Citizen review panels in child protection: Misunderstood, neglected, and underutilized

More than 340 Citizen Review Panels (CRPs) continue to engage thousands of volunteers across the United States to improve their state and local child protection services (CPS) systems. Despite sharing a common federal mandate, they differ widely across states in their structure and function. Very little is known about their effectiveness. Available evidence points to persistent challenges of capacity to fulfill their mandate, and difficult relationships with their respective CPS systems. This paper outlines the actions at the federal level in the development of CRPs, and argues that the mandate is largely misunderstood, the panels are neglected as institutions, and consequently, severely underutilized. Recommendations to improve their relevance and effectiveness are suggested.