Opportunities for Prevention & Transformation Initiative
Collaborating to Prevent Abuse and Promote Hope
What we can achieve together
OUR INITIATIVE
Building a New Model for Child Well-being
The current child welfare system, with surveillance at its center and maltreatment concerns as its trigger, too often causes lasting harm to children and families and misses the opportunity to support them in their community and help them thrive.
We believe there is a better way to prevent abuse and neglect.
Launched by the Doris Duke Foundation, Opportunities for Prevention & Transformation Initiative, or “OPT-In for Families,” builds on work done across the country to create and test a meaningful alternative to the child welfare system—one that moves from a punitive system focused on assessing whether children should be removed from their homes to a prevention-oriented well-being system that leads to better outcomes across a child's life.
Creating Engaging Opportunities for Families
WHAT MAKES US DIFFERENT
OPT-In for Families builds on data, community insight and the perspectives of people with lived experience. Research shows that child welfare, by design, addresses acute safety issues but does not meaningfully help families thrive.
Each selected site will focus on families at an early signal of need.
A trusted community-based person will help families navigate services, so the search for help doesn’t itself become a hardship.
With compassion and respect, community-based programs that are outside the child welfare system will then reach out and engage these families.
We will provide funding so selected sites can implement a strategy that has been shown effective: providing concrete material support directly to families.
GETTING THINGS DONE
Innovating and Collaborating to Drive Change
Transforming the child welfare system is hard work, and we must meet it with the core elements of successfully implementing innovation. OPT-In for Families provides each site with intensive on-the-ground program design, implementation and research support to develop their new initiatives. We provide start-up support, including staff, technology and expertise, in addition to flexible financial support for families.
To help the demonstration sites meet the challenge of implementing innovation while continuing daily operations, OPT-In for Families:
Provides targeted resources and dedicated staff
Coordinates closely with other relevant initiatives and other technical assistance providers within the selected site
Makes a strategic and time-limited investment to support the creation and evaluation of the innovation
Supports sites to scale and carry forward the work by maximizing government funding streams that are designed to benefit children and families in need but are often underutilized, including the Family First Prevention Services Act
Building Infrastructure to Activate Change
Ensure appropriate stakeholder development feedback loops
Ensure that families who are the beneficiaries remain at the center of
the design
Learning—and Scaling—What Works
Together, we will test new approaches, build a learning collaborative, conduct research, and advocate for national policy changes. We commit to learning what works through data and research-informed demonstrations, and we will share our findings widely.
Our goal is to refine and scale OPT-In for Families, assisting other states in building a community-based, prevention-oriented response system for families at greatest risk of foster care involvement, as well as to effect policy changes at the state and federal level that bends towards prevention—to have an enduring impact on the well-being of families and children.
Supporting Visionary Communities
The Doris Duke Foundation has selected four sites to demonstrate our proof of concept. These sites are well-positioned to succeed, demonstrating great promise and vision for change and having resources, partners and innovative pathways in place or in sight.
Advisory Groups
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Anthony Barrows
Project EvidentLonnie Berger
University of Wisconsin-MadisonDee Bonnick
Parent ConsultantLeonard Burton
CSSPMaria Cancian
Georgetown UniversityNia Cantey
Casey Family ProgramsRegina Crider
Chapin HallTim Decker
Annie E. Casey FoundationDavid Hansell
Casey Family ProgramsMichael Huesca
Paternal Opportunities Programs & ServicesChurmell Mitchell
Children's Trust Fund AllianceDiane Redleaf
Family Defense ConsultingJoe Ribsam
Annie E. Casey FoundationShrounda Selivanoff
Lived Experience ConsultantMary Wolf
Tribal Consultant -
Lonnie Berger
University of Wisconsin-MadisonLindsey Rose Bullinger
Georgia TechMaria Cancian
Georgetown UniversityDeb Daro
Chapin HallJoseph Doyle
MITJohn Fluke
Colorado School of Public HealthKelley Fong
University of California, IrvineBrian Jacob
University of MichiganChandria Jones
NORC at the University of ChicagoJaymie Lorthridge
Kaye Implementation & EvaluationNancy Marie Lucero
University of DenverPeter Pecora
Casey Family ProgramsAllison Thompson
Ph.D. University of PennsylvaniaChris Wildeman
Duke University
About the Doris Duke Foundation
The mission of the Doris Duke Foundation (DDF) is to build a more creative, equitable and sustainable future by investing in artists and the performing arts, environmental conservation, medical research, child well-being and greater mutual understanding among diverse communities. To learn more, visit www.dorisduke.org.
If you’d like to receive updates on the initiative’s progress, please sign up for our newsletter at the bottom of this website.
Questions? Please email us at opt-in@dorisduke.org.