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Last Updated: 2026-01-29 22:38:03
Understanding our strategic goals
Go in prepared
Use our dashboards and other resources to prepare yourself for data-informed leadership.
Reduce or eliminate family separation as a primary strategy for government intervention for families in crisis
An essential shift is needed to adopt practices and approaches that are predicated on providing community-level supports to children and families. Involvement with child protection is costly to society and traumatic for families. Addressing the needs of families before there is a crisis can keep families together.
Key outcomes
Rate of children screened-in: Unique count of children (under age 18) who are screened in for further investigation or assessment after a report of maltreatment to the child protection hotline. The rate is calculated per 1,000 children in the general child population for each federal fiscal year period.
Percent of children substantiated: Percent of all children (under age 18) who are determined to be victims of maltreatment following an investigation. The percent is calculated of all children involved in an investigation or assessment for each federal fiscal year period.
Rate of children entering care: Unique number of children who enter out-of-home care during a 12-month period, per 1,000 children in the general child population.
Considerations
Humanize the data: Engage directly with impacted families and communities to understand the experiences behind the numbers, especially in communities with the highest rates of disproportionality
Disaggregate the data: Analyze trends by race/ethnicity, age, allegation type, reporter type, and reason for removal to identify specific disparities
Evaluate additional front-door metrics: 1) Assess the volume and necessity of screened-out calls to determine whether reporting was necessary; 2) Examine the breakdown of substantiated versus unsubstantiated reports to ensure child protection involvement is targeted and only when necessary
Map geographic trends: Identify neighborhoods with disproportionately higher reporting, substantiation, or rates of children entering care
Audit policy impacts: Investigate how legal standards – such as the definition of neglect, standards of proof, and substance use policies – drive reporting and entry into care
Additional Context
A Key Connection: Economic Stability and Family Well-Being (Chapin Hall, 2025)
Analysis of state definitions of child neglect (Casey, 2024)
How are some jurisdictions transforming mandated reporting? (Casey, 2025)
How can families affected by substance use disorder safely stay together? (Casey, 2024)
How do helplines support children and families? (Casey, 2025)
How can hotline data help child protection agencies better support families? (Casey, in partnership with Child Welfare Data Leaders, 2022)
How can pre-petition legal representation help strengthen families and keep them together? (Casey, 2024)
Upstream investment in children and families pays off (Casey, 2020)
Reduce time in care and time spent away from family
Kinship placement should be a universal expectation and goal in child welfare, and children placed with kinship caregivers need resources, services, and support that help protect their safety, promote their well-being and facilitate permanency. A commitment and a sense of urgency for minimizing time away from family and swiftly achieving safe reunification or permanency with family is critical.
Key outcomes
Percent of children in a kinship setting: Percent of all children (under age 18) in out-of-home care on the last day of the 12-month period who are placed in a kinship setting.
Percent of children in a group placement setting: Percent of all children (under age 18) in out-of-home care on the last day of the 12-month period who are placed in a group home or institution.
Percent of children achieving permanency within 2 years: Percent of all children (under age 18) who entered care and exit to any type of permanency within 12 months or who exit to guardianship or adoption within 12-24 months.
Percent of children in care 2+ years achieving permanency: Percent of all children (under age 22) in care for 2+ years on the first day of the 12-month period who achieve permanency within the subsequent 12 months. Permanency includes reunification, adoption, and legal guardianship. (CFSR measure)
Considerations
Humanize the data: Engage directly with impacted families and communities to understand the experiences behind the numbers, especially in communities with the highest rates of disproportionality
Disaggregate the data: Analyze trends by race/ethnicity, age, and geography to pinpoint systemic disparities
Map placement pathways: Examine patterns in initial vs. predominant placements and the frequency of “step-down” transitions to less restrictive settings
Evaluate kinship supports: Assess how licensing standards and available resources facilitate or hinder placements with relative caregivers
Track re-entry and duration: Analyze re-entry rates alongside the median length of stay and other measures of time to permanency to measure system stability
Analyze permanency outcomes: Review discharge data to determine the frequency of reunification, guardianship, adoption, and aging out
Additional context & resources:
Advancing a kin-first culture (Casey, 2022)
How can guardianship be better utilized to promote permanency and well-being? (Casey, 2021)
How can we end the need for group placements in child welfare? (Casey, 2023)
How does high-quality legal representation for parents support better outcomes? (Casey, 2021)
How do parent partner programs instill hope and support prevent and reunification? (Casey, 2021)
Kin-specific licensing progress tracker (Grandfamilies.org, 2025)
Kin, first and foremost: challenging, opportunities, and the path forward for kinship care (Think of Us, 2024)
What is a well-functioning child protection agency? (Casey, 2023)
What should every child protection agency do to ensure that children are placed with kin? (Casey, 2023)
What strategies facilitate safe family reunification? (Casey, 2024)
Why should child protection agencies adopt a kin-first approach? (Casey, 2020)
Increase safety in the context of children living with and within their family
Safety is a child protection agency’s first responsibility. Protecting children from trauma, both physical and psychological, is also a primary consideration. In addition, exploring strategies that promote timely and stable permanency for children who do enter out-of-home care is critical.
Key outcomes
Percent of children experiencing repeat maltreatment: Percent of all children (under age 18) involved in a substantiated report of maltreatment during the federal fiscal year who experience a second substantiated incident at least 2 weeks after and within 12 months of the first report. (CFSR measure)
Percent of children re-entering care: Percent of all children (under age 18) who exited care to reunification or guardianship during the report year who re-enter care within the subsequent 12 months. (CFSR measure)
Rate of child maltreatment fatalities: Number of children (under age 18) who died as a result of abuse or neglect and were reported to the child protection agency during the federal fiscal year, per 100,000 children in the general child population.
Considerations
Humanize the data: Engage directly with impacted families and communities to understand the experiences behind the numbers, especially in communities with the highest rates of disproportionality
Disaggregate the data: Analyze trends by race/ethnicity, age, and geography to pinpoint systemic disparities
Map placement pathways: Examine patterns in initial vs. predominant placements and the frequency of “step-down” transitions to less restrictive settings
Evaluate kinship supports: Assess how licensing standards and available resources facilitate or hinder placements with relative caregivers
Track re-entry and duration: Analyze re-entry rates alongside the median length of stay and other measures of time to permanency to measure system stability
Analyze permanency outcomes: Review discharge data to determine the frequency of reunification, guardianship, adoption, and aging out
Additional Context
How are child welfare leaders applying safety science to critical incident reviews? (Casey, 2021)
How do lived experts define and assess child safety? (Casey, 2025)
If I knew then what I know now: Seven strategies to reduce child abuse and neglect fatalities (Casey, 2022)
National Partnership for Child Safety
Re-entry into foster care (AECF, 2020)
Utilizing Collective Impact to Reduce Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities (Social Current, 2023)
What are some evidence-based programs that help promote safety, permanency, and well-being? (Casey, 2024)
Within Our Reach: A National Strategy to Eliminate Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities (Commission to Eliminate Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities, 2016)
Within Our Reach: What We've Learned - Building a 21st Century Child and Family Well-Being System Based on Protective Factors and Strengthening Families (Social Current, 2024)