Policy & Practice | Winter 2024

from our partners

By Bill Myers

Family First: Partnering for System-Level Change to Keep Families Safely Together

The latest federal actions on child welfare prioritize prevention services to avoid separation of families due to economic hardship. Public–private partnerships will play a critical role in delivering these prevention programs and achieving federal compliance for funding. Federal Action to Keep Families Intact In a move to strengthen its approach to child welfare, the White House recently announced a series of initia tives 1 aimed at preventing unnecessary family separation. Recognizing that economic hardship alone should not be a reason for families to lose custody of their children, these actions seek to ensure that children can remain safely with their families while receiving the support they need. This approach aligns with the gov ernment’s commitment to tackling the root causes of family instability. By shifting the focus away from placing children in foster care and toward providing services and resources that strengthen family units, the new policies create a pathway for more children to grow up in safe, supportive homes with their families.

stream for child welfare). By lever aging federal funding, states and Tribes can now access expanded resources to support families before they reach a crisis point. This preven tive approach encompasses a wide range of services, including economic support, parenting programs, and behavioral health treatment. The recently announced policies extend federal funding to cover case management services that facilitate family engagement in these preven tion programs. There will also be new guidance on integrating Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds to bolster family stability and prevent unnecessary involvement in the child welfare system. The Power of Partnership Achieving sustainable, family-focused change in child welfare requires a col lective effort. Strengthening families

and preventing neglect cannot be accomplished by one organization or sector alone. Public–private partnerships play a critical role in creating a supportive ecosystem for families, enabling the sharing of resources, expertise, and data to deliver a more comprehensive approach to family support. Successful partnerships are developed collab oratively in strategic and purposeful ways to create a prevention framework designed to meet families’ needs at the right time and with the right services. Partnership to leverage the right social programs software will allow states to configure case and service plans specifically for prevention services to support families. Considerations for Successful Collaboration

Putting Prevention at the Forefront Central to these reforms is an

increased emphasis on prevention services. The Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) provides funding for prevention services that were not traditionally supported under Title IV-E of the Social Security Act (the most significant federal funding

When states and Tribes select partners and technology to help

Illustration by Chris Campbell

6

Policy & Practice Winter 2024