Recognizes that the goals of the child welfare system are to protect the safety, permanence, and well-being of the children it serves and to measure safety, permanence, and well-being such that the public and the legislature understand how the child welfare system is performing.

Requires a university-based child welfare research entity and the department of social and health services, in collaboration with other stakeholders, to develop measurements in the areas of safety, permanence, and well-being using existing and available data.