Formative Evaluation of an Evidence-Based Intervention to Reduce Long-Term Foster Care: Assessing Readiness for Summative Evaluation

Abstract

As part of the federal Permanency Innovations Initiative, this local grantee implemented an evidence-based intervention to improve outcomes for children with serious emotional disturbance. The project approach integrates the tenets of implementation science and program evaluation. Formative evaluation used a small sample (n = 76) to assess implementation integrity and statistical association to recommend whether the intervention was ready for summative evaluation (SE). Results showed that most process expectations were met. Statistical findings suggested that the intervention was associated with higher rates of reunification for treatment families as compared to families receiving services-as-usual. Thus, the intervention was recommended for SE.

KEYWORDS:

• child welfare
• evidence-based practices
• foster care
• permanency/concurrent planning
• evaluation

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors would like to acknowledge the invaluable contributions of our collaborators and study participants at the following agencies: the Kansas Department for Children and Families; KVC Behavioral Healthcare, Inc.; St. Francis Community and Family Services, Inc.; TFI Family Services, Inc.; and Youthville, Inc.

FUNDING

The Kansas Intensive Permanency Project was funded by the Children's Bureau, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, under grant number 90-CT-0152. The contents of this article are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Children's Bureau.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Becci A. Akin

Becci A. Akin, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the School of Social Welfare at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, KS.

Mark F. Testa

Mark F. Testa, PhD, is the Sandra Reeves Spears and John B. Turner Distinguished Professor in the School of Social Work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in Chapel Hill, NC.

Thomas P. McDonald

Thomas P. McDonald, PhD, is the Associate Dean for Research and a Professor in the School of Social Welfare at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, KS.

Heidi Melz

Heidi Melz, PhD, is a Senior Research Associate at James Bell Associates, Inc. in Arlington, VA.

Karen A. Blase

Karen A. Blase, PhD, is a Senior Scientist for the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in Chapel Hill, NC.

Andrew Barclay

Andrew Barclay, MSEE, MSME, is an Independent Contractor in Atlanta, GA