The Michigan Performance Based Child Welfare System

WHAT IS PERFORMANCE-BASED CONTRACTING?

Performance based contracting is a form of contracting in which service providers are funded based on their achievement of performance indicators and outcomes of services. It is of great interest to state human service agencies for financially incentivizing improvement of outcomes through service delivery. In child welfare services, performance is tied directly to the concrete measures of safety, satisfaction, permanency and well-being of the children and families being served.

EVALUATION OF THE PERFORMANCE BASED CHILD WELFARE SYSTEM

In 2013 the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) assembled a Child Welfare Performance Based Funding (CWPBF) Task Force which developed a model for performance-based funding of public and private child welfare services in the state of Michigan. The Child and Adolescent Data Lab, in collaboration with Westat and Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago, is conducting a rigorous, comprehensive evaluation of this funding model for children in out-of-home foster care.

This evaluation focuses specifically on the implementation of performance-based child welfare services to improve outcomes of safety, satisfaction, permanency and well-being for children in out-of-home foster care. These services will initially be piloted in Kent County, MI. It also assesses the cost-effectiveness of the CWPBF model in achieving successful child and family outcomes.