History of the Wisconsin Family Policy Board Proposal

1980s under the influence of emerging best professional practices, federal legislation, the experience of over twenty states, and local family resource integration efforts within Wisconsin. National Level The professional approach to child welfare has shifted from an ineffective child-saver/child-protection approach to an effective family strengthening approach. In the process, recognition that the most important factor in a child’s life is a thriving family has led to transforming child welfare into family welfare and to integrating resources for children and families. Federal legislation over the last 30 years has been devoted to developing better ways of implementing family preservation concepts.1 There also has been an emphasis on service integration and the timely termination of parental rights and adoption. The theme strengthening families has emerged as the most effective prevention and intervention approach to struggling families. In the 1990s, a number of states received grants from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to create state/local family collaborative systems designed to respond to local needs for strengthening families. Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota, and Iowa are among the twenty states that now have ten to fifteen years of experience with state/local collaborative systems. The Wisconsin Family Policy Board proposal has been influenced by the experiences of these systems