Wisconsin Citizen Review Panels

Overhead shot of table meeting Citizen Review Panels are groups of volunteer citizens working with the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families (DCF) and local child welfare agencies to improve child protective services. Each panel provides an annual report to DCF describing the panel’s activities and includes recommendations to improve the child welfare system. The panels are created under the federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA).

Benefits of Citizen Review Panels

  • Citizens and child welfare professionals working in partnership to improve child safety
  • Increased public awareness and understanding about child protective services
  • Opportunity for much needed volunteers to become involved in the child welfare system
  • Making a difference to better serve children and families
  • Ability to determine the panel’s projects and activities based on local needs and interests

Requirements for each Citizen Review Panel

  • Must have volunteer members who are either representative of the community and/or have expertise in child abuse and neglect
  • Meet at least quarterly
  • Determine whether the state’s child welfare system is meeting its child protection responsibilities according to the State CAPTA plan
  • Produce an annual report about the activities and the child protective services improvement recommendations of the panel

Wisconsin’s Citizen Review Panels

Additional Resources

Wisconsin Citizen Review Panels key contacts.

Annual Citizen Review Panel Reports and the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families (DCF) Responses

Wisconsin Citizen Review Panel Annual Report 2022-2023

Citizen review panels are required to submit an annual report to the Department of Children & Families that includes recommendations for state and local child welfare.  The DCF is required to respond to those recommendations within six months of receiving the report.  For questions regarding DCF responses and statewide panel project reports, contact the Citizen Review Panel Coordinator.

The following table provides prior reports and DCF responses. 

Previous Citizen Review Panel Reports

The table is sortable by agency or year.

Citizen Review Panel Annual Reports and the DCF Responses
Agency Year CRP Report DCF Response
Jefferson 2021 CRP-Jefferson-21 DCF-Jefferson-21
Langlade 2021 CRP-Langlade-21 DCF-Langlade-21
Marathon 2021 CRP-Marathon-21 DCF-Marathon-21
Milwaukee 2021 CRP-Milwaukee-21 DCF-Milwaukee-21
Outagamie 2021 CRP-Outagamie-21 DCF-Outagamie-21
Polk 2021 CRP-Polk-21 DCF-Polk-21
St. Croix 2021 CRP-St Croix-21 DCF-St Croix-21
Wisconsin Youth Advisory Council 2021 CRP-WYAC-21 DCF-WYAC-21
Jefferson 2020 CRP-Jefferson-20 DCF-Jefferson-20
Langlade 2020 CRP-Langlade-20 DCF-Langlade-20
Marathon 2020 CRP-Marathon-20 DCF-Marathon-20
Milwaukee 2020 CRP-Milwaukee-20 DCF-Milwaukee-20
Outagamie 2020 CRP-Outagamie-20 DCF-Outagamie-20
Polk 2020 CRP-Polk-20 DCF-Polk-20
Saint Croix 2020 CRP-SaintCroix-20 DCF-SaintCroix-20
Wisconsin Youth Advisory Council 2020 CRP-WYAC-20 DCF-WYAC-20
Jefferson 2019 CRP-Jefferson-19 DCF-Jefferson-19
Langlade 2019 CRP-Langlade-19 DCF-Langlade-19
Marathon 2019 CRP-Marathon-19 DCF-Marathon-19
Milwaukee 2019 CRP-Milwaukee-19 DCF-Milwaukee-19
Outagamie 2019 CRP-Outagamie-19 DCF-Outagamie-19
Polk 2019 CRP-Polk-19 DCF-Polk-19
Saint Croix 2019 CRP-SaintCroix-19 DCF-SaintCroix-19
Wisconsin Youth Advisory Council 2019 CRP-WYAC-19 DCF-WYAC-19
Jefferson 2018 CRP-Jefferson-18 DCF-Jefferson-18
Langlade 2018 CRP-Langlade-18 DCF-Langlade-18
Marathon 2018 CRP-Marathon-18 DCF-Marathon-18
Milwaukee 2018 CRP-Milwaukee-18 DCF-Milwaukee-18
Outagamie 2018 CRP-Outagamie-18 DCF-Outagamie-18
Polk 2018 CRP-Polk-18 DCF-Polk-18
Saint Croix 2018 CRP-SaintCroix-18 DCF-SaintCroix-18
Wisconsin Youth Advisory Council 2018   DCF-WYAC-18
Jefferson 2017 CRP-Jefferson-17 DCF-Jefferson-17
Langlade 2017 CRP-Langlade-17 DCF-Langlade-17
Marathon 2017 CRP-Marathon-17 DCF-Marathon-17
Milwaukee 2017 CRP-Milwaukee-17 DCF-Milwaukee-17
Outagamie 2017 CRP-Outagamie-17 DCF-Outagamie-17
Polk 2017 CRP-Polk-17 DCF-Polk-17
Saint Croix 2017 CRP-SaintCroix-17 DCF-SaintCroix-17
Wisconsin Youth Advisory Council 2017 CRP-WYAC-17 DCF-WYAC-17