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Problems in Understanding Program Efficacy in Child Welfare

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Re-Visioning Public Health Approaches for Protecting Children

Part of the book series: Child Maltreatment ((MALT,volume 9))

Abstract

Understanding program efficacy in child welfare is challenging due to the nature of how children and families are, or are not, served and the diversity in population characteristics, policy regimes and program components across regions. Additionally, there is increasing research interest in the effects of adding a new or evidence-based intervention to usual care. Although difficult, this chapter argues that answering questions of efficacy in child welfare is not impossible. This chapter is not a crash course on evaluation methodology, but rather a targeted discussion of the particular challenges related to conducting research on usual care and/or interventions combined with usual care. To provide structure, the discussion focuses on legislative child welfare goals of safety and permanency, but the issues raised are applicable to other outcomes of interest. The chapter concludes with suggestions for addressing research challenges to advance the knowledge base and improve outcomes for vulnerable children and families.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ralph and Muriel Pumphrey Professor of Social Work Research, The Brown School, Washington University, St Louis, MO, USA

    Melissa Jonson-Reid

  2. The Brown School, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, USA

    Chien-Jen Chiang

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  1. Melissa Jonson-Reid
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  2. Chien-Jen Chiang
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Correspondence to Melissa Jonson-Reid .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Health, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia

    Bob Lonne

  2. Senior Research Fellow, Monash University, Victoria, VIC, Australia

    Deb Scott

  3. Institute of Child Protection Studies, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Daryl Higgins

  4. Marion Elizabeth Blue Professor of Child and Family, University of Michigan School of Social Work, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Todd I. Herrenkohl

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Jonson-Reid, M., Chiang, CJ. (2019). Problems in Understanding Program Efficacy in Child Welfare. In: Lonne, B., Scott, D., Higgins, D., Herrenkohl, T.I. (eds) Re-Visioning Public Health Approaches for Protecting Children. Child Maltreatment, vol 9. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05858-6_21

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