In 2019, the Arizona Department of Child Safety (DCS) partnered with the Harvard Kennedy School Government Performance Lab to improve the quality of in-home preservation services. At the time, nearly one in five families receiving supportive in-home preservation services were re-reported for maltreatment, resulting in the removal of a child from that home. Through active contract management, implementation of uniform performance measures for providers, and establishment of a unit to oversee child and family service contracts, DCS was able to reduce the number of families re-reported by 40% and the number of child removals by 50%.
