Policy & Practice | Summer 2025

A People-First Approach to Reshape Child Welfare Addressing these systemic issues with a more integrated and people-cen tered approach can positively impact the experience of families in navigating complex services, with the potential to drive better outcomes. A holistic model considers a family’s entire ecosystem, simplifying access to services across various programs. It puts a focus on preventive empowerment by tackling socioeconomic drivers of family stress, such as food insecurity or lack of access to mental health services. For example, strengthening support systems like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) can reduce Child Protective Services (CPS) investigations, preserving family stability. 1 Ensuring families have access to food assistance and other vital support services—in place of undue scrutiny—is an essential step in driving real, lasting change. Extending SNAP benefits can not only reduce food insecurity in house holds, but can also lead to fewer foster care placements by tackling underlying stressors that families face. 1 For this to happen, we must break down the barriers created by the siloed approach Today, social program delivery is often siloed. Programs such as Medicaid, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), SNAP, and child protection agencies function as separate entities, each with its policies and processes. Navigating these systems, intended to help, often creates unintended burdens for families, while causing extra com plexity for caseworkers. to delivering social programs. The Pitfalls of Siloed Support Systems

empower families instead of treating crises reactively.

The Impact on Child and Family Well-Being

It can be difficult for families to meet the disparate requirements of multiple support programs that are not structured in a holistic way. From overlapping appointments to conflicting paperwork demands, navigating these systems often creates logistical stress and can impact emo tional well-being. This contributes to the $140 billion in government benefits that Congress has authorized but are unclaimed—including tax credits for working families, health insurance coverage for adults with low income and children, unemployment benefits, and disability supports—due in part to the administrative burdens of applying for them. 2 Breaking these silos can reduce the strain on families. Instead of navigating between multiple depart ments, a unified system can empower caregivers with streamlined access to multiple programs, reducing delays and offering a more supportive experi ence for families. A major takeaway? Coordination between agencies changes lives. Complexity for Caseworkers Social program workers also face frustration due to disjointed systems. Caseworkers spend time reconciling conflicting data or navigating program prerequisites instead of strength ening family support. The complexity of managing multiple systems and varying eligibility rules adds to their workload, making it harder to focus on the people they serve. programs to holistic frameworks with people at the center can propel families to long-term security. What Does a Holistic Approach to Family Well-Being Look Like? A holistic family well-being program takes into account determinants across the family ecosystem, including economic stability, emotional well being, housing, physical health, and education. By addressing these inter connected pillars, interventions can A Case for a Holistic, Simplified Approach Changing focus from separate

Examples of Holistic Strategies 1. Simplified program access: Single-entry portals for families seeking various types of support help simplify access to benefits and reduce the burden of navigating multiple systems. 2.Streamlined policies: Enhancing enrollment processes and reducing renewal barriers can improve program delivery efficiency, directly benefiting families with limited resources. Minnesota streamlined auto-renewals for MAGI Medical Assistance to remove barriers to care, improving agency efficiency, reducing caseworker workloads, and helping eligible residents retain their benefits. 3 3.Empowering families with tech nology: Tools and platforms that can assist with applications help reduce administrative hurdles while ensuring that caregivers spend less time navigating rigorous pro cesses and more time focusing on themselves and their children. The New York City Human Resources Administration built out its screening tool, resulting in signifi cantly improved customer service by making SNAP available to more people through straightforward and user-friendly technology. 4 This shift also requires policymakers to rethink traditional definitions of success. Rather than assessing well being success purely on short-term cost effectiveness, programs should focus on measurable family improvements, like emotional well-being, customer expe rience and family empowerment, or consistency in caregiver relationships. Data-Backed Insights for Holistic Prevention Research shows that preventive, holistic approaches can significantly improve outcomes for children and families while reducing the costs asso ciated with foster care placements. 5 However, economic hardship remains a growing predictor of child welfare involvement, 5 with low-income families often overrepresented in the

Joseph Castro is the Child Welfare Practice Lead at Cúram.

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Policy & Practice Summer 2025