Child and Family Services Review


The Child and Family Services Reviews are conducted by the Children's Bureau, within the United States Department of Health and Human Services, to help States improve safety, permanency, and well-being outcomes for children and families who receive services through the child welfare system. The Bureau conducts the reviews to ensure conformity with federal child welfare requirements, to determine what is actually happening to children and families in child welfare services, and to assist states in helping children and families achieve positive outcomes. The CFSRs monitor States' conformity with the requirements of title IV-B of the Social Security Act. The first round of reviews took place between 2000 and 2004 and the second round took place between 2007 and 2010. In both rounds, all States were required to implement Program Improvement Plans as part of the review process. The third round of CFSRs took place between 2015 and 2018; a complete aggregate report of those findings has yet to be released.
Specifically, the CFSRs measure seven outcomes and seven systemic factors. The outcomes measured include whether children under the care of the State are protected from abuse and neglect; whether children have permanency and stability in their living conditions; whether the continuity of family relationships and connections is preserved for children; whether families have enhanced capacity to provide for their children's needs; and whether children receive adequate services to meet their physical and mental health needs. The systemic factors measured by the CFSRs include the effectiveness of the State's systems for child welfare information, case review, and quality assurance; training of child welfare staff, parents, and other stakeholders; the services that support children and families; the agency's responsiveness to the community; and foster and adoptive parent licensing, recruitment, and retention. Significant financial penalties may be assessed for failure to make the improvements needed to achieve substantial conformity. Each state's Program Improvement Plan must include measurable goals for improvement, action steps, and an implementation timeline for addressing each outcome that did not meet the requirements for the seven federal child welfare outcomes and seven systemic factors under review in the CFSR process.

Outcomes

  1. * The services in the first item can be individualized to meet the unique needs of children and families served by the agency