A Q&A with David Reed, Deputy Director of Child Welfare Services, Indiana Department of Child Services.
Child protection agencies across the country are faced with the complex task of determining when children can be safely cared for at home, often with services and supports, and when they may need to be removed from their parents in order to ensure their safety. Since 2012, Indiana has used the state’s Title IV-E waiver to offer a selection of evidence-based interventions to keep families safely together or reunify them. On top of the waiver, the federal Family First Prevention Services Act of 20182 supports evidence-informed interventions to help children safely remain at home by meeting families’ service and treatment needs. David Reed, deputy director of the Indiana Department of Child Services (DCS), shares some lessons learned from the agency’s work to build and implement an array of evidence-based interventions. He describes challenges in ensuring that the right services are provided to the right families at the right time, and discusses the agency’s next steps.
View the brief here.