The resources in this section discuss methods for evaluating family support, which are intended to strengthen families, improve parenting skills, and promote child development. In addition, they discuss preservation services, which are designed to keep children safe and prevent unnecessary placement by helping families cope with stress and obtain needed services.
Family Support Services
Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project (EHSRE), 1996-2010
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation
Includes numerous reports from a project that began in 1996 to evaluate the impact of the Early Head Start program on key child and family outcomes in three phases: birth to age 3, prekindergarten, and elementary school. Reports address evaluation design and components, local and cross-site measurement instruments, observation and interview protocols, research to practice information, and more.
Family Stabilization Programs
California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare (2019)
Rates the effectiveness of programs that aim to preserve, support, and stabilize families in crisis or at risk of child removal.
Home Visiting Evidence of Effectiveness (HomVEE)
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families
Presents the results of a research review that assessed the evidence of effectiveness for home visiting program models designed for families with pregnant women and children up to age 5. The website provides program model reports, outcome domain reports, implementation profiles, a study search tool, and more.
Support Matters: Lessons from the Field on Services for Adoptive, Foster and Kinship Care Families (PDF - 1,413 KB)
AdoptUSKids (2015)
Discusses the importance of effectively evaluating the needs of foster and kinship caregivers and partnering with community-based organizations.
Family Preservation Services
Family Empowerment Leadership Academy (FELA)
Capacity Building Center for States (2016)
Builds capacity for empowering and forming partnerships with families. This learning experience consists of two key components: 1) a training curriculum package that develops knowledge and skills related to partnering with families at system, agency, and practice levels; and 2) eLearning modules that provide foundational information about how to promote agency change through empowering families, building meaningful family partnerships, and promoting peer-to-peer support among families. Registration is required to access this learning experience.
National Family Preservation Network
Offers research-based tools, training resources, and technical assistance to public and private child- and family-serving agencies in the areas of family preservation, reunification, and fatherhood.
Supporting Lifelong Families: Ensuring Long-Lasting Permanency and Well-Being (PDF - 886 KB)
Casey Family Programs (2017)
Provides a review of re-entry from foster care, a summary of postpermanency programs and services, and recommendations for how to improve services for children and families as they exit care. The brief aims to draw attention toward postpermanency, which focuses on the family, and away from re-entry, which focuses on the system.
Tool for Quality Intensive Family Preservation Services
Children's Bureau Express, 16(2) (2015)
Presents a tool developed by the National Family Preservation Network to assess, sustain, and enhance the quality of intensive family preservation services.