Purpose: The article describes an evaluation study to test the effectiveness of "Storie in gioco" project (Stories in Play, Storie in gioco [SIG]), a dropout prevention intervention aimed to prevent early school leaving (ESL) in at risk students. Method: The research used a mixed-method approach: in the quantitative phase, a two-group…

Objectives: A meta-analysis was conducted in order to generate more understanding regarding the efficacy of aftercare programs in reducing the recidivism rates of juvenile offenders reentering their communities following a period of custody. Method: 30 eligible primary studies were obtained through a systematic literature review and were coded.…

Objectives: This study evaluated the effects of the Adoption Preservation, Assessment, and Linkage (APAL) postpermanency program. Method: A quasi-experimental, posttest-only design was used to estimate the program's effects on youth discharged from foster care to adoption or legal guardianship. A random sample was surveyed (female = 44.7%; African…

Objectives: To examine the components affecting the quality of the implementation and their impact on the outcomes of the "Growing Up Happily in the Family" program targeted at parents with children aged 0-5. Method: At-risk and non-at-risk parents (N = 196) participated in 26 groups in local social services. Adherence, adaptations,…

Objective: This study presents outcomes from a randomized trial of a novel Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) model for foster families. Differential effects of two intervention doses on child externalizing and internalizing symptoms are examined. Method: A sample of 102 foster children was assigned to one of three conditions--brief PCIT,…

Objective: This systematic review examines experimental studies that test the effectiveness of strategies intended to integrate empirically supported mental health interventions into routine care settings. Our goal was to characterize the state of the literature and to provide direction for future implementation studies. Method: A literature…

The widespread adoption of research-supported treatments by mental health providers has facilitated empirical development of quality assurance (QA) methods. Research in this area has focused on QA systems aimed at assuring the integrity of research-supported treatment implementation, while examination of QA systems to assure appropriate…

Ronald Hughes and his colleagues have written a groundbreaking article on child welfare's use of differential response. Their research addresses the matter from a "lessons learned" and "ways to improve" approach. Our comments focused on three key issues: (1) the importance of evidence-based practice; (2) the recognition…

Objective: Beyond Violence (BV), a new prevention program for women with assaultive offenses, demonstrated feasibility in previous studies. This study's purpose is to assess the efficacy of BV using a randomized control trial. Method: Eligible women were randomly assigned to treatment as usual (TAU) and the experimental condition (BV). Measures of…

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to test the feasibility of a sexual abuse prevention education in a sample of Chinese preschool children in Beijing, China. Method: One hundred and fifty preschool children were randomly assigned to either the intervention group (N = 78) or the wait-list control group (N = 72). Children were posttested on…

In this article, the authors responded to nine commentaries by 17 contributors to their article, "Issues in Differential Response." The authors found that a majority of the respondents agreed with the major conclusions of "Issues in Differential Response." However, there were varying degrees of disagreement regarding the…

Differential response (DR), also referred to as alternative response (AR), family assessment response (FAR), or multiple track response, was developed to incorporate family-centered, strengths-based practices into child protective services (CPS), primarily by diverting lower risk families into an assessment track rather than requiring the…

There are only a few process evaluation studies on positive youth development programs, particularly in the Chinese context. Objectives: This study aims to examine the quality of implementation of a positive youth development program (Project Positive Adolescent Training through Holistic Social Programs [P.A.T.H.S.]) and investigate the…

Objectives: To evaluate the impact of school-based mentoring for adolescents (11-18 years) on academic performance, attendance, attitudes, behavior, and self-esteem. Method: A systematic review and meta-analysis. The authors searched 12 databases from 1980 to 2011. Eight studies with 6,072 participants were included, 6 were included in…

As evidence-based practice is increasingly accepted in social work, the challenges associated with its actual implementation become more apparent and pressing. This article identifies implementation as a critical issue for research; implementation itself must be better understood if evidence-based practices are to be used and resultant…