Image courtesy of the LA County Department of Children and Family Services

The Moving Families from the Hotline to a Helpline project, developed in partnership with the Office of Child Protection, was conceived to connect families referred through the Child Protection Hotline to appropriate child abuse prevention supportive services. Thousands of County families can benefit from preventive supports when referrals to the Hotline do not meet the criteria for an investigation. Data showed that one out of every ten families offered supports in 2018 connected to a prevention support agency – many families either declined or dropped out during wait times.

This project’s vision was to mitigate this discrepancy by applying management principles to streamline the linkage process, and to re-imagine the roles of the County and its partner community agencies to establish multidisciplinary teams to improve family engagement. As a result, the number of families connected to prevention supports tripled, wait times for callers to the Hotline have reduced by nearly half, the rate of children re-referred to DCFS decreased, and the number of children who were able to remain safely in their homes increased.

“I am so proud of how this project was able to demonstrate tangible results showing improved child safety and increased family stability for our residents and communities,” said DCFS Director, Bobby D. Cagle “This is a perfect example of a data-driven, innovative solution to an identified need benefiting vulnerable children and families.”

“While we are very pleased with the recognition that this wonderful collaborative effort has received, we are most proud of the positive impact this effort is having on families in our community,” said Judge Nash, Executive Director of the Office of Child Protection.

To learn more about this award and other, visit the Quality and Productivity Commission website.