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Walter
R. McDonald & Associates Inc.(WRMA)'s
greatest strength is the extensive hands-on, nationwide experience
of its senior professional staff, and the resulting, exceptionally
high quality managerial and technical consulting services that these
professionals are able to provide.
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Evaluation of AB 1562 Projects |
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Under a legislative mandate to evaluate the effectiveness of several projects providing intensive in home services or self care services, WRMA conducted a three-year evaluation of the development and impact of these programs in preventing child abuse and neglect and out-of-home placement. The purpose of the evaluation of the three self care projects was to analyze the impact of training upon parents and children in improving the safety and quality of life of children who are in self care. The foci of the study of the eight intensive in home service projects included: description of the administrative, service delivery and resource utilization components of the program; analysis of client characteristics; review of referral criteria to determine if families served would meet the minimum statutory requirements; study of the impact of the program upon placement of children in substitute care, including a follow up study on families served; an analysis of the cost effectiveness of the in home services in comparison with methods typically employed by the public child welfare services agencies; and a qualitative evaluation of clinical services and staff training for the purposes of providing feedback to projects to enhance the quality and effectiveness of services.
Data on over 700 families and 1600 children were collected, entered into the computer and analyzed. The research report resulting from this study of intensive in-home services demonstration projects, also known as The California Study, represented one of the more sophisticated and comprehensive analyze of family preservation services programs performed. It was one of the first studies to report no differences in non-placement rates between the two groups who had been randomly assigned to either intensive in-home services or to other services. Although there were differences in the number of placement days used between the groups, there were only modest differences in placement costs detected during the study period.
The California Study is also important in that it identified a number of complex issues which must be taken into consideration in any evaluation of these services. These included the need for both improved referral systems and more definitive targeting of those children who are at-risk of placement. It also addressed the issue of program variability and the need for an expanded set of outcome indicators.
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