To be eligible for federal funding under title IV-B, a state agency must submit a 5-year Child and Family Services Plan (CFSP) and a yearly Annual Progress and Services Report (APSR). The CFSP is a long-term, strategic plan that describes a state’s vision and goals to improve its child welfare system. The following resources can assist states in preparing for, developing, implementing, and monitoring their CFSP.

Recorded Webinars

• Integrated Planning and Monitoring: A Framework for Improving Practice features experts presenting strategies for prevention-focused planning, as well as jurisdictions discussing their recent successes and strategies.
• Meaningfully Engaging Stakeholders to Improve Outcomes presents experts and peers discussing the best ways to engage agency stakeholders (including families, community service providers, and others) in strategic planning.

Publications

• Strategic Planning in Child Welfare series presents practical information including guidance and tools to support coordinated strategic and long-term planning.
• Strategies for Authentic Integration of Youth and Family Voice in Child Welfare tip sheet (PDF -454 KB) offers strategies for authentically engaging families and youth and include their voice and valuable lived experiences at the agency level to improve outcomes for children, youth, and families.

Peer Groups

Center peer groups can help connect child welfare professionals working on developing the CFSP. Visit the Center’s Current Peer Groups page for more information or to sign up for a peer group.

Virtual Events

Visit the Center’s Events page to learn about upcoming events focused on strategic planning.

The Center also offers jurisdiction-specific tailored services to states and jurisdictions to help build agency capacity for preparing, developing, implementing, and monitoring the CFSP. For more information, contact your State Liaison.