Child welfare is at an important crossroads.
New federal efforts like A Home for Every Child, updated CFSRs, and emerging performance expectations are pushing the system to evolve, not just in policy, but in how work actually happens day to day.
On April 9th, we brought together leaders from across the child welfare ecosystem for a conversation grounded in one shared goal: Helping every child grow up in a safe, stable home.
The discussion was thoughtful, honest, and forward-looking — covering everything from prevention and family-based care to data, workforce challenges, and system alignment.
And like any strong conversation, it sparked even more questions.
We weren’t able to get to all of them live, so we’re continuing that conversation here.
A Quick Look Back at the Conversation
The panel brought together perspectives from across policy, practice, advocacy, and technology:
- Mark Ruf, Northwoods
- Mike Leach, Think of Us
- Kristen Kiefer, Generations United (filling in for Ana Beltran, Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network)
- Rita Soronen, Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption
- Moderated by Amy Drapcho, Northwoods
Together, they explored what it really takes to align policy, practice, and data — not in theory, but in the realities that agencies face every day.
A few themes came through clearly:
- Prevention must happen earlier — before families reach crisis
- Placement quality matters more than placement quantity
- System alignment is often the biggest barrier to timely permanency
- Data must support decisions — not slow them down
From the Audience: Continuing the Conversation
During the webinar, attendees submitted thoughtful questions, many of which centered on the same core challenge:
How do we build systems that truly support children, families, and the people serving them?
We asked our panelists to weigh in.
Supporting LGBTQ+ Youth Requires Intentional Action
Answered by: Mike Leach from Think of Us
One question focused on equity — specifically, how agencies can ensure safe, affirming placements for LGBTQ+ youth.
Mike’s response was clear: “We always know we are going to serve LGBTQ youth. That is not optional… it is on us as leaders to make sure we have families who are ready to support them.”
He emphasized that this work cannot be passive.
Agencies must:
- Recruit intentionally
- Name the need clearly
- Support families once placements are made
“We spend too much time talking about needing more families. What we actually need are the right families.”
The takeaway is simple, but important: Better outcomes come from alignment between the needs of children and the families prepared to support them.
Read Mike's Full Response
We always know we are going to serve LGBTQ youth. That is not optional. That is who is in our system and that means it is on us as leaders to make sure we have families who are ready to support them.
We cannot sit back and hope those families show up. We have to go get them. That means targeted recruitment. Being clear about the need and saying it out loud. We are looking for families who can support LGBTQ youth. We also have to support those families once they step in. So placements are not just made, but sustained.
We did that work even in a red state. This does not change because of a federal initiative or a moment in time. Whether it is A Home for Every Child or anything else, the focus has to stay on what is right for the children in front of you. That is what creates stability. That is what leads to placements that hold.
We spend too much time talking about needing more families. What we actually need are the right families. Families for teens. Families for sibling groups. Families for LGBTQ youth.
If you recruit with intention, you build a pool of families who are ready for the children you serve. And when that pool exists, placements happen faster and they last.
Prevention Starts Before the System
Answered by: Mike Leach, Think of Us
Another question focused on family stability and how to prevent unnecessary system involvement.
Mike reframed the issue: “By the time child welfare steps in, the options are more limited.” He pointed to the need for earlier, more accessible support systems — ones that families trust and can access without fear.
That includes:
- Housing
- Childcare
- Food access
- Transportatio
- Coordinated community support
“If we build those pathways and invest earlier, you will see fewer families enter the system and more families stay stable.”
Prevention isn’t a program. It’s a system-wide commitment to meeting needs earlier.
Read Mike's Full Response
We have to be clear about how families get to us. It usually does not start with a crisis. Things build over time, and without support, it turns into something bigger. By the time child welfare steps in, the options are more limited.
If we want to reduce entries into foster care, we have to step in before child welfare. That means families need to know where to go and how to get help without it making things worse. Right now, too many families do not have that path. They are not sure who to call, and they worry that asking for help could lead to system involvement.
We need clear, trusted ways for families to get support early. That includes housing help, child care, food, and transportation. It also means working closely with schools, law enforcement, hospitals, and courts so they have real options to support families instead of defaulting to a report.
If we build those pathways and invest earlier, you will see fewer families enter the system and more families stay stable. That is how you reduce entries and keep children safely with their families.
Supporting Kinship Care Means Listening First
Answered by: Ana Beltran, Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network, and Kristen Kiefer, Generations United
A key question focused on kinship care and how agencies can better support families both inside and outside the formal system.
One of the most important insights: Kinship families are experts in what they need.
The recommendation is to start there:
- Talk directly with caregivers
- Compensate them for their time
- Implement what you hear and follow up
The data reinforces the importance of this work:
Nationally, 19 children are being raised by kin outside of foster care for every 1 child in kinship foster care.
That ratio highlights a major opportunity: Strengthening kinship support is one of the most impactful ways to support prevention and stability.
