Exploration and adoption of evidence-based practice by US child welfare agencies

Objective: To examine the extent to which child welfare agencies adopt new practices and to determine the barriers to and facilitators of adoption of new practices. Methods: Data came from telephone interviews with the directors of the 92 public child welfare agencies that constituted the probability sample for the first National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-being (NSCAWI). In a semi-structured 40 min interview administered by a trained Research Associate, agency directors were asked about agency demographics, knowledge of evidence-based practices, use of technical assistance and actual use of evidence-based practices. Of the 92 agencies, 83 or 90% agreed to be interviewed. Results: Agencies reported that the majority of staff had a BA degree (53.45%) and that they either paid for (52.6%) or provided (80.7%) continuing education. Although agencies routinely collect standardized child outcomes (90%) they much less frequently collect measures of child functioning (30.9%). Almost all agencies (94%) had started a new program or practice but only 24.8% were evidence-based and strategies used to explore new programs or practices usually involved local or state contracts. Factors that were associated with program success included internal support for the innovation (273%), and an existing evidence base (23.5%). Conclusions: Directors of child welfare agencies frequently institute new programs or practices but they are not often evidence-based. Because virtually all agencies provide some continuing education adding discussions of evidence-based programs/practices may spur. Reliance on local and state colleagues to explore new programs and practices suggests that developing well informed social networks may be a way to increase the spread of evidence-based practices. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.