More and better evidence about what helps children and families involved in the child welfare system is increasingly in demand. Demonstration projects and interventions under development require strong evaluations to build effective programs and services. The Child Welfare Evidence Strengthening Team (CWEST) aims to increase the number of evidence-based interventions and improve the child welfare field’s ability to build, understand, and use evidence. The team rigorously evaluates interventions serving children and families involved in child welfare programs. CWEST also provides guidance and resources for conducting and reporting on rigorous evaluations of child welfare programs and services.

CWEST is made up of three leading child welfare research organizations—the Urban Institute, Child Trends, and Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago—and is funded by the Administration for Children and Families’s (ACF’s) Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, in partnership with the Children’s Bureau.

CWEST Evaluations and Resources:

• The Family Unification Program (FUP) provides permanent Housing Choice Vouchers to families served by child welfare agencies and young people who are transitioning out of foster care and facing the risk of homelessness. CWEST is evaluating FUP for families.
• Project Connect is a program for families involved in the child welfare system affected by substance use. CWEST’s evaluation focuses on services in Rhode Island.
• LifeSet provides intensive in-home support and guidance to teenagers and young adults leaving foster care. CWEST’s evaluation focuses on LifeSet in New Jersey.
• Roadmaps to Building Evidence in Child Welfare is an instructional series of resources about conducting child welfare evaluations for child welfare agency staff, practitioners, and evaluators.
• The Child Welfare Evidence-Building Academy involves an interactive program of trainings for child welfare agency staff, practitioners, and evaluators.
• Our Evidence Navigator Newsletter offers practical knowledge on data, evaluation, and evidence in the child welfare field.