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Right Column

Outcomes and Accountability System

The O&A System was formed as a result of the passage of the Child Welfare System Improvement and Accountability Act (AB 636) in 2001 and the Children and Family Services Reviews (CFSR). AB 636 was designed to improve outcomes for children in the child welfare system while holding county and state agencies accountable for the outcomes achieved. This statewide accountability system, which went into effect January 1, 2004, is an enhanced version of the CFSR, the federal oversight system mandated by Congress and used to monitor states’ performance. For statewide reports prior to 2004.

This section contains information on the following topics:

A. Letters & Information Notices to Counties (ACL, ACIN & CFL)
Section contains state generated letters and information notices used to disseminate C-CFSR information to all counties. All other Letters and Notices.

B. CWS Outcomes & C-CFSR Data Indicators
Section contains data reports and tools produced by CDSS and the University of California Berkeley, including quarterly data for individual county outcomes, measures, and aggregate state data.

• UC Berkeley Dynamic Report System
• UC Berkeley CWS/CMS Reports
• UC Berkeley Composite Viewer
• UC Berkeley Planner
• CDSS County Data Reports

C. Guides, Templates, Tools & County Reports
This section contains information to guide and assist counties with development of the Peer Quality Case Review, the County Self Assessment, and the System Improvement Plan. This also serves as a bank of completed county reports.

• Peer Quality Case Review (PQCR)
  • Guide
  • Templates
  • Tools
• County Self Assessment (CSA)
  • Guide
  • Templates
  • Tools
    • Building the Demographic Profile
    • Census Data
    • Population Estimates 
    • Education System Profile
    • Law Enforcement Information
• System Improvement Plan (SIP)
  • Guide
  • Templates
  • Tools
• County Reports (SIP, PQCR & CSA)

D. Research & Literature Reviews
The research and literature reviews available here are provided by the state to counties to inform on particular published child welfare subject areas.

• Placement Stability
• Preventing Re-Entry
• Factors, Characteristics & Promising Practices Related to Re-unification and Re-entry
• Achieving Permanency for Children

E. Resources
This section contains information on social worker training and education, evidence based practices, and the Administration for Children and Families (ACF).

• Training
  • California Social Work Education Center (CalSWEC)
  • Regional Training Academies (RTA)
    • Bay Area Academy-San Francisco State University
    • Central California Training Academy-California State University Fresno
    • Inter-University Consortium  (four universities in Los Angeles County)
    • Los Angeles County Department of Children & Family Services Training Division
    • Northern California Training Academy-University of California Davis Extension
    • Academy for Professional Excellence-San Diego State University
• Other
  • Resource Center for Family, Family Focused Practice-University of California Davis Extension
  • Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC)
  • California Indian Tribes 
• Practices
  • California Child Welfare Clearinghouse  (evidence based)
  • Gateway
• Regulations
  • Administration for Children and Families (ACF)
  • Division 31 Regulations
  • Manual Letters and Revisions

For more information, please contact:

California Department of Social Services
Children’s Services Outcomes & Accountability Bureau
744 P Street, MS 8-12-91
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 651-8099
E-mail: chldserv@dss.ca.gov