CFPIC | Child & Family Policy Institute of California

Supporting Human Services in strengthening the lives of California’s vulnerable adults, children and families.

The Child and Family Policy Institute of California (CFPIC) is a private non-profit organization incorporated in 2004 as a 501 c 3 entity under the auspices of the County Welfare Directors Association (CWDA). The purpose of the CFPIC is to “advance the development of sound public policy and promote program excellence in county Human Services Agencies through research, education, training and technical assistance.”

Beginning in late 2000 CWDA was privileged to receive the services of the National Network for Child Safety and the Public Child Services Association of Ohio, with funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, for the purpose of assisting CWDA in identifying strategies for supporting and advancing best practices among its members. In 2002, reflecting on work that was being done in Ohio, the recommendation was made that the county Human Services directors consider establishing a private non-profit entity that could solicit private foundation funding to support their collective work. Over the course of many months similar organizations, within and outside California, were researched. Finally, in 2004, a Board of Directors was named, by-laws were written, and the Child and Family Policy Institute of California (CFPIC) was formally incorporated. Funding was obtained from the Casey Family Programs and Zellerbach Family Foundation to enable the hiring of an Executive Director and the establishment of an office in Sacramento. Since that time, the CFPIC has implemented a number of projects to support the work of California’s Human Services Agencies.

CFPIC has worked since its inception to carry out its mission in partnership with a number of other organizations, including the following:

County Welfare Directors Association
California Department of Social Services
California Social Work Education Center
California’s Regional Training Academies
California Institute of Mental Health
US Department of Health & Human Services; Region IX
UC Berkeley Performance Indicators Project
California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare (CEBC)
Alcohol and Drug Policy Institute
California Center for Research on Women and Families
Research faculty at California universities
The Resource Center for Family-Focused Practice
Philanthropic partners, including Casey Family Programs, Zellerbach Family Foundation, Stuart Foundation, and Annie E. Casey Foundation

How are California's SSI-CalWORKs Children and Families Faring? A Look at CalWORKs Children with Parents on SSI
In a study of 60 parents raising children with SSI and CalWORKs aid in San Francisco finds widespread financial difficulties and hunger among households and serious behavioral challenges among many children. This child well-being update considers risk of further deterioration of health, mental health, and material well-being that could occur if cash assistance and other supports provided to the families become unavailable. The update concludes by noting that in the current era of declining California revenues (including threats to child care slots, CalWORKs grants, and the IHSS budget) it remains important to sustain benefits for children supported by the CalWORKs program. This Update on Child Well-Being is one of the products of the CalWORKs Child-Only Study. Earlier reports and a policy brief can be found on the CFPIC Self-Sufficiency Services web page.
Download the report.

Developing Permanent, Supportive Connections While in Care: Foster Youth’s Perspectives: a just completed a research study on the experiences of foster youth who have received permanency and family finding services in their counties of origin. The goal of the study was to examine youths' perspectives on the services they received from their county child welfare agency. Youth were recruited from Alameda, Contra Costa and Santa Clara counties. This study was funded by the Zellerbach Family Foundation and ran from June 2009-June 2010. Administrative oversight for the grant was provided by the Child and Family Policy Institute of California.
Download the corrected report (PDF)

Spending on County Human Services Programs in California: An Evaluation of Economic Impacts
This report by Beacon Economics and Berkeley Policy Associates found that county human services programs play an important role in our economy, generating on average $1.32 in economic activity for every $1 spent. In addition, federal matching funds currently available through the American Recovery and Reconciliation Act make cuts in state spending especially costly. Further, the results indicate that the hidden and indirect costs of reducing these expenditures are also substantial. Methods of analysis include an input-output analysis of program expenditures, and a literature survey of the hidden costs of expenditure reductions.
Download the report.

Foster Youth Education Task Force
Fact Sheets
Updated versions of the Education Law Fact Sheets and Education Rights Wallet Cards are now available.