Child Welfare Program Improvement

As part of the oversight function of the Department of Social Services, we are committed to the development of standards and practices to improve the lives of the children, youth, and families served in child welfare. The CDSS uses a model of continuous quality improvement (CQI) to develop, evaluate, and refine policies and programs.

The move to the CQI approach began with the shift from compliance-based reviews to outcomes based reviews after the passage of the Child Welfare System Improvement and Accountability Act (AB 636) in 2001. This CQI philosophy incorporates our quantitative data, qualitative data, and the information gleaned from reports from all program areas to assist in determining the effectiveness of our Child Welfare System.

Today, the philosophy of CQI is embodied in the California Child and Family Services Review, the CFSR Case Reviews, and the ongoing work of the Social Worker Hotline to improve the services and supports to children and families in California.