This guide is designed to support administrative leaders in states and other jurisdictions in using data to assess and identify ways to improve their service array.

Browse the themes and key takeaways from the How We Partner With the Community to Improve Service Options podcast series.

Reflect on past results to inform plans for future improvements.

Learn how to engage young people and families with lived expertise in the CFSR process at a child welfare agency. 

Learn about quality contacts, why they are important, and how an agency can successfully implement them.

Explore the efforts agencies, community collaborative organizations, and others are making to bring families, youth, and communities to the table as they strive to improve the child welfare system in this podcast. 

Learn strategies to address the mental health needs of children, young people, and families.

Set the groundwork for meaningful engagement of people with lived experience in the CFSR.

Explore existing frameworks for protective capacities and protective factors and learn how to use them together for better prevention.

This “Service Array Data Inventory Sample Worksheet” (Worksheet) is a companion tool to A Data-Driven Approach to Service Array Guide developed by the Capacity Building Center for States. To use the Worksheet, you can print it out and fill in the blank squares, or use the questions as a guide.

Explore a family-focused program that embodies many of the changes that Kentucky wants to see throughout its child welfare system in this podcast. The START, program demonstrates a shift in organizational culture to focus on family and serves as an example of a truly collaborative team that uses early intervention and a shared decision-making model to work with families.

Use this brief to explore actionable strategies for meaningful partner engagement in child welfare agency strategic planning, monitoring, and review processes.

Explore tips and strategies to effectively engage and sustain the involvement of families and youth at the agency level. 

Explore strategies to recruit and support caregivers, strengthen their voices, and work together with them to meet the needs of children and youth.

Read about the value of collaboration as the key to prevention, safety, and long-term stability for children and families.