State to Launch Child Welfare Dashboard by 2027
Connecticut's Department of Children and Families plans to publish performance data on child placements and outcomes starting in January 2027.
Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Child Care
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The Connecticut Department of Children and Families will launch a public performance dashboard targeted for January 2027. The dashboard will publish data on child placements, demographics, and related outcomes.
Why it matters
The dashboard responds to lawmakers' demands for greater transparency in child welfare after federal monitoring under a consent decree ended in 2022. It is intended to give the public and policymakers a way to track trends over time.
The dashboard will track child placements, discharges, and re-entry statistics statewide and by region, along with time to reunification, adoption, or guardianship. Several metrics depend on data DCF does not currently collect.
The players
Connecticut Department of Children and Families
The state agency responsible for child protection, foster care, and family services in Connecticut, which is building the dashboard.
The details
A working group submitted dashboard recommendations in October 2026, including links to federal child welfare performance measures. Public Act 26-26 includes reforms to strengthen DCF oversight, and a newly established Child Welfare Policy and Oversight Committee will follow the effort.
Timeline
2022: Federal consent decree monitoring of DCF ended.
October 2026: Dashboard working group submitted its recommendations.
January 2027: Dashboard data publication is targeted to begin.
Season Trajectory
The dashboard follows the end of federal consent decree monitoring in 2022, which left state lawmakers seeking their own oversight tools. It extends that shift toward public, state-run accountability for child welfare outcomes.
Families involved with DCF and their advocates can use the published metrics to compare placement and reunification outcomes over time. The dashboard will show statewide and regional figures, which may help residents understand local child welfare trends.
The takeaway
Public performance data can make child welfare systems easier to evaluate, but only once the underlying metrics are actually collected. Readers should watch whether the January 2027 launch includes the full set of recommended measures.
What happens next
DCF is targeting January 2027 for the first publication of dashboard data, with reports expected annually thereafter.
Further reading
For broader context on family services, explore Child Care coverage across Connecticut.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Connecticut Public.
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