The field of child maltreatment research has made significant progress in recent decades, with publications on the topic of child maltreatment tripling over the last 20 years, including a growing focus on conducting rigorous evaluations on interventions aimed at addressing the problem. [ii] However, gaps in the knowledge base still exist in a number of areas of great interest and importance to CB. The body of evidence in these topics remains limited, and rigorous evaluation using innovative strategies to bolster the research base is needed. Studies funded through this funding opportunity may leverage or build upon existing research infrastructures and mechanisms, as this may be an effective strategy for supporting this valuable research in an efficient manner. Therefore, the purpose of this current FOA is to encourage and support child maltreatment research that utilizes innovative research designs to address these areas of particular interest to the field of child maltreatment. Evaluation efforts funded through this FOA must have the potential to make a distinct and meaningful contribution to the current knowledge base in the proposed topic area to be addressed.
Research Topics
Topics for the research grants available through this FOA must focus on one of the following three themes:
I. Economic evaluations of interventions to improve outcomes of children and families in or at risk of
entering the child welfare system.
Economic evaluations of child welfare programs and interventions to improve the outcomes of child and families in or at risk of entering the child welfare system are a current gap in current knowledge and of critical importance to the field [iii] [iv] [v]. More information is needed to accurately identify the resources needed to implement interventions in the child maltreatment field and meet the needs of specific participants. CB is interested in economic evaluations that examine the costs of program components, including direct services and administrative and infrastructure supports, specifically:
- Evaluations that examine case-level costs and consider stages of implementation (program start-up, ongoing service delivery, and implementation) to develop estimates of program costs;
- Studies that examine specific costs of various programmatic components using an ingredients-based approach or micro-costing that focuses on identifying detailed costs for each element of a program; and
- Studies that examine infrastructure, administrative and indirect costs that support high-quality
implementation, and make a distinction between direct services and administrative costs.
Economic evaluations supported by this grant may include cost analysis, cost-effectiveness analysis, and cost-benefit analysis. CB recently developed recommendations with key principles and concepts for assessing costs in child welfare and provides guidance for defining the scope of a cost analysis.
II. Evaluations to determine the efficacy and/or effectiveness of interventions that address neglect.
In federal fiscal year 2012 (FFY12), an estimated 3.4 million referrals were received by Child Protective Services (CPS) agencies nationwide. Of children with substantiated cases of child abuse and neglect, four-fifths or 78.3 percent of children were victims of neglect; in some instances in combination with other types of maltreatment [vi]. Additionally, of child fatalities, 79.9 percent had suffered neglect either exclusively or in combination with another maltreatment type [vii]. Studies have shown that maltreatment and other adverse childhood experiences increase the risk for negative mental and physical outcomes in adulthood and place children at risk for further harm. Specifically, neglect has been shown to alter the development of the body’s stress response system that compromises a child’s ability to cope with adversity. In particular, research indicates that severely neglected children are more likely to experience
cognitive problems, academic delays, and deficits in executive functioning skills [viii]. Work in the field has begun to identify interventions that address neglect, but they have been met with limited results. Few strategies have demonstrated effectiveness in preventing recurrence of neglect, intervening when neglect has occurred, improving behavioral outcomes, and reducing mental health symptoms [ix]. There is a need to test the efficacy and effectiveness of multifaceted, innovative interventions designed to address the problem, and identify what works best to prevent, intervene, address cases of neglect. CB is particularly interested in further examination of:
- Studies that test and examine innovative, multifaceted programs and interventions that prevent the recurrence of neglect and intervene in cases of neglect;
- Studies that evaluate innovative programs and identify strategies that are most effective with subtypes of neglect (including chronic neglect);
- Studies that test innovative strategies that promote protective factors and address improving the health and well-being outcomes of neglected children; and
- Studies that examine the impact of various economic assistance strategies on child neglect tested/evaluated through the use of rigorous experimental study designs.
III. Evaluations of existing evidence-based programs on specific cultural and ethnic groups that have not been studied.
A number of sources in the child maltreatment research field, including the recently published New Directions in Child Abuse and Neglect Research, argue that more research is needed on understudied cultural and ethnic groups [x]. There is a growing need to address the complex role that culture plays in the arena of child maltreatment, including increased knowledge of effective methods for its prevention and treatment within these diverse populations, particularly considering the rate at which American families are becoming increasingly heterogeneous [xi]. Progress has been made in recent years to understand the part that race and culture play in determining when and how to adapt evidence-based interventions. However, critical gaps in the literature still exist in this area. Specifically, many evidence-based interventions have been tested primarily with African American and/or Latino youth, yet
relatively little is known about the effectiveness of evidence-based interventions with other diverse populations, including Asian American and American Indian youth [xii]. Evaluations of existing evidence-based programs on these populations, and other specific cultural and ethnic groups that have not been studied, will advance the field of child maltreatment research significantly, and will allow the field to move towards the goal of having sufficient specificity in programs and services to effectively address the needs of diverse populations. [contact-form]
For the full funding announcement visit the Administration for Children and Families website. The Application deadline is June 9, 2014.
