This document was printed from the website of the California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare (CEBC), which you can access at http://www.cachildwelfareclearinghousetest.org/
This document was printed from the website of the California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare (CEBC), which you can access at http://www.cachildwelfareclearinghousetest.org/
We appreciate your suggestion for inclusion of the program. In cooperation with the Scientific Panel, we review all suggestions for programs to be included. If a decision is made that the program meets the inclusion criteria (see FAQ #4 below) for the CEBC, we will send the developer (or a designated person who is able to answer detailed questions about the program) an invitation for the program to be included on the CEBC. If they agree to participate, we will ask them to fill out a questionnaire about their program.
2) How can I make a suggestion for a new topical area for the CEBC?
The CEBC's statewide Advisory Committee selects all topical areas. We appreciate your input on possible topical areas to explore. The Advisory Committee will review all suggestions.
3) What is the "scope" of the CEBC?
The CEBC reviews existing programs in the areas selected by the Advisory Committee and examines the scientific evidence for programs and interventions that can be used by Child Welfare. The CEBC does not examine the issues that these practices address. For instance, we do not examine the effects of abuse on children, but we do look at programs that can be used to treat trauma in children.
4) How are programs selected to be included on the website?
A standardized process is used to identify and review child welfare programs and practices for inclusion on the CEBC. First, the statewide Advisory Committee selects an average of 10-12 topical areas per year. The CEBC staff then works closely with the Scientific Panel to identify the need for additional topical area expertise provided by leading child welfare authorities. Working with the Scientific Panel and the Topical Experts, the CEBC staff selects programs for inclusion on the website. These generally involve 5 to 15 discreet programs selected within a topical area that fit one of the following criteria:
Next, the CEBC staff works with the Topical Expert and directly with the developer of the program to identify all relevant literature. The CEBC staff reviews the existing research available on the programs. The information from these research reviews and the developers are synthesized to create the topical outline contained on this website. The CASRC staff and Topical Experts review the research supporting the program. The programs are rated by the following criteria:
Each program or model reviewed by the California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare (CEBC) will be rated on two scales. The Scientific Rating Scale and the Child Welfare Relevance Rating Scale.
Provisional Rating :
After the programs have been reviewed and rated, a provisional rating will be provided for 60 days. If you would like to provide feedback for any of the identified programs, you can find a feedback form on that program's detailed report or use our general contact form.
6) Can the scientific rating of a program be changed?
Yes, every six months we contact all of the programs currently on the site to ask for updated contact information as well as any updates on research that has been published. In addition, we periodically review programs to see if new research has been published. We also ask that our Scientific Panel, Topical Experts, and Advisory Committee alert us to any new research on the existing programs that may come to their attention. Consumers can also provide information on new research. All new peer-reviewed, published literature will be reviewed.
7) I am a researcher; how can I use the CEBC website?
The CEBC website provides information on areas where research has been strong and where it has been weak. For instance, if you go to the "Youth Transitioning in Adulthood" topic area, you will see that all of these programs were rated a "4" on the scientific rating scale. This is an area that has almost no research, and yet it is a critical area for child welfare. Thus, the CEBC can be used to help determine areas in which research needs to be pursued.
8) I am in academia; how I use the CEBC website?
If you go to a practice that is rated a "1" on the scientific rating scale and look at the relevant research section, you can learn more about the existing research that established the practice to be evidence-based. For students in both graduate and undergraduate programs, this is a good way to learn more about research in an easy-to-read format. The citations are provided to allow for more in-depth review.
Students can also use the scientific rating scale developed by the CEBC to assist them in reviewing practices in related areas such as aging or mental illness, as well as those in child welfare that are not currently on the CEBC website. This provides the student with a structure to learn how to evaluate the evidence-base of a wide range of practices.
9) I am a child welfare administrator; how can I use the CEBC website?
If you work in an area such as "Youth Transitioning into Adulthood" where the research is limited, it is important to be aware that limited research exists in the area. Knowing that there is a lack of research in a given area should point out the need to expand the effort to try and secure funding that will allow your program to be evaluated. If you are working in the area of policy, then you could use this information to try to influence funding sources to create Request for Proposals (RFPs) that focus on research in areas with limited or non-existent research, such as Youth Transitioning into Adulthood.
As an administrator, you might also use the CEBC to try to implement programs that have a high level of evidence in your agency. The CEBC eliminates that need for you to do exhaustive literature reviews as we have compiled the critical research studies for your review. The website provides information about training, provider qualification, etc., that are critical to making decisions about which practices are a good fit for your agency.
While the CEBC does not currently address implementation, it does provide the information that is needed for agencies to strategize implementation and training contact information to allow replication of the programs highlighted on the CEBC.
10) I am a direct practitioner; how can I use the CEBC website?
Evidence-Based Practices (EBPs) can impact funding sources for your clients. For instance, as funding sources become more aware of EBPs it becomes more likely that the RFPs that they release will have specific EBPs attached to them. If you are working for an agency, you may find that they have secured a new grant that requires the use of a specific EBP. You will then be required to learn this EBP in order to provide services to clients under the grant.
As more information about EBPs becomes available, clients may also specifically request treatments that they have read are effective. If you are in private practice, then managed care companies may also push for EBPs as they decide how to spend their dollars and are more likely to pay for time-limited services that have been shown to have effective and sustainable results. Using the CEBC gives you an easy way to learn more about the different EBPs, and provides links to further information about manuals and training opportunities.