Theory of Change

CSI aims to expand the child safety workforce by equipping the public with extensive knowledge about child safety reporting and general safety practices. By increasing public awareness and understanding, CSI transforms the public into active participants in the child safety process. This approach theoretically expands each state’s effective workforce, as informed community members become integral in identifying and addressing safety concerns, thereby alleviating pressure on child welfare systems and enhancing overall child safety outcomes.

Impact

Scalable:

• Shifting part of the child safety burden to an informed and empowered public provides a scalable solution. It creates a distributed system of responsibility, augmenting the capacity and effectiveness of state agencies without requiring a corresponding increase in staffing.

Addresses Workforce Challenges:

• Acknowledging the high turnover and time-intensive nature of hiring child safety workers, CSI offers a practical and sustainable alternative. By educating the public, CSI creates a long-term solution that complements professional workforces and reduces reliance on constant recruitment cycles.

Empowers the Public:

• Empowering the public to take an active role in child safety fosters a sense of shared responsibility. This collective approach shifts child safety from being solely a professional obligation to a collaborative mission for all community members.

Systemic Impact:

• By integrating the public as an extension of the workforce, CSI addresses systemic inefficiencies in reporting and resource allocation. This approach can result in faster, more accurate responses to safety concerns, improving outcomes for children and families.

Innovative Use of Knowledge Sharing:

• Leveraging knowledge dissemination as a workforce-expanding tool establishes the initiative as a catalyst for systemic change through informed community engagement.