Expected Outcomes
- Develop procedures to coordinate services between the child welfare system, substance abuse and behavioral health providers, and juvenile/family court in a specified single MOU.
- Conduct substance abuse and trauma-exposure screening and assessment within 30 days of entering the child welfare system.
- Reduce the wait time between referral to services and initiation of substance use and behavioral health services.
Study Design
The goal will be evaluated through a two-stage sampling procedure, using a quasi-experimental design.
Stage One
Two counties will be compared:
- One county receiving intervention through the Ohio Sobriety Treatment and Reducing Trauma (START) program
- A second county with no major grants to aid substance-abused families in the child welfare system
Stage Two
Match families receiving EPIC intervention with substance using families in each of the comparison counties. They will be matched on criteria relating to:
- Date of entry
- Placement type
- Number of children
- Family type (single or two parents)
- Drug of choice (if possible)
The Needs Portal will help assess timely access to services, and how it is changing over time in the regional partnership counties in relation to the comparison counties. Fields that record the dates of service requests and responses to the UNCOPE, trauma screening, and assessment tools will help compare timely access parameters.
Identify Performance Indicators
- Coordination of services between MOUs
- Obtain current MOUs and compare with new MOUS created after funding of the grant
- Collaboration between the child welfare agency and behavioral health provider
- Measure the Strength of contractual relationships by virtue of the total annual value of the service contracts with each provider
- Measure the number of referral partners
- Measure the average frequency of referrals across all partners
- Measure benchmarks for screenings and assessments via the Needs Portal
- Measure reduction in wait times via the Needs Portal