Client feedback in child welfare programs: Current trends and future directions

There are relatively few published studies in the field of child welfare in which client feedback data are reported. Thus, there is a general dearth of information about how those most closely involved with and affected by the child welfare system view their experience in it. This review paper has three goals. The first is to highlight the major methodological problems in studying client feedback, including obtaining a non-biased sample and maintaining confidentiality, collecting data by impartial staff, identifying core constructs, and utilizing reliable and valid measures. The second goal is to explicate the rationale for collecting client feedback data despite these challenges. It is proposed that such data can be a critical component of the child welfare service delivery process and has at least three distinct benefits: service delivery improvement, knowledge building, and empowerment. And, finally, the paper aims to identify critical directions for future research in this area, including continued work in developing reliable and valid measures for collecting client feedback data, codification of standardized systems for administering measures, and utilization of such measures to improve services, build knowledge, and empower families and children served by the child welfare system.