National Quality Improvement Center on Differential Response in Child Protective Services

Who We Are

The Children's Bureau funded the American Humane Association to create the National Quality Improvement Center on Differential Response in Child Protective Services (QIC-DR) in FY 2008. The purpose of this 5-year project is to generate knowledge on effective practice models of differential response in child protective systems and support the infrastructure needed at the State and local levels to improve child welfare outcomes for children and their families referred for suspected maltreatment. In addition, the QIC will foster collaborative research, demonstration, and dissertation projects that address differential response across systems that promote family strengths and keep children safe: neighborhood and community-based organizations, prevention programs, child protection, child welfare, health, education, housing, and financial and family support.

Background

Differential response, also referred to as "dual track," "multiple track," or "alternative response," is a service model that allows CPS to respond differently to various accepted reports of child abuse and neglect, depending on factors such as the level of risk and severity. Since the mid-1990s, States and other jurisdictions across the country have been implementing various models of differential response to better meet the needs of children and families who come to the attention of the child protection agency.

Roles and Responsibilities

The QIC-DR has the following roles and responsibilities:

Develop knowledge about improving outcomes for children and families in the child welfare system through the implementation of differential response models in CPS systems
Promote collaborative problem-solving among selected projects and doctoral students receiving dissertation support through the QIC
Develop and implement CPS differential response research and demonstration projects
Establish a national information-sharing network to disseminate information on promising practices
Evaluate the impact of implementing differential response models on outcomes for children and families who are identified as a result of referrals for suspected child maltreatment
Identify barriers and recommend/implement changes in policies/procedures/practice

Research

The QIC-DR will explore a broad range of issues and questions about effective practice models of differential response—methods of successful implementation of differential response models, kinds of collaborations and systems that are essential to their success, reasons why some differential response initiatives have been discontinued, and ways in which these efforts can result in better outcomes for children and families and further reduce the risk of child maltreatment.

The research will take place over two phases.

Phase I: Planning
The first year includes the development of the following:

A National Advisory Committee for the QIC-DR that will assist the QIC in its tasks
A comprehensive review and analysis that describes and evaluates the effectiveness of current efforts to implement differential response models in CPS and identifies service and knowledge gaps.
A comprehensive literature review that details the research and promising practices and provides an analysis of the current state of research on differential response models in CPS
An implementation and evaluation plan for Phase II of the project. This plan will present a clear and all-inclusive vision of how the QIC will operate in years 2-5 and how it will evaluate the research and demonstration projects supported during these years

Phase II: Implementation
Years 2-5 of the grant will involve:

Announcing, supporting, and evaluating research and demonstration projects. The QIC will support at least three projects that will develop and implement, replicate, evaluate, or systematize effective practice models of differential response in CPS systems, with specific components or strategies that are based on theory, research, or evaluation data.
Announcing and supporting dissertation research. The QIC will provide up to 2 years of dissertation support for up to four advanced doctoral students studying differential response.
Developing a network. The QIC will develop a network for grantees to share information and collaborate on areas of interest and inquiry.
Planning and conducting an evaluation. The QIC will plan and conduct a rigorous, objective evaluation of the project. Findings will include examples of strategies that are tied to positive outcomes for children and families.

For More Information

Address:	National QIC on Differential Response in CPS American Humane Association 63 Inverness Drive, East Englewood, CO 80112
Phone:	301.941.1296
Email:	ccarenk@americanhumane.org
Website:	http://www.differentialresponseqic.org/
Contact:	Caren Kaplan, Project Director

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