Differential response (DR), also referred to as alternative response (AR), family assessment response (FAR), or multiple track response, was developed to incorporate family-centered, strengths-based practices into child protective services (CPS), primarily by diverting lower risk families into an assessment track rather than requiring the…

President Clinton signed the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) of 1997, Public Law 105-89 105th Congress, 1st session on November 19, 1997. The ambitious new law aimed to reaffirm the focus on child safety in case decision making and to ensure that children did not languish and grow up in foster care but instead were connected with permanent…

"Child Welfare Outcomes 2002-2005: Report to Congress" (Child Welfare Outcomes Report) is the seventh in a series of annual reports from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (the Department). The reports are developed in accordance with section 479A of the Social Security Act (as amended by the Adoption and Safe Families Act…

The Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 has made child safety an explicit focus in child welfare. The authors describe an automated critical incident reporting program designed for use in foster care and family-support programs. The program, which is based in Lotus Notes and uses e-mail to route incident reports from direct service staff to…