Thought Takeways: California CQI Conference

This past March, child welfare leaders from across the State of California gathered at the University of California at Davis for a two-day CQI Conference for Child Welfare and Probation. Hosted by California’s Department of Social Services and organized by the Data Center’s longtime partners at the Northern California Training Academy, attendees participated in lectures and workshops designed to support county child welfare leaders in their efforts to build strong CQI systems. Policy Fellow Jennifer Haight and Senior Researcher Lily Alpert — both members of the Data Center staff — were among the presenters, leading the following keynote and breakout sessions:

• Setting the context: Creating a common language for CQI. In this keynote, Jennifer Haight and Peter Watson discussed the differences between CQI structures and CQI processes, and the demand to support performance improvement efforts with evidence.
• Nuts and Bolts Part 1. In this workshop, Jennifer Haight and Lily Alpert reviewed the fundamental stages of the CQI process and the guiding principle that the process of improvement begins with a question.
• Nuts and Bolts Part 2. In a follow up to the previous session, Jennifer Haight joined with Cori Allen, Deputy Director of the Tuolomne County Department of Social Services to review best practices in performance measurement. This session focused on techniques for measuring system outcomes that are representative, free of bias, and actionable in a CQI context. Ms. Allen also reflected on her experience developing these skills in Chapin Hall’s recent Evidence Use Practicum, and her application of those skills to real-world problem solving in her county.

In addition, speakers were asked to make short videos expressing thought takeways for conference participants and child welfare leaders around the state. Below are links to Lily Alpert’s and Jennifer Haight’s presentations as well as those from Data Center partners Britany Binkowski, Special Assistant to the Commissioner of Tennessee’s Department of Children’s Services, and Allison Blake, former Commissioner of New Jersey’s Department of Children and Families, and Chapin Hall colleague, Senior Policy Analyst Yolanda Green-Rogers.