First Progress Report
Released Jan. 31, 2018, Steps Forward: First Progress Report on Within Our Reach, the Final Report of the Federal Commission to Eliminate Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities finds a groundswell of recent reforms in child welfare practices across the country that reflect CECANF recommendations. Read the news release.
Download the Report
About Within Our Reach
Within Our Reach is an office established within the Alliance for Strong Families and Communities to further the recommendations of the Commission to Eliminate Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities(CECANF). The Alliance plays a coordinating role as a central point of contact and resource center in this national effort, which works to achieve its goals through a spirit of shared ownership among many partners. Within Our Reach is made possible through collaboration with Casey Family Programs, whose mission is to provide, improve—and ultimately prevent the need for—foster care.
Goals
The goal of Within Our Reach is to equip policymakers, practitioners, and advocates with the tools they need to fundamentally reform child welfare. Based on the commission’s national strategy, desired reform includes a proactive public health approach—a shared family and community responsibility to keep children safe. It includes three interrelated components:
- Leadership and accountability
- Decisions grounded in better data and research
- Multidisciplinary support for families
About the Commission
The Commission to Eliminate Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities, which released its report to President Obama and Congress in March 2016, was formed as a result of the Protect Our Kids Act of 2012. This act garnered broad, bipartisan support in the House, passed the Senate unanimously, and was signed by President Obama Jan. 14, 2013. Members of the commission included Alliance President and CEO Susan Dreyfus and Casey Family Programs Executive Vice President of Systems Improvement David Sanders, who served as its chairman. Visit the commission’s archived website for more information.
Current Partners