Governor Newsom signs child welfare bill informed by UCLA Pritzker Center Study
Nancy Olivares, MPP
October 22, 2025
Governor Gavin Newsom has signed Assembly Bill 779, legislation that expands support for domestic violence survivors and their children involved in the child welfare system.
In 2020, the UCLA Pritzker Center reported that Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) caseworkers in Los Angeles County identified past or current domestic violence concerns in 51.6% of the 38,618 open child welfare cases. In response, in 2023, the UCLA Pritzker Center launched a pilot study in partnership with Valley Oasis, a domestic violence service agency in Lancaster, and the DCFS Lancaster Regional Office. The study explored the experiences of domestic violence survivors and service providers with the child welfare system, used these insights to develop collaborative responses, and evaluated two interventions, cross-system training and domestic violence consultation, specifically for DCFS staff.
Research findings showed:
- Survivors of domestic violence struggle against numerous barriers in child welfare cases. Barriers include complex trauma, isolation in navigation, power dynamics, lack of differentiation, racial bias, secondary traumatic stress, financial strain, housing shortages, limited resources/transit, and service gaps for children.
- Collaboration between child welfare staff and domestic violence service providers improves support for parent survivors and their children.
- Training resulted in significant knowledge gains about domestic violence. Consultation improves application of domestic violence knowledge and intervention strategies.
Inspired by these findings, Assemblymember Tom Lackey authored AB 779, which expands the Domestic Violence Consultant pilot program to additional child welfare offices across California. The goal is to strengthen the system’s capacity to respond to domestic violence in ways that prioritize family stability, safety, and healing. The bill was signed into law on October 6, 2025.
“The UCLA Pritzker Center is proud to conduct community-based research that inspires statewide reform for children and families facing child welfare system involvement,” said Taylor Dudley, JD, Executive Director of the UCLA Pritzker Center. “This legislation invites other jurisdictions to evaluate strategies for safely curtailing child welfare system involvement among survivors of domestic violence. We applaud our partners at DCFS and Valley Oasis for being leaders in this effort.”
This work was generously supported by the Van Nuys Charities, the Blue Shield Foundation of California and the Anthony Pritzker Family Foundation.