We help governments work upstream to reduce major drivers of entries to the child protection system, improve equitable access to resources and services, and strengthen supports that keep families together.
Overview
Leaders want to reduce child poverty, decrease interactions with the child protection system, strengthen maternal and infant health, and keep families together. In order to do that, communities are reimagining the way they support children and families.
The Government Performance Lab helps governments test methods to:
Redirect resources towards prevention as governments develop solutions that seek to strengthen families and prevent child protection interventions or mental health crises.
Focus on equity as governments move away from historically oppressive, paternalistic, and racially inequitable systems that separate and punish families. Instead, we shift efforts toward systems and policies that honor caregivers and invest in families.
Design with families in mind by equipping government staff with the skills and tools to center meeting families’ needs – as families define them – as a core measure of success.
Across the board, I really appreciate that the majority of [GPL’s] work has a race equity lens to highlight equitable practices in child welfare that helps us think about how we can uplift practices and change our child welfare system.Demetrius Starling
Executive Director, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services’ Children’s Services Agency
We help governments strengthen community-based resources so families can access relevant, voluntary supports that can address needs that often lead to child protection system contact.
We help governments build systems that connect youth to the right mental health supports at pivotal times.
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Our Impact
We work closely with leaders in child welfare, human services, public health, behavioral health, early childhood, education, and others to improve outcomes for children and their families. Through our work, we build providers’ capacity to contract for results, connect families to the services that can best meet their needs, and use data to actively manage program and service delivery.
Across the board, I really appreciate that the majority of [GPL’s] work has a race equity lens to highlight equitable practices in child welfare that helps us think about how we can uplift practices and change our child welfare system.Demetrius Starling
