Every child and family has different needs and differing ability to respond to services and treatment. State and local child welfare agencies and service providers must have the knowledge, funding, and capacity to deliver the help children and their caregivers need to thrive. PCG helps states and local agencies make investments in policies and programs that work.
Services Include
Family First Consulting
In 2018, Congress fundamentally changed how the federal government funds child welfare programs. The Family First Prevention Services Act (Family First) altered federal Title IV-E funding in big and small ways, including providing federal funds for services that prevent placement into foster care, and limiting claiming for residential foster care settings. Family First has implications for state and local child welfare practice, policy, processes, procurement, financing, and information technology.
PCG helps states to take decisive action in response to Family First, utilizing available opportunities and working through challenges—to shift investments into services that prevent placement into foster care and provide high-quality support to children and their families.
Program Evaluation
PCG evaluates specific programs, services, and casework tools. Data are collected through interviews, focus groups, document reviews, site visits, surveys and from a variety of management information systems. We have evaluated a range of programs including wraparound programs, differential response programs, parenting programs, and home visiting programs to name just a few, including programs funded under Title IV-E child welfare waivers.
Program Selection and Implementation Support
PCG uses administrative data and qualitative data to better understand the needs of children, families, and communities. We also help our partners to invest in services that are effective at meeting those needs. In addition, we help organizations develop the capacity to serve children and families in their communities through training, technical assistance, and fidelity monitoring. PCG develops service standards and supports procurement, contracting, and ongoing performance monitoring.
Criminal and Juvenile Justice Program Consulting
Our consulting experts work with criminal justice and juvenile justice agencies, including victims’ services organizations, on a range of issues including, federal grant management; program development; evaluation of best practices; compliance monitoring; and more; to serve communities in need. We have experienced staff working with courts, corrections departments, probation/parole professionals, law enforcement, and victims’ services agencies, and we provide consulting for a wide range of justice-related issues.
Workload Studies
Workload is an ongoing issue for many public agencies. While case workers are often assigned more cases than they can reasonably handle, understanding the true resource need can be challenging. PCG has developed techniques for providing the empirical evidence agencies can use to back up their requests. By showing the difference between the time workers spend on cases and the time they need to spend to meet policy requirements, PCG is able to provide agency administrators with hard data that can be used both politically and administratively.