Press Release: New Analysis of DCFS Data Shows Improvement in Safety with Use of Data-Informed Technology

Contact:
DCFS Office of Public Affairs
Shiara Davila-Morales, Communications Manager
(626) 695-3244
[email protected]

The risk stratification model - a data-informed tool that helps social workers serve and support families based on their level of need - continues to show promise, the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) announced today.

"Keeping children safe is our number one priority," DCFS Director Brandon T. Nichols said. "This technology has the potential to be an extraordinary, real-time tool for social workers to help identify children and families who can most benefit from assistance and timely access to essential services."

Findings from the three-office pilot, currently in its fourth year at the Belvedere, Lancaster and Santa Fe Springs regional offices, show significant improvements in child safety.

The analysis, conducted in close collaboration with researchers from the Children's Data Network (CDN), included child fatality, near-fatality and re-report data, and spanned August 2021 to December 2023.

Insights shared by DCFS and CDN at a community forum on July 24 indicated that the tool helped managers prioritize their time consulting on specific cases and improved communication between emergency response and continuing service workers.

The study also found that the pilot offices demonstrated no race-based increases in out-of-home placements with the use of this new tool, nor any increases in racial disparities - both early concerns raised by the community in conversations about this pilot.

Based on these results, DCFS will permanently adopt and expand use of the tool. Later this year, three additional regional offices, Metro North, Hawthorne and Vermont Corridor, will begin using the technology.

DCFS is also examining ways in which to use insights gleaned through this pilot to explore potential community-based prevention services to better support families.

While use of the risk stratification tool has been successful, the department will continue to closely evaluate the technology and adapt the pace of the work in order to make informed decisions with ongoing community input.

Since DCFS began using the risk stratification tool in 2021, the department has relied on feedback from internal and external partners to update the technology with the goal of strengthening support systems for the county's children and families.

In 2023, the county's Child Protection Hotline (800-540-4000) assessed more than 193,000 child abuse and neglect allegations which resulted in more than 42,000 emergency response investigations.

By sorting new investigations based on the probability of future system involvement, the tool equips social workers with real-time insights to preemptively address safety concerns. This strategic sorting also enables offices to optimize resource allocation and tailor responses based on the needs of each family.

To view the department's newly released data and learn more about the significance of these findings, click here.

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