The CalWORKs/Child Welfare Partnership Project, also known as Linkages, was launched in November 2000 in California to develop a coordinated services approach between Child Welfare Services and CalWORKS (TANF) services to better serve families and improve outcomes. The project was developed and directed by the California Center for Research on Women and Families (CCRWF).

Initially funded by the Stuart Foundation as a four-year initiative and founded in partnership with the California Department of Social Services to develop practices, materials, and tools that can be used by counties throughout California, and perhaps in other states as well.

The first stage included a statewide county survey to compile information of the county coordination practices that were already underway in California, something not previously known. The first phase also developed recommendations about how to coordinate child welfare and public assistance programs in California. Over fifty county and state leaders worked for six months in a facilitated process to develop the recommendations in six areas; Organizational Structures, Flexible Financing, Organizational Change and Training Data Systems, Confidentiality, and Coordinated Case Planning, which were summarized in a series of publications, distributed to all 58 counties, and presented at a statewide conference for county and state leaders in May 2002. These original documents continue to be available at www.ccrwf.org.

The second stage provided modest, two-year grants to support 13 counties to implement coordinated welfare/child welfare services. Counties were supported with informational convenings and technical assistance.

Due to the success of the initiative, the Stuart Foundation committed to continuing funding under the direction of the Child and Family Policy Institute of California. Seventeen (17) counties received modest financial support and technical assistance to plan and implement Linkages. The Pioneer Counties continued to receive technical assistance, however did not receive financial support. With the addition of the new counties, Linkage Project was serving twenty-nine (29) counties as the end of 2005.

In 2006, the Administration on Children and Families awarded a five year Federal grant to the State of California Department of Children’s Services for the continuation of the Linkage Project to enhance, expand and evaluate Linkages in the existing counties and bring additional counties into the Linkage initiative. There are currently thirty-three counties participating in the Linkage Project. A formal Statewide evaluation is being conducted by Harder + Company.