Abstract

Quality tools are often underutilized in the child protective services field as most social workers, who are skilled at working with children and families in crisis, simply do not have the training to improve inefficient case management systems. With the help of an ASQ Community Good Works grant, the Children’s Research Center is now piloting a training curriculum to teach data-driven improvement techniques to social service agency workers in Santa Cruz County, California. By teaching a basic 10-step process for improvement, the Children’s Research Center equips social workers with the tools to overcome barriers created by complex state and federal regulations and inefficient case management systems.