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State reports 29% drop in children 0–5 in foster care as family-preservation efforts expand
Summary
Agency presenters said the number of children ages 0–5 in foster care fell about 29% from 2019 to 2022 and attributed the decline to Family Preservation strategies, a statewide hotline, and structured decision-making; council members asked for service and funding details to understand drivers.
State data presented to the Early Learning Council showed a 29% decrease in the number of children ages 0–5 placed in foster care between 2019 and the most recent available data (2022). Presenters and a child-welfare partner said that shift aligns with an emphasis on family preservation, expanded prevention services and consistent statewide case assignment.
"These data points really reflect the work we're doing with Family First and Family Preservation," Catherine (child-welfare partner) said, describing a move away from a surveillance model toward integrated supports that combine child welfare and self-sufficiency strategies. State staff said the initial cohort of family preservation sites expanded from three to eight and that the model is scaling statewide.
Council members asked what services and concrete supports are being funded through family-preservation efforts and whether expanded family-coaching and economic supports are available in all counties. Presenters said key drivers include earlier engagement with families, cross-agency partnerships and targeted prevention services, but they did not provide a full dollar breakdown or an exact timeline for statewide scaling.
Council members asked staff to return with more implementation detail on what services Family Preservation funds (for example, family coaching, concrete economic supports, and case management) and an estimated timeline for the next phase of statewide rollout.
