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.

Learn about the range of practices comprising the continuum of youth engagement to youth empowerment.

Identify data sources to explore agency responsiveness to the community.

Explore how independent verification and validation services for title IV-E agencies are used for child welfare information systems projects.

Discover how to examine and drill down into state data to build understanding of what’s happening in your child welfare system.

Learn about various instruments used to measure well-being for program, case planning, and evaluation purposes.

Explore successful cross-system collaboration across three phases of child welfare interactions with families experiencing co-occurring issues—front-end investigation, case planning/service provision, and case resolution. 

Explore how data reported in AFCARS about youth who run away from state custody can be used to inform interventions.

Explore the need for involving multiple voices in developing and implementing prevention plans, as well as the important role courts play in prevention.

Learn the importance of effective, ongoing collaboration between child welfare agencies and community-based partners.

Use this tool with your prevention planning team to prepare for and tackle the adaptive challenges that many states face as they develop and implement prevention plans. 

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

Learn about the importance of successful collaboration and engagement for implementing prevention-focused systems.

Identify data sources to explore how well your state’s case review system is functioning.

Learn about Catherine’s journey recovering from trauma and addiction to be successfully reunified with her daughter.