EBP Exchange - UMB School of Social Work

The GAO just released a report to follow their recent report on the epidemiology of domestic violence services (DVS). http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d07846r.pdf

 This report was to be on effectivness of DVS but the GAO rightly concluded that there is not nearly enough data (administrative or otherwise) to draw such a conclusion.  They suggest some inittiatives needed to improve routine services data gathering but make no mention of how these initiatives would be supported nor do they seem to give much creedence to the challenges of turning administrative data on services into information about effectiveness.  There is a critical need for DVS to begin to rigorously test models of service to add to what we are beginning to know from a range of surveys. 

I am hoping that we can, ultimately, develop a course on effective methods of addressing domestic violence and put together the best information available in this nation.

Check it out,   http://download.ncadi.samhsa.gov/prevline/pdfs/SMA07-4278.pdf

 This short paper does a very nice job of defining a range of terms related to EBP and the sources of evidence relied on to determine EBP with co-occurring disorders. They use the term ”evidence based thinking” which I am not keen on–because thinking is very hard to measure–but I generally like their approach.

In North Carolina, AHEC, and the State Division of MHDD&SA, with foundation support, has put together an EBP Center. This is a good resource and (www.ncebpcenter.org) has one feature that I especially find useful. It has taken the six programs for adults that have been identified as most successful by SAMHSA and the RWJ Foundation and presents their toolkits, fidelity protocols and readiness measures. It combines this information with information about trainings on these methods. A blog to be used by those who particpate in the trainings and try the methods is missing, but you don’t always get everything in one nice package. It’s worth checking out.

Child Trends, known for tracking a range of child well-being indicators has a section of their web site devoted to “What Works” to achieve a range of outcomes for children.

Go to: http://childtrendsdatabank.org/WhatWorks.cfm

 What Works: Programs and Interventions that May Influence Outcomes for Youth and Young Children

Under this broad heading are a range of outcome domains.  Each section first reviews the epidemiology of the outcome domain, policies and programs that may be designed to influence the outcome, then links to programs with “some research” about their effectiveness.  Check it out!