Child Welfare (title IV-E) Waiver Demonstration projects are funded by the Children's Bureau and provide States with opportunities to use Federal funds to test innovative approaches to child welfare service delivery and financing. The following resources describe program evaluations and lessons learned, including State and local examples.
Encouraging Child Welfare Innovation Through IV-E Waivers (PDF - 306 KB)
Children and Family Research Center, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2005)
Reviews the role of waiver demonstrations in advancing child welfare reform, and describes limitations of the current waiver structure and how they could be addressed.
State and local examples
Evaluation of New Hampshire's Title IV-E Waiver Demonstration Project, 1999-2005 (PDF - 80 KB)
Kantor (2006)
Evaluates New Hampshire's IV-E waiver demonstration project (Project First Step), which targets families with substance abuse problems linked to maltreatment, and includes information on outcomes related to maltreatment recurrence, service receipt, permanency, reunification, and education.
Illinois Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse (AODA) Waiver Demonstration: Final Evaluation Report (PDF - 564 KB)
Ryan (2006)
Examines the effectiveness of a child welfare waiver project in Illinois that used recovery coaches to promote progress and success for drug-involved parents of children in the child welfare system.
IV-E Waiver Demonstration Evaluation: Semi-Annual Progress Report 6 SFY09-10
Armstrong, Vargo, Jordan, Sharrock, Sowell, & Yampolskaya (2009)
Presents Florida's progress in implementing a demonstration project designed to determine the effectiveness of expanded child welfare services and supports in improving permanency and safety outcomes for children in, or at risk of, entering out-of-home placement.
State of Mississippi Title IV-E Child Welfare Waiver Demonstration Project: Final Evaluation Report (PDF - 960 KB)
Institute of Applied Research (2005)
Provides study findings on processes, impacts, and costs of a child welfare waiver demonstration project in Mississippi that built an intensive services model that emphasized child-focused and family-centered practice.
Subsidized Guardianship and Permanency (PDF - 88 KB)
Cohen & Testa (2004)
Describes outcomes of Illinois' Subsidized Guardianship Waiver Demonstration program, which assessed whether extending the availability of Federal subsidies for private guardianship increased the number of children discharged to permanent homes with relatives or foster parents.
Title IV-E Waiver Demonstration Programs: Pointing the Way to Reform (PDF - 300 KB)
Zappala (2007)
Describes the establishment of the Title IV-E waiver demonstration program and outlines its outcomes, including a summary of results in North Carolina, Indiana, and Oregon. The report also discusses recommendations for Federal child welfare funding reform stemming from these findings.