CFSR Case Reviews

The Qualitative Case Review Support Bureau is housed in the Children’s Services Quality Management Branch. This Bureau provides quality assurance guidance, training, technical assistance support, and programmatic recommendations to county Child Welfare and Probation departments completing qualitative case reviews.

The Federal Administration for Children and Families (ACF) provided guidance to states via IM-12-07 promoting the use of Continuous Quality Assurance (CQI) including the use of case reviews. As a result of increased awareness of CQI principles and the guidance from ACF, California began the process of building a case review process for Child Welfare. In 2013, the Federal Administration for Children and Families (ACF) modified Round 3 of the CFSR to allow states to conduct their own case reviews using the Federal Onsite Review Instrument (OSRI). In 2022, ACF transitioned to Round 4 of the CFSR focusing on marginalized populations and utilizing data to identify disparities in services and outcomes. Further information regarding the implementation of Round 4 of the CFSR process is within the following ALL COUNTY LETTER NO. 24-03.

The CDSS views these qualitative reviews as an essential component to county and state CQI processes.