Read Ana and Kristen's Full Response
Kinship families and the communities in which they live are their own best experts about which supports are needed. Child welfare agencies should keep in mind that nationally, there are 19 children being raised by kin outside of foster care for every 1 child in foster care with kin. That ratio alone makes the case for prevention services. Imagine if those children were to enter foster care.
To support kinship care in your community, we recommend that you begin by talking to the families about what’s needed. If kin caregiver support groups exist, ask for time on the agenda and ask the caregivers directly. Make sure you compensate the caregivers with gift cards for their time, implement their suggestions as possible, and loop back with the group and tell them what you’ve been able to implement and share the reasons for anything you haven’t yet been able to do.
After speaking with the caregivers, conduct an “asset map” of what already exists in the community and can be better leveraged and coordinated. You’ll likely find that many services and supports implicitly include kinship families but are not promoted as such. Flyers and websites often say parent center or parent support, and enrollment and application forms may only have a space for parent names. Kin caregivers usually do not see themselves in the word parent, even when they are the adoptive parents. For this reason, using inclusive language across the systems that serve families is critical. For example, for K-12 schools, we recommend talking about “caregiver” or “adult” rather than using the generic phrase “parents or guardians.” Even beyond schools, we suggest not casually using the term “guardian,” because a guardian is a very specific legal relationship that many kin caregivers do not have with the children they raise.
Encourage community partners, such as after-school centers, to allow for other ways for kin caregivers to prove they are raising a child, aside from court orders. This practice is consistent with federal housing law and with federal public benefits’ policies that do not require a legal relationship between caregiver and child. You and your partners can ask caregivers for one of the following documents to show that they are raising the child:
- School, hospital, health care provider, and/or social service agency record listing the kin caregiver as the point of contact for the child
- Statement that the kin caregiver receives a public benefit, such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Supplemental Security Income, Medicaid, housing assistance, or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, on behalf of the child
- The kin caregiver’s income tax return listing the child as a dependent
- Private health insurance record showing that the child is covered as a dependent under the kin caregiver’s policy
- Private lease agreement showing that the child lives in the kin caregiver’s home (without the child’s parents), or
- A letter from a social worker, school/childcare staff, religious leader, or other professional stating that the kin caregiver is raising the child
In terms of specific strategies that can help kin caregivers, there are many replicable evidence-based and evidence-informed programs and policies that can help keep children connected to their loving families. Among the services that kin caregivers consistently tell us they need are: kinship navigator programs, legal assistance to obtain a legal relationship with the child, affordable housing with services on site, monthly financial assistance to help meet the needs of the children they did not expect to raise, and respite care so caregivers can attend to their own needs.
At the Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network, we have exemplary examples of each of these services, along with practical tools – all at no-cost, thanks to our support through the U.S. Administration for Community Living. Late this summer, we will also publish tools to conduct asset mapping and caregiver focus groups, as part our lessons learned from our “Bridging Systems for Kinship Families” work in Idaho, Oneida Nation of Wisconsin, and San Diego County.
Also, to specifically help implement kin-first child welfare agencies, please see our kin engagement toolkit, kin values training, and model kin-specific foster care approval standards created with a number of partners, including Think of Us.
Please do not hesitate to reach out for no-cost individual assistance as well. We are here to help you support kinship families both inside and outside the foster care system.
Permanency Requires System Alignment
Answered by: Rita Soronen, The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption
When asked what systems need to align to improve permanency, Rita pointed to a familiar challenge: It’s not one system, it’s all of them.
Delays often come from:
- Court continuances
- Limited-service access
- Workforce turnover
- Documentation gaps
- Fragmented data
Her guidance focused on sequencing priorities:
- Prevent entry where possible with strong supports
- Strengthen kinship and services when care is necessary
- Move urgently toward permanency when reunification isn’t viable
“Placement does not equal permanency.” That distinction is critical and often overlooked.
Read Rita's Full Response
Timely permanency for children and youth involved in the child welfare system has been discussed, evaluated, and legislated for decades. Improving effective permanency requires stronger alignment across the full and complex family-serving system, including courts, child welfare, behavioral health, education, Medicaid, community partners, and concrete support systems. Delays often stem from breakdowns between these systems. Court continuances, limited access to treatment, insufficient placement capacity for higher-needs youth, under-supported kinship caregivers, documentation gaps, workforce turnover, housing barriers, and fragmented data systems can all work in opposition to timely permanence. Leaders must identify where these bottlenecks occur and target them with better coordination, shared accountability, and aligned funding.
The first priority should be shifting from a reactive to a prevention-focused cross-system approach. Ensuring families have access to housing, food, health care, childcare, and strong kin and community networks reduces unnecessary system involvement and keeps children safely connected to their families.
For children who do enter care, leaders should focus next on strengthening kinship placement, reducing court delays and case manager turnover, working diligently toward reunification, and accelerating access to trauma-informed services. These are the most consistent drivers of timely permanency.
