Differential Response Projects
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The Kempe team has supported the implementation of Differential Response nationally (see Quality Improvement Center on Differential Response below) and in various jurisdictions, including Arkansas, Ohio, Nevada, Texas, and Washington.
Current Projects
In 2021, the Kentucky Department for Community Based Services contracted with Kempe to support the implementation and evaluation of Alternative Response. The implementation of Alternative Response is part of a larger child welfare reform effort to move resources upstream, better match system response to family needs, and install structured decision-making. The Kempe team has been working with leadership in Kentucky to develop a model that fits their values:
- We work WITH families
- Families are the experts of their own lives
- Children belong to and should stay with their families
- Services and supports are needed early
- Families can assist in solving their own challenges
- Responsibility for safety is shared with family and community
Initial sites have been selected and implemented in Fall 2023, with a plan for full statewide implementation by June 2025. The evaluation team’s evaluation plan will reexamine some elements of previous Alternative Response evaluations, while expanding our insights about family perspectives and experiences with Alternative Response. Lessons from the implementation evaluation will inform improvements to the model and the statewide implementation plan.
Past Projects
The Kempe Center was the lead organization of the five-year Quality Improvement Center on Differential Response, funded by the Children’s Bureau (2007-2014). This evaluation and dissemination project selected three jurisdictions (Colorado, Illinois and Ohio) to implement and evaluate differential response using a rigorous randomized control trial. Each site was unique but adhered to the core elements of differential response. Numerous products were created and disseminated through this project:
- A Guide for Judges and Judicial Officers
- A Legal Analysis
- An Analysis of State Legislative Provisions
Issue Briefs:
- Beyond Investigations: Current Innovations in Responding to Reports of Child Maltreatment
- Evolving Models of Practice and Differential Response Systems
- Formal Public Child Welfare Responses to Screened-Out Reports of Alleged Maltreatment
- Disparities in Child Welfare: Considering the Implementation of Differential Response
- Differential Response in Child Protective Services: A Literature Review
- Protecting Children: Exploring Differential Response: One Pathway Toward Reforming Child Welfare
- Protecting Children: Differential Response in Child Protective Services: Research and Practice Advancements
Final Evaluation Reports:
- Cross-Site
- Colorado
- Illinois
- Ohio
