Child Welfare Research and Evaluation Workgroup Products

Current as of:

Child Welfare Research and Evaluation Workgroups LogoBuilding on the momentum created during the 2011 National Child Welfare Evaluation Summit, CB convened three workgroups of national child welfare experts, each focused on a different evaluation topic. The workgroups met over several months and created products designed to strengthen the link between research and practice and respond to pressing evaluation needs in child welfare. The products are intended to be practical tools and relevant for multiple audiences.


Calculating the Costs of Child Welfare Services Workgroup

Research and Evaluation Cost Workgroup LogoMotivated by a growing need for accurate and comparable information about child welfare program costs and by the lack of a standard methodology for calculating costs across projects, CB brought together a group of national experts. The result of their collaboration is a guide that demonstrates how cost analysis, when integrated with program evaluation, can promote a better understanding of key program components, implementation, and unit costs.

Cost Analysis in Program Evaluation: A Guide for Child Welfare Researchers and Service Providers - This guide is relevant for multiple audiences, including program directors and evaluators, child welfare agency administrators, funders of research studies and evaluation projects, and other important stakeholders who rely on child welfare evaluation.

See related Cost Analysis in Program Evaluation videos (Parts 1 and 2)


Tribal Evaluation Workgroup

Tribal Evaluation Workgroup LogoAmerican Indian and Alaska Native communities face unique challenges when participating in program evaluation. Historically, Tribes have experienced intrusive research and judgmental evaluations that have caused great harm. CB formed the Tribal Evaluation Workgroup to develop an approach that might improve evaluation with Tribal communities. Together, workgroup members created a shared vision for the future of Tribal child welfare evaluation and a guide for developing culturally and scientifically rigorous evaluation.  

A Roadmap for Collaborative and Effective Evaluation in Tribal Communities - This guide identifies values and priorities that can foster trust and build the knowledge and skills of Tribes, their evaluation partners, and other stakeholders to conduct more useful and meaningful child welfare evaluations.

See related Collaborative and Effective Evaluation in Tribal Communities video and Collaborative & Effective Evaluation in Tribal Communities: The Roles and Voices of Key Stakeholders video


Framework Workgroup

Child Welfare Framework Workgroup LogoChild welfare programs and services often miss opportunities to help identify, determine, and communicate which interventions work for which populations and how they can be consistently implemented. CB convened experts to create a framework to guide the process of building evidence and implementing evidence-supported interventions (ESIs). The framework is intended to encourage the thoughtful use of evaluation and application of evaluation findings to promote sound decision-making.

A Framework to Design, Test, Spread, and Sustain Effective Practice in Child Welfare - This document is designed for professionals and funders who implement and evaluate child welfare interventions—whether developing a new intervention, implementing an existing evidence-supported intervention, or continuing to perform a longstanding practice that has yet to be formally tested.

See related A Framework to Design, Test, Spread, and Sustain Effective Practice in Child Welfare Video Series (Parts 1 through 5)