Improving Child Welfare: Safety Revisions

The Division of Safety and Permanence (DSP) continues to deliver updates on and improvements to child welfare practice through the Improving Child Welfare package. Improving Child Welfare is a collection of efforts aimed at better supporting families and the child welfare workforce by streamlining the work and centering family engagement. 

Safety Revisions is one of four projects within the Improving Child Welfare package. The Safety Revisions work has two primary focuses: 

1. Access Response Time Pilot
2. February 2025 eWiSACWIS enhancements

February 2025 enhancements

A handful of changes are coming to the Safety Assessment, Analysis, and Plan (SAAP) in eWiSACWIS on February 22 that will streamline documentation, elevate protectiveness, and highlight agencies’ responsibility to engage with tribes. 

One of the changes moves the protective adult question* to earlier in the SAAP documentation workflow to reflect that there is no need for further involvement or intervention when a protective adult is in the home. 

The eWiSACWIS workflow:

1. If no safety threats are identified, the child is Safe.
2. *If there is an identified safety threat and a protective adult in the child’s home who can protect from that threat, the child is Safe.
3. If there is an identified safety threat and no protective adult in the home, the determination is Unsafe.

When an adult in the home is able to protect the child(ren) from the identified threat, there is no need for further safety intervention. The Child Protective Services (CPS) professional documents how the identified threat is being managed, and the SAAP is concluded.

For more information about the upcoming changes, please check out these short overviews: safety changes, eWiSACWIS enhancements, and updates to Parent/Caregiver Protective Capacities.