Multiple Response System: Evaluation of Policy Change in North Carolina's Child Welfare System.
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2011-11-01
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Abstract
Systemic challenges within child welfare have prompted many states to explore new strategies aimed at protecting children while meeting the needs of families, but doing so within the confines of shrinking budgets. Differential Response has emerged as a promising practice for low or moderate risk cases of child maltreatment. This mixed methods evaluation explored various aspects of North Carolina's differential response system, known as the Multiple Response System (MRS), including: child safety, timeliness of response and case decision, frontloading of services, case distribution, implementation of Child and Family Teams, collaboration with community-based service providers and Shared Parenting. Utilizing Child Protective Services (CPS) administrative data, researchers found that compared to matched control counties, MRS: had a positive impact on child safety evidenced by a decline in the rates of substantiations and re-assessments; temporarily disrupted timeliness of response in pilot counties but had no effect on time to case decision; and increased the number of upfront services provided to families during assessment. Qualitative data collected through focus groups with providers and phone interviews with families provided important information on key MRS strategies, highlighting aspects that families and social workers like as well as identifying areas for improvement. This information is useful for continuous quality improvement efforts, particularly related to the development of training and technical assistance programs at the state and local level.
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Lawrence, C Nicole, Katie D Rosanbalm and Kenneth A Dodge (2011). Multiple Response System: Evaluation of Policy Change in North Carolina's Child Welfare System. Child Youth Serv Rev, 33(11). 10.1016/j.childyouth.2011.08.007 Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/7996.
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Scholars@Duke
Nicole Lawrence
Dr. Lawrence has a primary focus on designing and conducting community-based research and evaluation studies of programs serving at-risk children and their families across a range of disciplines including early childhood and elementary education, mental health, and social services/child welfare. Her research interests were established through prior professional experiences in program development and management within non-profit organizations underscoring the needs for, and the challenges associated with, conducting research and evaluation of human services programs in community-based settings. Her work at the Center for Child and Family Policy (CCFP) at Duke University has provided the opportunity to bridge these areas through building partnerships with city, county, state, and non-profit agencies that serve children and families, for the shared purpose of collecting and analyzing data in “real time” to improve practice, enhance outcomes, inform policy, and contribute to the literature. Since joining CCFP in 2006, she had led or co-led 18 studies utilizing both qualitative and quantitative research methods and experimental and quasi-experimental designs.
Research Interests:
- Program Evaluation
- Child Maltreatment
- Education
- Children's Mental Health
- Ph.D. University of Nebraska, Lincoln - 2009
- M.P.P.A. California State University, Sacramento - 2001
- B.A. Sonoma State University - 1994
Katie Davis Rosanbalm
Katie Rosanbalm is trained as a child clinical and quantitative psychologist. Her work focuses on program implementation and evaluation in the areas of early care and education, self-regulation development, child welfare, and trauma-sensitive schools. She has conducted longitudinal evaluations of child welfare reform, early childhood Systems of Care, and prevention/intervention programs for mental health and education.
Rosanbalm currently leads implementation and evaluation for two trauma-informed programs in NC:
- ITTI Care, a multi-level professional development framework for the early care and education (ECE) workforce that promotes workforce wellness and trauma-informed practices, prioritizing co-regulation and early relational health.
- Resilience and Learning, a partnership with the Public School Forum of NC to deploy a “whole child, whole school” framework that equips and supports North Carolina schools/districts in creating trauma-informed learning environments through specialized training and technical assistance.
Rosanbalm has co-authored a series of white papers and briefs on self-regulation development from birth through early adulthood. Links to tip sheets for the early childhood workforce are provided below.
Tip Sheets on Supporting the Development of Self-Regulation in Young Children
Co-authored by Katie Rosanbalm for the Office of Planning, Research & Evaluation, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
- Tips for Promoting Self-Regulation when Working with Infants
- Tips for Promoting Self-Regulation when Working with Toddlers
- Tips for Promoting Self-Regulation when Working with Preschoolers
- Tips for Promoting Self-Regulation when Working with Young Children in Home Settings
Research Interests:
- Child Maltreatment Prevention
- Self-Regulation/Co-Regulation
- Trauma-Informed Schools
- Program Evaluation
- Early Care and Education
Kenneth A. Dodge
Kenneth A. Dodge is the William McDougall Distinguished Professor of Public Policy and Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Duke University. He is also the founding and past director of the Center for Child and Family Policy, as well as the founder of Family Connects International.
Dodge is a leading scholar in the development and prevention of aggressive and violent behaviors. His work provides a model for understanding how some young children grow up to engage in aggression and violence and provides a framework for intervening early to prevent the costly consequences of violence for children and their communities.
Dodge joined the faculty of the Sanford School of Public Policy in September 1998. He is trained as a clinical and developmental psychologist, having earned his B.A. in psychology at Northwestern University in 1975 and his Ph.D. in psychology at Duke University in 1978. Prior to joining Duke, Dodge served on the faculty at Indiana University, the University of Colorado, and Vanderbilt University.
Dodge's research has resulted in the Family Connects Program, an evidence-based, population health approach to supporting families of newborn infants. Piloted in Durham, NC, and formerly known as Durham Connects, the program attempts to reach all families giving birth in a community to assess family needs, intervene where needed, and connect families to tailored community resources. Randomized trials indicate the program's success in improving family connections to the community, reducing maternal depression and anxiety, and preventing child abuse. The model is currently expanding to many communities across the U.S.
Dodge has published more than 500 scientific articles which have been cited more than 120,000 times.
Elected into the National Academy of Medicine in 2015, Dodge has received many honors and awards, including the following:
- President (Elected), Society for Research in Child Development
- Fellow, Society for Prevention Research
- Distinguished Scientist, Child Mind Institute
- Research Scientist Award from the National Institutes of Health
- Distinguished Scientific Award for Early Career Contribution from the American Psychological Association
- J.P. Scott Award for Lifetime Contribution to Aggression Research from the International Society for Research on Aggression
- Science to Practice Award from the Society for Prevention Research
- Inaugural recipient of the “Public Service Matters” Award from the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs and Administration
- Inaugural recipient of the Presidential Citation Award for Excellence in Research from the Society for Research on Adolescence
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