Already in the first weeks of 2015, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and the county's acting Chief Executive Officer have taken action to improve collaboration and make structural changes that should speed up child welfare system reforms.

Such reforms are much needed and timely. New findings from a study by the Children's Data Network at the University of Southern California School of Social Work found that almost 1 in 7 California children (14.8 percent) were reported to Child Protective Services (CPS) for suspected child abuse or neglect before age five. The numbers by counties varied significantly, but some had rates higher than 30 percent. The study represents the first time California birth records and CPS data have been linked to generate cumulative rather than annual rates of CPS involvement over several years.

The study findings lend further credence to the argument that early intervention is the key to prevention. It also demonstrates the value of linked administrative data -- like birth and CPS records -- in highlighting directions for change.

However, getting relevant government agencies on the same page is just part of the solution. We also need to involve and integrate community-based organizations -- both those that contract with the county and others that don't -- as a major part of the child welfare intervention and service reform equation.

Read more in Huffington Post.