Finally, if termination of parental rights occurs, a sense of urgency must increase, not decrease. Placement does not equal permanency. Systems need to align on diligent family finding, and courts and custodial agencies need more alignment to drive permanency and hold each other accountable. Judges are in a unique position to ensure evidence-based services are being provided to children; when custodial agencies are working closely with their jurisdiction’s court, children move to permanency in a timelier manner.
No single system alignment can solve for timely permanency alone. Progress depends on aligning all partners around a shared sequence of priorities: prevent entry where possible with meaningful and easily accessible support; prioritize kin and trauma-based services when care is necessary; and move swiftly to permanent families with robust post-permanency tactics, when reunification is no longer viable.
Data Works Best When It Feels Useful
Answered by: Rita Soronen, The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, and Ana Beltran, Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network
Another key theme: data.
Not whether agencies have it, but whether they use it.
Rita emphasized:
- Data must feel relevant to frontline staff
- Leadership must model its use
- Tools must be intuitive and accessible
And from the Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network/Generations United:
“Agency staff are hungry for data. Lack of buy-in comes from not engaging them in the process.”
The shift is cultural: From data as compliance → to data as support.
Read Rita's Full Response
Agencies can build stronger buy-in by making data directly relevant to frontline staff, clearly showing how it supports their daily decisions rather than framing it as a compliance requirement. Leadership plays a critical role by consistently using data in their own decision-making and creating regular opportunities for teams to reflect on trends, outcomes, and what adjustments are needed.
Agencies must invest in modern, user-friendly data tools and maximize innovations with AI when feasible, to alleviate some of the administrative burden on caseworkers. Providing user-friendly dashboards, along with ongoing training and coaching, helps staff feel more confident interpreting data and applying it in real time. It is also important to tie data to tangible outcomes, such as preventing family separation or achieving permanency more quickly, so staff can see the real impact of their efforts.
Creating feedback loops where staff can question, refine, and contribute to how data is collected and used ensures the tools remain practical and trusted. Over time, this approach builds a culture where data is seen as a helpful guide for action rather than an external mandate.
Read Ana's Full Response
The Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network (Network) is operated by Generations United in partnership with other national organizations and a cadre of subject matter experts (SMEs). One of our newest SMEs is Noah Duncan from Foster Insights. We asked him and his team for their thoughts on this question, and what follows is their response.
Our experience is that agency staff are hungry for data. Lack of buy-in and practicality of the data comes from not engaging them in the process. By starting with their needs and what data you have, you might be surprised how far you can get!
We have found that buy-in comes from shared engagement and collaboration. When you bring the teams “on-the-ground” to the table to explore data together (not just to punish or rank them), you make data findings more accurate because they incorporate context, and you make staff feel like they shaped the end-result (because they did!). Ultimately, if nobody is going to read a report or take it to heart, then there’s no point to it. Getting buy-in is a crucial step to making any impact with data.
Lead with curiosity rather than comparison or punishment. We once shared regional data on kin placement in a state, and one region was SO far below the others. Acknowledging that the rate needed to improve, the region explained that many of their cases came from a tribal agency, and kin were reluctant to engage with the state agency at that point. This became a conversation about breaking down that barrier specifically, rather than making that region feel punished for something they felt was out of their control. On the flip side, look for which regions in a state are doing well, and figure out what’s working!
We love funnels. What is each step in the prevention / permanency process and what are the levers to changing the outcome at each step? Simply looking at drop-offs between different stages of the process can help understand where to focus resources for making improvements. One state partner figured out that one county judge dispositioned cases MONTHS later than the other judge, so they petitioned to move the cases and saw a huge drop in time to permanency as a result.
Noah and his team are available for initial no-cost technical assistance through the Network. Don’t hesitate to reach out through this form. If your jurisdiction would like to engage them for in-depth work, they are open to discussing that as well.
What This Means Moving Forward
If there’s one thing this conversation made clear, it’s this: There is no single solution, but there is a path forward.
It looks like:
- Investing earlier in prevention
- Building the right family-based placements
- Aligning systems instead of operating in silos
- Supporting workers with tools that reduce burden
- Using data as a guide, not a gate
Most importantly, it looks like continuing the conversation — across agencies, partners, and communities.
A Final Thought
The goal of A Home for Every Child is simple to say but complex to achieve.
But conversations like this one matter.
Because when policy, practice, and data begin to align, we move closer to a system that works the way it was always intended to:
For children. For families. And for the people working every day to support them.
Want to Keep the Conversation Going?
If you missed the webinar or want to revisit the discussion, we’d encourage you to explore the full conversation and continue engaging with these ideas in your own organization. Because progress in this space doesn’t happen in isolation. It happens together.
Be on the lookout for our upcoming article in APHSA’s spring edition of Policy & Practice magazine, too. Hear more from our panelists as we dive deeper into these topics.
