Program Improvement Plan (PIP) Preparation and Planning (July 2026-August 2026)

Changes to the PIP strategies:

Minnesota’s PIP strategies have evolved as the state continued to engage internal partners and further assess how the PIP could best support meaningful system improvement. The original strategies focused on Prevention and Family Preservation, Reentry Reduction and Father Engagement. Discussions with internal partners made it clear that numerous prevention and improvement efforts were already underway across the administration. Rather than creating a PIP strategy focused on a single improvement effort, the identified need was to strengthen how existing continuous quality improvement (CQI) findings and recommendations are coordinated, prioritized and implemented.

As a result, the first strategy was revised to “enhance CQI efforts,” with a broader focus on connecting and supporting existing improvement work and ensuring CQI findings and recommendations translate into meaningful action. The other two strategies (“reduce reentry into care” and “improve father engagement”) remain core areas of focus.

What we've accomplished

The PIP Planning Team within DCYF has:

• Officially opted in to the PIP Pilot and Innovation Challenge on June 29, 2026
• Continued to meet with internal and external partners to explore additional strategies that align with our goals and adjusted the PIP strategies to align with partner feedback
• Revised Strategy #1 to “Enhance continuous quality improvement (CQI) efforts”
  • Created infrastructure for an internal tool to improve visibility and coordination across councils, task forces, committees, workgroups and other improvement efforts within the Child Safety and Permanency (CSP) Administration
  • Began gathering the information needed to complete the internal tool from CSP program areas.
• Identified Strategy #2 as “Reduce reentry into care”
  • Began collecting information from two prior reentry projects to assess what information is available and what information still needs to be collected
  • Evaluated available data to determine which populations to focus on in the new reentry work.
• Identified Strategy #3 as “Improve father engagement”
  • Created the structure of innovation zones, including a team charter, internal and external partnerships, and a timeline for activities
  • Presented innovation zones for father engagement to three Tribes and three counties as potential pilot sites.
• Determined lead measures related to each of our strategies for inclusion in our PIP (monthly reporting)
• Prepared and submitted a proposed PIP document to our federal partners on Aug. 28, 2026.

What's next

• Strategy #1: Enhancing continuous quality improvement (CQI) efforts
  • Once all the information is received from across the CSP Administration, evaluate the work that is happening, identify connections and opportunities for coordination, reduce duplication and better track follow-through on recommendations and improvement activities
  • Assess for emerging themes, gaps and opportunities within the CSP Administration’s improvement efforts where CQI support may be helpful
  • Examine prior efforts to implement a CQI request process to determine next steps in a formal structure for requesting CQI assistance by other program areas within the CSP Administration.
• Strategy #2: Reduce reentry into care
  • Finalize the scope and focus of the Reentry Reduction Workgroup
  • Examine the information from two prior reentry projects (one through the courts and one through the state) to assess what information is available and what information needs to be collected
  • Assess areas around the state that do well with reentry rates and examine what is going well
  • Conduct a gap analysis regarding reentry to determine what information we are missing.
• Strategy #3: Improve father engagement
  • Continue recruitment for Tribal/county partners as innovation zone pilot sites, if necessary; finalize innovation zone pilot site selection
  • Conduct focus groups with individuals with lived experience and frontline staff in pilot site Tribes/counties
  • Facilitate community engagement training for Tribal/county staff
  • Conduct CQI training for individuals with lived experience, Tribal/county staff and DCYF staff
  • Launch innovation zones in pilot sites (Tribal/county agencies).