James Bell Associates Wins Key Contract for Children's Bureau's Child Welfare Cross-Site Evaluation

Arlington, VA – James Bell Associates, Inc. (JBA), a prominent evaluation and research services firm based in the Washington D.C. area, was recently awarded a key contract by the Children's Bureau (CB), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to conduct a major cross-site evaluation of the new Child Welfare Technical Assistance Implementation Centers (IC) and the National Child Welfare Resource Centers (NCWRC). JBA is known for excellence in delivering independent program evaluations that incorporate innovative applied research methodologies and lead to improvements in program performance.

The CB works closely with states, tribes and local communities to provide unique and effective child welfare programs focusing on the prevention of childhood abuse in troubled families, child protection from abuse, and placements for children who cannot return home safely. The CB's goal in launching the cross-site evaluation of its multi-pronged training and technical assistance (T/TA) program is to support child welfare organizational and systems change that increases positive outcomes for vulnerable children and families.

Led by Principal Investigator, Ms. Elyse Kaye, and Project Director, Dr. James DeSantis, JBA will design and conduct an intensive utilization-focused evaluation. Initially, JBA will develop the evaluation plan in collaboration with a broad range of stakeholders, and redesign the current tracking system that captures the delivery of T/TA to the states and tribes. The 5-year evaluation will feature mixed-method longitudinal data collection. The goal is to enable CB's continuous improvement of T/TA functions and to identify successful long range strategies.

JBA focuses on innovations in health and human services programs and policies, while serving clients that include Federal, state and local government agencies, as well as universities, foundations and businesses. Over nearly three decades, JBA has earned a national reputation for excellence in independent program evaluation and the use of customized applied research methodologies. The firm has a strong record of delivering useful, high-quality program evaluation and applied research findings, in addition to practical technical assistance (TA) and training to build clients' performance measurement and management capacities. Our projects have addressed many aspects of child welfare, including: child maltreatment prevention; adoption services, including efforts to increase adoptions of children in the child welfare system; and child welfare agencies' implementation of mandated changes following new state or Federal legislation.

JBA looks forward to working with the CB to facilitate its strategic goals of ensuring the safety, permanency, and well-being of vulnerable children and families. More information is available at www.jbassoc.com.