Building a New Model for Child Well-Being: OPT-In Initiative

Project Context:

• Millions of calls are made to child protection hotlines every year by people who are worried about children and their families. Many of these families do not have imminent safety concerns yet may have economic and other well-being needs.
• The current child welfare system is not designed to meet those well-being needs, which often include a need for stable housing, childcare, or resources like cribs and car seats.
• As a result, many jurisdictions “screen out” those families and do nothing with their calls. However, for some families, those early signals of need may escalate into a crisis.
• The GPL is working with the Doris Duke Foundation on their Opportunities for Prevention & Transformation Initiative (OPT-In for Families), which focuses on identifying families that may be at higher risk of child protection interactions and then connecting them to voluntary, community-based supports.
• The GPL is collaborating with Chapin Hall, Foster America, Think of Us, and other local and national organizations to support four jurisdictions selected as demonstration sites:
  • Kentucky
  • Oregon
  • South Carolina
  • Washington, D.C.

How the GPL is Supporting:

• Testing approaches to reduce the number of families reported to the hotline after previously having a call screen out. We are doing this by working with governments to offer families connections to voluntary prevention supports at a signal of need. This includes:
  • Analyzing administrative data to help governments make design decisions, such as how to identify and prioritize families at higher risk for future child welfare system contact.
  • Helping to build high-quality service navigation support that makes it as easy as possible for a family to get connected to resources.
    • This can include hiring peers as service navigators and developing scripts or conversation guides with input from people with lived experience.
  • Gathering real-time feedback from families to ensure supports are responsive to their needs and improve them when they are not.
  • Bringing community providers together on a regular basis to review service engagement data and test ways to improve families’ experiences and better meet their needs.