Identifies strategies for state-agency coordination of child welfare funding and services in order to establish a more coherent and effective continuum of care for at-risk children and families. Policymakers, agency staff, and practitioners get information about: (1) the essential components of a continuum of care, including preventive, early intervention, specialized, and post-permanency services; (2) the benefits of providing a continuum of care, including lower incidences of child abuse and neglect, abbreviated foster care placements, and improved child outcomes; (3) federal funding sources for child welfare-related services, including Title IV-E, Title IV-B, and Child Abuse and Neglect State Grants, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), the Social Services Block Grant, the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant, the Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant, and the Community Mental Health Services Block Grant; (4) ways to promote interagency collaboration, including staff cross-training, shared information and tracking systems, common intake and assessment forms, coordinated case management, joint planning structures, integrated administration, and coordinated funding; and (5) special considerations for collaboration with welfare, substance abuse, mental health, and education agencies. A customized set of supports and services can help resolve problems before they escalate and also decrease the need for foster care.
