Partners for Our Children (P4C) promotes healthy child development and intergenerational family well-being and aims to prevent system involvement. We critically examine and work to transform the child welfare system into a prevention-oriented structure of supportive services while dismantling institutional and structural racism and oppressive policies and practices that have disproportionately affected Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, sexual and gender minorities, and those in poverty. P4C collaborates with stakeholders, public agencies, communities, Tribes, providers, private funders and others to advance culturally relevant research and evidence-informed federal, state and Tribal policies, programs, and practices that are equity-driven, center the voices of persons with lived experience and support families and communities.
Our Vision
We envision children living safely at home, supported by families who have the resources and access to the services they need to thrive.
Our Focus Areas
We have a few key focus areas across our work. They are not independent of each other, but rather work together to make a greater impact on the lives of vulnerable children and families.
Systems Research
As an independent entity with both the research assets of a major university and strong relationships with policy makers, we are in a unique position to research and evaluate the effects of policy choices and practice changes in the public child welfare system.
Data and Analytical Support
We analyze data from the Department of Children, Youth, and Families to better understand trends within the system, and when possible, combine it with data from related systems (courts, education, etc.) to create a more complete picture of how the child welfare system operates. Findings ultimately provide critical decision support for lawmakers and agency staff.
Public Policy
We provide non-partisan input on proposals and legislation related to children and families in Washington state and the United States – and whenever possible, we bolster public policy discussions with solid research evidence and data.
Workforce Practice Improvement
We use research to identify training innovations to improve the workforce. As part of the Alliance for Child Welfare Excellence, P4C evaluates the effectiveness of training activities of state child welfare workers in Washington. This direct connection with workers also provides important information to support our policy efforts, as well as understand trends we see in our data analyses.
Across all of these areas, we also bring our best thinking on how technology can make systems more effective and efficient.
Our History
Partners for Our Children was founded in 2007 to focus new thinking, resources and expertise on the state’s child welfare system. We are a first-of-its-kind collaboration between the state Department of Children, Youth, and Families, the University of Washington School of Social Work and private sector funding. Over the years, we expanded our focus to include all vulnerable children and families, more of a prevention lens, and a national focus (while not losing focus on Washington state). In that context, our commitment remains focused on child well-being and those whose lives are touched by the child welfare system.
Our Anti-Racism Commitments
We are an organization that aims to eliminate inequities in child and family well-being by advancing research and evidence-informed policies, programs, and practices that promote healthy child development. Using research and evidence that elevates lived experience, we must examine critically the child welfare system and how it has institutionalized and perpetuated anti-BIPOC racism, policing, and disproportionality. You can read our full organizational and systems-change commitments below.