The National Quality Improvement Center on Differential Response in Child Protective Services (QIC-DR) announced on Monday the award of $5.4 million to three sites across the country to advance the state of the art in child protective services, including a five-county consortium in Colorado that encompasses Arapahoe, Fremont, Garfield, Jefferson and Larimer counties. The other two sites are located in Illinois and Ohio.
The sites will aim to answer the core research question, “Is differential response an effective approach in child protective services and, if so, what are the specific elements that make it effective?”
Differential response is an approach that allows child protective services agencies to respond to reports of child abuse and neglect according to the circumstances, such as the type and severity of the alleged maltreatment, the number of previous reports and the willingness of the parents to participate in services.
Mary Berg, Division Director of the Division of Children, Youth & Families at Jefferson County Human Services, was delighted with the selection. “We are always seeking out the best practices for children, and this grant will allow us to participate in a very meaningful way in improving outcomes for families and children,” she said. “We’re excited to be a part of this five-county collaboration.”
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Children's Bureau, awarded a grant to the American Humane Association and its partners, Walter R. McDonald & Associates, Inc. and the Institute of Applied Research, to operate this National Quality Improvement Center. All three organizations have expertise in differential response, and under the direction of the Office on Child Abuse and Neglect of the Children’s Bureau, these partners are uniquely positioned to collaborate and complement each other’s experiences, knowledge and networks.
For more information on the project, please visit http://www.differentialresponseqic.org/. For more information about American Humane’s Children’s Division and programs please visit www.americanhumane.org/protecting-children.
