Supporting Evidence Building in Child Welfare

In 2016, OPRE awarded a contract to the Urban Institute, with partners Child Trends, Chapin Hall, and the University of Chicago, to support the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) in increasing the number of evidence-supported interventions for the child welfare population by conducting rigorous evaluations and supporting the field in moving toward rigorous evaluations. The project is known as the Child Welfare Evidence Strengthening Team (CWEST).

Key project tasks include:

1. Identification of priority areas and interventions ripe for moving to the next level of evidence;
2. Review of existing evidence and feasibility issues;
3. Rigorous impact evaluations of interventions; and
4. Consultation around complex evaluation designs or statistical methods relevant for testing interventions in one or more sites.

Evaluations of three programs are underway:

• The Family Unification Program provides Housing Choice Vouchers to homeless or unstably housed families involved in the child welfare system to prevent removing children into out-of-home care or to increase reunification for children in out-of-home care. The evaluation is taking place in six sites (Bucks County, PA; Chicago, IL; King County / Seattle, WA; Orange County, CA; Phoenix, AZ; Santa Clara County, CA).
  • The evaluation of the Family Unification Program is registered on the American Economic Association’s registry for randomized controlled trials under the title Evaluation of the Family Unification Program .
  • Information collections related to the evaluation of the Family Unification Program have been reviewed and approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs under OMB #0970-0514. Related materials are available at the Evaluation of the Family Unification Program (FUP)  page on RegInfo.gov. The most currently approved documents are accessible by clicking on the ICR Ref. No. with the most recent conclusion date. To access the information collections (e.g., interviews, surveys, protocols), click on View Information Collection (IC) List. Click on View Supporting Statement and Other Documents to access other supplementary documents.
• Project Connect provides home-based services and treatment to child welfare-involved, substance-affected families with children and adolescents ages 0 to 17. The goal of the evaluation, which is taking place in Rhode Island, is to determine whether Project Connect increases reunification for children in out-of-home care.
  • The evaluation of Project Connect is registered on the American Economic Association’s registry for randomized controlled trials under the title Supporting Evidence Building in Child Welfare: The Evaluation of Project Connect .
  • Information collections related to the evaluation of Project Connect have been reviewed and approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs under OMB #0970-0575. Related materials are available at the OPRE Study: Evaluation of Project Connect (Implementation Study)  page on RegInfo.gov.
• LifeSet provides at-risk youth and young adults leaving foster care, as well as juvenile justice and mental health, systems, with the intensive in-home support and guidance they need to make a successful transition to adulthood. The goal of the evaluation, which is taking in place in New Jersey, is to determine whether LifeSet has significant impacts on key youth outcomes and has a causal impact on the well-being and successful transition to adulthood of youth in the target population.
  • The evaluation of LifeSet is registered on the American Economic Association’s registry for randomized controlled trials under the title Supporting Evidence Building in Child Welfare Project - LifeSet Evaluation .
  • Information collections related to the evaluation of LifeSet have been reviewed and approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs under OMB #0970-0577. Related materials are available at the OPRE Study: Evaluation of LifeSet (Impact and Implementation Study)  page on RegInfo.gov.

The results of the evaluations will be disseminated to meet the needs of ACF, policy makers, practitioners, and other key stakeholders. They will also be published in peer-reviewed journals, for inclusion in appropriate evidence reviews.

Activities to support the field in moving toward rigorous evaluation include:

• A Child Welfare Evidence-Building Academy, an interactive program of trainings for child welfare agency staff, practitioners, and evaluators. The content from the trainings, including slides, materials, and recordings, can be found here.
• Roadmaps to Building Child Welfare Evidence, a collection of instructional resources for child welfare administrators and evaluators about many elements of the evaluation process.

Point(s) of contact: Kathleen Dwyer and Alysia Blandon