Spring town hall visual

We're Putting Families First

Since 2018, Wisconsin has been working toward transitioning the child welfare system to become more family-focused and collaborative in serving more children in-home.

Transformation Creates Positive Outcomes

  1. Record number of families being served with in-home services.
  2. Closing the service gaps for families.
  3. Stronger integration of cross agency/county collaboration for services.
The shift in the system began when research indicated that children and families have better results when supported jointly. This transformation is focused on keeping families and children together by serving them in-home with resources and services.

Four Transformation Priorities

  1. To strengthen local communities + build services to support families in their homes.
  2. To keep children in family settings whenever possible.
  3. To improve our group care system.
  4. To support our workforce with solutions and improvements.

Transformation in Action

The Department of Children and Family Services (DCF) partnered with Root Inc. to assist in the child welfare transformation efforts. Root conducted research to understand how Wisconsin counties were progressing toward achieving the 4 strategic priorities listed above.

The results show Wisconsin is well on its way to serving more kids and families in-home than ever before. To learn more about the research conducted by Root download the presentation or watch it here . To continue the child welfare transformation, a learning map training experience will be offered to counties.

Facilitators Learning Map Resources

  1. Start the Learning Map Presentation/Training.
  2. The Learning Map Facilitator Guide is a how-to resource for leading small groups.
  3. Downoad the DCF Facilitator Resources for tips for facilitating.
  4. Learning map session PDS fillable form.