Implementing Evidence-Based Child Welfare: The New York City Experience
In 2011 the New York City Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) started on a bold new course of introducing 11 evidence-based and evidence-informed practice models into its continuum of preventive services. Casey Family Programs, in partnership with the National Implementation Research Network, provided technical assistance to ACS in support of the implementation of EBMs.
By 2015, almost 5,000 families were being served annually through an evidence-based model. Preliminary results indicate that preventive evidence-based models are having a positive impact, including increased collaboration among providers serving high-risk families, and a decrease in the number of indicated investigations for families receiving high-risk family services.
This report chronicles ACS’s experience of implementing evidence-based models. It includes discussions of challenges, lessons learned, recommendations for jurisdictions considering similar models, and a detailed timeline of ACS’s implementation phases.
