Policy & Practice October 2016

October 2016

Policy&Practice

hen the federal Commission to Eliminate Child Abuse

and Neglect Fatalities (CECANF) issued its report,

“Within Our Reach: A National Strategy to Eliminate Child

Abuse and Neglect Fatalities,” last March, it was the culmi-

nation of a two-year effort to study and reform America’s

child welfare system with a goal of reducing child abuse and

neglect fatalities.

In the report, the CECANF outlined a population health

approach with strategies and recommendations focused

on identifying children most at risk and preventing child

fatalities from abuse and neglect before they occur. The

commission recommended states immediately undertake

a retrospective review of child abuse and neglect fatalities

from the last five years to identity the family and systemic

circumstances that led to the fatalities. In addition, they

recommended states use information from the review

to develop and implement a comprehensive state plan to

prevent child abuse and neglect fatalities.

This is not the first time that our nation had tackled this

momentous task. Previous commissions have taken on this

challenge but many of these reports have languished on the

shelf with little impact on practice or policy.

Early indications are that this will not be the case with the

CECANF report and recommendations.

Within two months of the release of the report, the

Alliance for Strong Families and Communities established a

new office called Within Our Reach, funded by Casey Family

Programs. Named for the CECANF report, the office will col-

laborate with a broad range of stakeholders and public- and

private-sector partners to promote and accelerate the com-

mission’s work. Key strategies include:

Accelerating and tracking CECANF’s recommendations

toward implementation by Congress, the Administration,

states, counties, public–private partnerships, and commu-

nity-based organizations;

Evaluating the effectiveness of recommendations that

are implemented, including whether they reduce

fatalities and improve the well-being of children and

families; and

Helping shape a national dialogue indicating that the

current approach to protecting children, with child

welfare in the lead role, is not enough. Child welfare in

the 21st century requires a public health approach that is a

shared family and community responsibility.

The early seeds planted in this effort are already taking

root. Recent policy actions by the Administration, Congress,

states, and counties reflect a number of the CECANF’s key

recommendations.

Within the federal government, the Centers for Medicare

and Medicaid Services (CMS) released new guidance

about maternal depression screening and treatment. The

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

has replaced the Statewide and Tribal Automated Child

Welfare Information Systems (S/TACWIS) rule with the

Comprehensive Child Welfare Information System (CCWIS)

rule. These changes support the use of cost-effective,

innovative technologies to automate the collection of high-

quality case management data and to promote its analysis,

distribution, and use by workers, supervisors, administra-

tors, researchers, and policymakers.

The Administration also hosted a White House Foster

Care and Technology Hackathon to discuss ways to break

down information barriers relating to confidentiality,

legislative

update

Within Our Reach: Implementing

Recommendations from CECANF

By Lexie Gruber and Amy Templeman

See CECANF on page 33

Image via Within Our Reach report

Core Components of the 21st Century

Child Welfare System