Selecting an EBP to Reduce Long-Term Foster Care: Lessons from a University–Child Welfare Agency Partnership

Abstract

A growing implementation literature outlines broad evidence-based practice implementation principles and pitfalls. Less robust is knowledge about the real-world process by which a state or agency chooses an evidence-based practice to implement and evaluate. Using a major U.S. initiative to reduce long-term foster care as the case, this article describes three major aspects of the evidence-based practice selection process: defining a target population, selecting an evidence-based practice model and purveyor, and tailoring the model to the practice context. Use of implementation science guidelines and lessons learned from a unique private-public-university partnership are discussed.

Keywords:

• Evidence-based intervention
• target population
• implementation science
• foster care

Notes

Development of this article was supported by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Children's Bureau (Grant #90-CT-0152). The authors wish to thank members of the KIPP Steering Committee, especially Vickie McArthur and Erin Stucky, for their work preparing the 2011 Child Welfare Evaluation Summit presentation upon which this article is based. Thank you also to Erica Parkinson-Arnold.