Putting Families First Newsletter

Missed October’s town hall? No need to worry – a recording is now available on our website! Keep reading for the link.

President Biden formally apologized for a long-standing U.S. policy that forcibly separated Indian children from their families and sent them to boarding schools. Read his remarks here.

A pilot testing a new method to assign response time is underway, and eWiSACWIS enhancements to support best practice are coming in February. Continue reading to learn more about both!

Join us in September for the Public Child Welfare Conference! Keep reading for more information about the conference’s offered topics and workshops and how to register – we hope to see you there!

A multi-partner collaborative was developed to review and identify improvements to CPS and YJ case practice with non-custodial parents. Continue reading to see what they learned.

The Domestic Violence Housing First Pilot Project is an evidence-based and trauma-informed practice designed to address housing challenges for domestic abuse survivors. Continue reading to learn about the project's findings.

DCF is working with community partners to improve foster home care licensing standards and better support families and the workforce. A new resource with more information about the updates and next steps is now available – check it out!

“Information for Parents at the Start of a CPS Initial Assessment” provides important information about the IA process and what parents and caregivers can expect from it. Continue reading to learn more about and access this new resource!

The Safety Revisions project is also within Improving Child Welfare efforts to support families and the workforce. Keep reading to learn more about the current work and the updates coming next year.

DCF and ten child welfare agencies are partnering on a new pilot project to explore ways to make the process clearer and more consistent. Continue reading to learn more.

The Initial Assessment Improvement Project (IAIP) is part of DSP’s Improving Child Welfare efforts to better support families and the workforce. Read to learn more about the improvements launched last month!

Youth with out-of-home care experience celebrated their graduation at the Executive Residence last Monday. Continue reading to learn more about this class of exceptional graduates!

Continue reading to learn about a new packet from the Family Wellbeing & Justice Lab at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. 

Lived experience voice is essential to transforming the child welfare system to better support children and families. Continue reading for this spring’s updates.

Legislation to better support like-kin caregivers was signed into law last month. Take a look at a new resource to learn about the legislation’s impacts and next steps.

The Initial Assessment Improvement Project is part of DSP’s Improving Child Welfare efforts to better support families and the workforce. Keep reading for updates ahead of the updates and improvements coming in June!

Missed the recent town hall? No need to worry – a recording of April’s town hall is now available on our website! Keep reading for the link.

Nine individuals and teams were celebrated this month at the first Putting Families First Awards ceremony. Continue reading to learn more about this year’s awardees.

The Initial Assessment Improvement Project is part of DSP’s Improving Child Welfare efforts to better support families and the workforce by streamlining the work and centering family engagement. Continue reading to get updates.

Help us celebrate folks across the state who are doing exceptional, transformational work to Put Families First—submit a Secretary’s Putting Families First Awards nomination today! Nominations are due March 17.

Bipartisan legislation to keep more children with family and like-kin caregivers has now passed in both houses of the State Legislature. Read DSP Administrator John Elliott's message on what this means for Wisconsin's children and families.

Throughout the next year, DCF will be rolling out a package of improvements to practice that will better support youth, families and the workforce. Continue reading to learn more about these initiatives and how they will help streamline the work.

Lived experience voice is essential to transforming the child welfare system to better support children and families. Continue reading for lived experience updates.

DCF is working with community partners to improve foster and group home licensing standards and better support families and the workforce. Read more to learn how.

Earlier this year, we asked child welfare professionals, legal and judicial partners and others to finish the prompt: "Putting Families First means . . . ." We heard everything from centering family voice to keeping children with those they know and love. Keep reading to learn what Putting Families First means to folks across the state!

Bipartisan legislation seeks to keep more children with family and like-kin caregivers. Keep reading to learn how this legislation would provide crucial support to families across Wisconsin.

DCF is working with community partners to improve licensing standards and support children in residing with those who know and love them. Read more to learn how.

Read more to learn how upcoming revisions to the safety decision-making process will make it easier for families to understand and for child welfare professionals to implement.

The Initial Assessment Improvement Project is streamlining the Initial Assessment to support the workforce in spending more time working with families; and to center family voice and engagement. Continue reading to learn how!

Two new, comprehensive resources are now available for parents engaged with Wisconsin’s child welfare system! Read to learn more about these and other lived experience updates.

Help us celebrate Wisconsin’s outstanding adoptive families—submit a Governor’s Outstanding Adoptive Parent Awards nomination today! Nominations are due October 1.

Join us in October to hear updates on child welfare strategic initiatives and how Wisconsin is Putting Families First.

eWiSACWIS is rolling out a new cross-system collaboration. Read more to learn how SYNC is supporting secure and efficient information-sharing between child welfare agencies and group care providers.

Family Keys is supporting families at the intersection of housing instability and child welfare system involvement. Read more to learn how this innovative work is meeting families’ needs and strengthening community partnerships.

Read more to learn how DCF is working to streamline child welfare processes and documentation to support the workforce and families involved with the system.

September is Kinship Care Month! Read more to learn how relative and kin caregivers can be supported in their roles.

DeAnna Cobun is a Parent Partner with Rock County’s Parents Supporting Parents program and one of Wisconsin’s many lived experience leaders. Read more to learn how DeAnna is using her lived experience to advocate for parents and inspire positive change in the system.

Outstanding foster families and youth from across the state were celebrated during the Governor’s Foster Care Awards. Read more to learn about this year’s awardees and ceremony.

This year’s Foster Youth Graduation is just around the corner! Read more to learn how you can help the Department of Children and Families identify youth to celebrate at the July event.

The Putting Families First Playbook—a new online resource for agency leaders—is now available! Read more to learn how you can use the Playbook to support conversations with system partners.