January 1, 2008

Striving for Excellence: Expanding Performance Based Contracting to Residential, Independent Living and Transitional Living Programs in Illinois

The Striving for Excellence project is a partnership between the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (public child welfare agency), the Child Care Association of Illinois (private child welfare agency association), and the Children and Family Research Center of the University of Illinois (project evaluator). Its overarching goals are to: improve outcomes for children and youth; build on success in foster care and kinship care case management; enhance the existing public-private partnership in delivery of child welfare services; address Child and Family Services Review (CFSR) deficiencies in Permanency and Well-Being; and inform the field through rigorous evaluation and documentation of the project. To meet these goals, the project has extended the implementation of performance based contracting and quality assurance (PBC/QA) to 65 residential, independent, and transitional living programs serving approximately 2,500 children and youth in the Illinois child welfare system, many of whom have increasingly severe and complex treatment needs. Key initiatives in residential care and in independent and transitional programs are described.