1. Changing the Outcome: Achieving and Sustaining a Safe Reduction in Foster Care: A Policy Institute November 4-6, 2009 Tampa, FL Setting the Course: Unpacking the Data (Ramblings from the Left Coast)
Barbara Needell, MSW, PhD
Center for Social Services Research
University of California at Berkeley
The Performance Indicators Project is a collaboration of the
California Department of Social Services and the University of California at Berkeley,
and is supported by the
California Department of Social Services and the Stuart Foundation

2. tracking child welfare outcomes
rate of referrals/
substantiated referrals
home-based services vs.
out of home care
reentry to care
permanency
through reunification,
adoption, or
guardianship
counterbalanced
indicators of system
performance
use of least
restrictive
form of care
length
of stay
positive attachments to family, friends, and neighbors
stability
of care
Source: Usher, C.L., Wildfire, J.B., Gogan, H.C. & Brown, E.L. (2002). Measuring Outcomes in Child Welfare. Chapel Hill:  Jordan Institute for Families,

3. three data views
data

4. the view matters… How long do children stay in foster care?
January 1, 2008
July 1, 2008
December 31, 2008
Source: Aron Shlonsky, University of Toronto (formerly at CSSR) 4

7. The California Experience
University/Agency collaboration
Publicly available reports since 1994, online since 2000
Nationally mandated measures (CFSR)
State mandated measures (California Outcomes and Accountability System—AB636 law since 2001)
Enhancements and additional measures
Dynamic, user defined drill down and breakout functionality
All tables refreshed quarterly
Data over time, for California and each of the 58 counties
Presentations, tools, etc.

8. public data: putting it all out there
pros:
greater performance accountability
community awareness and involvement, encourages public-private partnerships
ability to track improvement over time, identify areas where programmatic adjustments are needed
County/County and County/State collaboration
cons:
potential for misuse, misinterpretation, and misrepresentation
available to those with agendas or looking to create a sensational headline
misunderstood data can lead to the wrong policy decisions
“Torture numbers, and they’ll confess to anything”
Gregg Easterbrook

9. how’s it working for us?
Publicly available data for child welfare has become business as usual
State, county, and UCB are able to respond quickly and thoroughly to data abuse/number torturing
Most outcome measures are improving over time

12. CSSR.BERKELEY.EDU/UCB_CHILDWELFARE
Barbara Needell
CSSR.BERKELEY.EDU/UCB_CHILDWELFARE
Needell, B., Webster, D., Armijo, M., Lee, S., Dawson, W., Magruder, J., Exel, M., Glasser, T., Williams, D., Zimmerman, K., Simon, V., Putnam-Hornstein, E., Frerer, K., Cuccaro-Alamin, S., Winn, A., Lou, C., & Peng, C. (2009). Child Welfare Services Reports for California. Retrieved July 1, 2009, from University of California at Berkeley Center for Social Services Research website. URL: <
Presentation Developed by Emily Putnam-Hornstein and Christine Wei-Mien Lou 12