SEATTLE — Casey Family Programs and American Humane have teamed up for an innovative project to improve safety and risk assessments in the child welfare system. The effort will draw on some of the foremost experts in the country to plan, field test, evaluate and then rapidly deploy new strategies and tools that will transform the practice of child welfare.

The American Humane – Casey Breakthrough Series Collaborative (BSC) on Safety and Risk Assessments will employ a quality-improvement process used extensively in the health care field and originated by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and the Associates in Process Improvement. The BSC methodology uses small-scale, rapid tests of change that are measured and monitored closely – almost in “real time” – so that successes can be expanded or replicated quickly, and BSC participants report on and learn from test failures or underperforming efforts.

The 33-month-long partnership project will include 30 teams, with membership selected from public and tribal child welfare agencies throughout the United States. The teams will be based at site locations whose jurisdictions will be chosen through a request-for-proposals process starting in early 2008. Teams will locally test ideas, processes, strategies and tools for improving the assessments of safety and risk in their respective child welfare systems. Small-scale tests and replication will help teams avoid the lengthy process of planning and implementing broad, system-wide changes.

Through an open and collaborative process among the teams, the “best of the best” practices – the most successful, measurable and easily implemented – will be rapidly introduced throughout a team’s organization and across the 30 jurisdictions. The project also will encourage national interagency relationships that will support, expand and sustain this ambitious quality-improvement effort well beyond its scheduled duration.

Before the 30 pilot sites are selected, American Humane and Casey Family Programs will convene a national meeting of experts in December 2007 in Houston. The 50 participants represent a wide array of experience, expertise and perspectives. Participants will include child protection administrators, supervisors and practitioners, as well as birthparents, youth, foster parents, community partners, policymakers and researchers. The meeting will shape the framework and measurement criteria that guide the work of the participating sites.

Caren Kaplan, American Humane’s director of child protection reform, will lead the project. “Despite years of study, a tremendous amount of discussion, and implementation of a variety of practices, there remains considerable controversy and disagreement over the assessment of child safety and the determination of future risks of harm,” Kaplan said. “The real beauty of this project is that it quickly identifies highly promising processes that will greatly improve outcomes for children and families. It gives us a broad and very receptive jurisdiction for fast implementation, while simultaneously building a significant amount of upfront expert consensus behind the new practices. The BSC methodology is specifically designed to provide a real bridge between policy and practice.”

“All children deserve to be in a safe, stable and loving home,” said David Sanders, executive vice president for systems improvement for Casey Family Programs. “This partnership will help us achieve that ideal. We must work to provide solutions to child welfare systems in order to ensure that children are safe and receive the best care possible.”

“American Humane is fortunate to partner with Casey Family Programs on this project and in other equally visionary efforts that aim to address critical issues for the child welfare field,” said Sonia Velazquez, vice president of the children’s division of American Humane. “We are excited about the opportunity to use this proven model on a national scale, and learn along with the participants as we lead this effort.”

About American Humane
The American Humane Association is the only national organization dedicated to protecting both children and animals. Founded in 1877, American Humane is celebrating its 130th anniversary this year. Through a network of child and animal protection agencies and individuals, American Humane develops policies, legislation, curricula and training programs to protect children and animals from abuse, neglect and exploitation. The nonprofit membership organization, headquartered in Denver, is an advocate for child and animal protection at the federal and state levels through its Office of Public Policy in Washington, D.C. American Humane meets the strong, comprehensive standards of the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance, has been awarded the Independent Charities of America’s “Best in America” Seal of Approval, and has received a 3-star rating from Charity Navigator, America's leading charity evaluator. Visit www.americanhumane.org to learn more.