Key Takeaways from our Webinar ‘A Decade of Reform: Child Welfare in California’
I recently had the pleasure of moderating a Sellers Dorsey webinar that examined California’s progress in child welfare reform over the past decade. Speakers included Will Lightbourne, a longtime leader in social services, and Katie Renner Olse, Sellers Dorsey’s Senior Director of Child and Family Well-Being. Together, we reflected on how far the child welfare system has come since the 1970s, when child welfare often operated under the belief that families couldn’t be trusted to care for their own children.
Shifting Priorities in Child Welfare
Over the years, the child welfare system has evolved from focusing solely on child safety to addressing broader emotional and behavioral health needs, including trauma recovery. A significant shift came in 2014 when California began prioritizing placing foster children with stable families over institutional settings. Other reforms included equal financial support for kinship caregivers and foster families and aligning foster care rates with a child’s specific needs.
Building a Full System of Care
Today, child and family well-being is supported by a coordinated system that includes:
- Primary prevention
- In-home family preservation
- Foster care and kinship care
- Post-system support
This system requires collaboration among healthcare providers, educators, law enforcement, and child welfare agencies at the federal, state, and local levels — adding complexity but also improving outcomes.
Challenges and External Pressures
Key challenges facing the child welfare system include:
- Social determinants of health
- Workforce shortages and high staff turnover
- Increased strain from natural disasters, such as wildfires and hurricanes, which can disrupt services and displace families
Looking Ahead
Several developments hold promise for improving child welfare outcomes:
- Technology: Artificial intelligence could help reduce administrative burdens, allowing staff to focus more on supporting children and families.
- Legislation: The Supporting America’s Children and Families Act will provide new funding and support for workforce recruitment and family preservation efforts.
- Lived Experience: More professionals with firsthand experience in the child welfare system are joining the workforce, strengthening service delivery.
Sellers Dorsey remains committed to supporting these efforts through strategic guidance, policy expertise, and stakeholder collaboration. The road ahead will require perseverance, adaptability, and accountability — but the goal remains clear: improving the lives of children and families.
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