From One Size Fits All to Child First: Recommendations from 15,000 Ifoster Members with Lived Experience

Background and Purpose
Despite decades of reform efforts, the U.S. child welfare system continues to struggle to produce
positive, lasting outcomes for children and families. Policies and practices often rely on standardized
approaches that prioritize procedural compliance or predetermined permanency outcomes rather than
the individual wellbeing of each child. This paper introduces the Child First Model, a childcentered
framework for child welfare redesign grounded in national data and lived experience. The purpose of
this study is to examine how centering child wellbeing—rather than system convenience or onesizefitsall
policies—can inform a more humane, effective, and accountable child welfare system.

Methods
This study draws on findings from the Voice of the Community initiative, a national research effort
conducted over three years (2021–2024). Data were collected through annual surveys and listening
sessions involving nearly 9,000 participants across all 50 states, including youth with foster care
experience, caregivers, frontline workers, and communitybased organizations. Survey instruments
included both quantitative measures and openended qualitative questions, supplemented by focus
groups. Data were analyzed to identify recurring themes, system gaps, and communitydriven priorities
related to child wellbeing, system accountability, and longterm outcomes.

Results
Across participant groups, there was strong consensus that child wellbeing should be the primary focus
of the child welfare system. Respondents identified systemic barriers including povertydriven system
involvement, lack of family support and prevention services, insufficient preparation for adulthood,
reduced normalcy and social connection, limited youth voice in decisionmaking, and minimal oversight
following exit from care. Findings emphasized the need for a system that remains accountable to
children before, during, and after foster care involvement. These insights informed the development of
the Child First Model, which prioritizes child wellbeing, normalcy, a supportive team around the child,
comprehensive support for family permanency, and smooth transitions into adulthood.

Conclusions and Implications
The Child First Model offers a datainformed framework for reimagining child welfare as a system
organized around the needs, goals, and longterm wellbeing of children. By shifting accountability from
process outcomes to childcentered outcomes, this model challenges traditional approaches to
permanency, service delivery, and system design. Implications for research include the need for
wellbeingfocused metrics and continued evaluation beyond system exit. Practice implications highlight
the importance of interdisciplinary teams, preventionoriented supports, and youthdriven planning.
Policy implications include rethinking funding, oversight, and success measures to align with child
wellbeing across the full continuum of care. Together, these findings suggest that a Child First approach
has the potential to foster more equitable, responsive, and effective child welfare systems.

More information can be found at ifoster.org/research.