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

Project Context: 

• Leaders in the Kentucky Department for Community Based Services (DCBS) want to lower the prevalence of child abuse and neglect in the state by helping families access needed resources and supports within their own communities. The goal is to avoid involvement with the child welfare system when possible to do so safely.  
• DCBS has been testing ways to do this since 2022 through their Community Response program, which has community organizations in eight counties reach out to families who may be at risk of child protective services contact and offer voluntary resources. 
• 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. Kentucky is one of the demonstration sites. 

How the GPL is Supporting: 

• Analyzing data on reports to the child protection hotline to learn more about which families might most benefit from locally available supports.
• Helping DCBS develop shared data tracking methods to generate actionable, real-time insights for providers and DCBS about what is working well or could be improved.
• Collaborating with providers to test changes to their practices that lead to effective engagement of families, so families’ needs can be met.
• For example, in year one, providers learned that phone calls generated more positive responses from families than letters or texts. In the second year, providers heard from lived experts and community members that using peer staff can help families feel safer engaging. This is leading staff to work toward creating peer-staff positions.