Background: Among the different modalities of family support, home visiting programs have proved to be one of the most effective secondary prevention models for families involved in child welfare services. Despite the promising outcomes and the extensive available literature, further research is needed to investigate target population…

Children and youth with high behavioral health needs can receive care in a psychiatric residential treatment facility (PRTF). Overutilization of PRTFs is concerning because they are highly restrictive and costly residential care settings. Intensive Alternative Family Treatment (IAFT®) is an intensive therapeutic foster care program combined with…

Background: Contextually relevant interventions are needed to support the well-being of at-risk adolescents in Sub-Saharan Africa. In particular, the large number of children who have been orphaned, such as by HIV/AIDS, are in need of interventions to foster their resilience. Objective: The goal of this study was to investigate the efficacy of the…

This research brief is one of a series of six briefs, which provide an overview of available evidence shown in the Campbell-UNICEF Mega-Map of the effectiveness of interventions to improve child well-being in low- and middle-income countries. Five of these briefs summarize evidence as mapped against the five goal areas of UNICEF's 2018-2021…

This research brief is a new addition to an annual series of five briefs that provide an overview of available evidence shown in the Campbell-UNICEF Mega-Map of the effectiveness of interventions to improve child well-being in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This brief provides an overview of available evidence syntheses that may inform…

Despite the growing research that demonstrates that the use of corporal punishment with children is harmful, many Nigerian parents still utilise such methods without realising the implications. Because of lack of a strong evidence-based programme to serve local needs, we developed a community-based parenting education programme (PEP) to help…

Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) is a training program designed to help adults working with children and adolescents identify and respond to youth who are experiencing mental health problems or are in crisis. YMHFA is being implemented in a number of educational, child welfare, and juvenile justice settings across the country with little…

Despite recent improvements in child welfare placement stability, youth in foster care still experience high rates of school moves. Although these findings are well documented in the literature, few studies have considered the interplay between child welfare placements and school moves. The purpose of this study was to determine the proportion of…

Objective: This study tested the effectiveness of Parent Management Training, Oregon (PMTO) model on child social-emotional well-being. Methods: Using a randomized controlled design and three measures of social-emotional well-being, the study investigated effectiveness of PMTO with families of children in foster care with serious emotional…

Growing recognition of the harmful effects of child marriage has placed its elimination on the global and national agenda. To address this problem, the authors reviewed the global state of evidence on what works to prevent child marriage. Their research focuses exclusively on rigorously evaluated interventions, defined as interventions evaluated…

An integrated data system (IDS) that links information from separate administrative data systems offers policymakers, program administrators and researchers a powerful tool to analyze interactive effects across systems and make more informed decisions to improve outcomes for vulnerable families. This case study discusses how two states (Washington…

Objective: Children in out-of-home placements typically display more educational, behavioral, and psychological problems than do their peers. This systematic review evaluated the effect of kinship care placement compared to foster care placement on the safety, permanency, and well-being of children removed from the home for maltreatment. Methods:…

Over the last 40 years child protection systems in all Advanced Western Societies have been subject to high profile criticisms and regular major reviews. In many respects the Munro Review of Child Protection (2011) in England, is very different to those which have gone before. This paper summarises the main findings and recommendations of The…

Growing evidence has linked early trauma with severe psychiatric consequences. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a potentially debilitating mental health condition found among some youth in foster care and foster care alumni. However, the current child welfare practice response has not met the demands in both assessment and intervention.…

This article examines the importance of context in evaluative inquiry. Following guidelines from real-world and utilization-focused evaluation frameworks, four projects are described to illustrate one foundation's pragmatic approach to evaluation that values collaboration, methodological appropriateness, and utilization. The authors contend that…