Keynote Speaker: Robert L. Matthews
Strengthening Families Through Data: Building a Kinship-First Culture in Child Welfare
This keynote presentation explores the transformative intersection of data-driven decision making and kinship care in child welfare systems. We'll examine how leveraging data analytics can revolutionize placement decisions, prioritizing kinship connections that preserve family bonds and cultural identity. Through real-world examples and evidence-based practices, we'll demonstrate how continuous quality improvement frameworks can build and sustain a kinship-first organizational culture.
Key focus areas include:
- Using data metrics to identify and overcome barriers to kinship placements
- Implementing CQI cycles to monitor and improve kinship placement rates
- Strategies for engaging and educating staff and community partners using data storytelling
- Building cross-system collaboration to make kinship everyone's responsibility
- Measuring outcomes to demonstrate the impact of kinship-first approaches
- Creating sustainable systems that prioritize family connections through data-informed practice
This presentation will provide practical tools and actionable insights for child welfare professionals to strengthen their kinship-first approach through data-driven continuous quality improvement practices.
Robert L. Matthews is the chief program officer of Think of Us, where he shapes and executes the organization's overall programmatic strategy and applies nearly two decades of experience driving systems innovation and improving outcomes for youth and families impacted by child welfare. Matthews has provided technical assistance at the Annie E. Casey foundation and supported reform initiatives in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Tennessee and Georgia. He has held administrative leadership positions in Tennessee, Maryland, and most recently as director of the Child and Family Services Agency for the District of Columbia, where he helped D.C. become the first jurisdiction to have a plan approved by the U.S. Children’s Bureau to prevent unnecessary entry into foster care under the Family First Prevention Services Act. As a state-level administrator, Matthews has led nearly every aspect of child welfare services programs, including child protective services, foster parent recruitment, case management, family finding, crisis response and jurisdiction-wide continuous quality improvement.
In addition to his current work at Think of Us, Matthews serves as a mentor for African-American Executive & Emerging Child Welfare Leaders through the SANKOFA Institute. In collaboration with Casey Family Programs, he is a part of the Urban Child Welfare Leaders and serves as a panel expert for the Class Action Lawsuits Convening.