presentation materials are below.

An Analytic Framework to Address Economic-Related Risk Factors in Child Welfare

This Action Lab described an analytic framework that can be used to measure economic risk factors in child welfare. The framework was developed using a multidisciplinary roundtable of experts from academia with federal, state, and local agencies. Presenters: Robin Ghertner and Emily Madden, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, U.S. Department of Human Services, Washington, DC; Dana Weiner, Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago, Chicago, IL.

Flexible Funds in Kentucky to Increase Well-Being: Operationalizing the Evidence on Economic and Concrete Supports

This Action Lab described Kentucky’s family preservation services and recent policy action to provide up to $1,000 per family in concrete supports to address economic hardship, which can be a driver of child welfare system involvement. Participants explored the evidence related to economic and concrete supports and integration of these into the service array. Presenters: Clare Anderson, Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago, Washington, DC; Christa Bell, Department of Community Based Services at the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, Lexington, KY.

Operationalizing a Community Pathway to Prevention: Partnering with Families to Strengthen Communities

This Action Lab described Connecticut’s strategy for delivering prevention services to families in communities and incorporating community pathways into Family First prevention plans. Presenters shared a new Chapin Hall Community Pathway Planning Tool to support jurisdictions in the design, planning, and implementation of a community pathway. Presenters: Krista Thomas, Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago; JoShonda Guerrier, Connecticut Department of Children and Families, Hartford, CT.

Service Array Transformation: Leveraging a Service Referral Application to Build Cross-System Collaboration and Improve Outcomes for Communities in Washington, DC

This Action Lab described the implementation of a service referral technology being used in Washington, DC. The technology platform supports the development and deployment of a comprehensive service array and makes available continuous quality improvement processes for identifying and addressing gaps. Presenters: Michael Stiehl, Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago, Chicago, IL; Sharafdeen Ibraheem, DC Child & Family Services Agency, Washington, DC; Samantha Adelberg, Unite Us, New York, NY.

Evidence Based Program (EBP) Exploration and Cost Tool: A Family First Planning and Implementation Tool for Effective Selection of EBPs

This Action Lab described the Chapin Hall EBP Exploration and Cost Tool and its use in planning and implementing Family First service arrays. Presenters provided examples of how jurisdictions have used the tool to enhance the service selection process, lessons learned, and key financial implications when assessing implementation costs of EBPs. Presenters: Kristen Gore, Jason Brennen, and Katrina Dorse, Chapin Hall, Chicago, IL.

How Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) is Being Used to Transform a Child Welfare System

This Action Lab described Oregon’s Vision for Transformation and its guiding principle of continuous quality improvement. CQI is used as a lever for change and growth and is key to developing a child and family well-being system. Equity-focused data analytics were presented as these are being incorporated into their CQI processes. Presenters: Leanne Heaton and Janese Evans, Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago, Chicago, IL; Alysia Cox, Oregon Department of Human Services, Child Welfare Division, Salem, OR.