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Child-Maltreatment-Research-L (CMRL) List Serve

Browse All Past CMRL Messages

Welcome to the archive of past Child-Maltreatment-Research-L (CMRL) list serve messages (11,000+). The table below contains all past CMRL messages (text only, no attachments) from Nov. 20, 1996 - April 4, 2024 and is updated every two months.

Instructions: Postings are listed for browsing with the newest messages first. Click on the linked ID number to see a message.

Message ID: 10569
Date: 2020-01-10

Author:Richard

Subject:Child centered outcome measures

Greetings Everyone, We are starting a conversation in Minnesota about measuring outcomes at the child level. We have in mind to get baseline measures when children come into the system, using existing validated instruments, that would include an assessment of trauma, physical and mental development, and behavioral and mental health. The idea is that over time, if the system is doing its job well, all of these metrics will improve. We recognize this is not a small undertaking but we want to get started thinking about it. The hypothesis is that by rolling up these measures, de-identified of course, at the worker, supervisor, unit, County and state levels, it will become more clear how well children are doing. Also, following the principle that “what gets measured is what it’s done”, measuring child-centered outcomes would focus on child well-being in ways that add an important dimension to the current (though also important) process-oriented child welfare metrics such as timeliness of response, frequency of social worker visits, length of time in care etc. Is anyone aware of efforts underway to measure child-level outcomes in any counties or states? Thanks for whatever help you can provide. Rich Gehrman Executive Director Safe Passage for Children of Minnesota 651-303-3209 www.safepassagemn.org

Greetings Everyone, We are starting a conversation in Minnesota about measuring outcomes at the child level. We have in mind to get baseline measures when children come into the system, using existing validated instruments, that would include an assessment of trauma, physical and mental development, and behavioral and mental health. The idea is that over time, if the system is doing its job well, all of these metrics will improve. We recognize this is not a small undertaking but we want to get started thinking about it. The hypothesis is that by rolling up these measures, de-identified of course, at the worker, supervisor, unit, County and state levels, it will become more clear how well children are doing. Also, following the principle that “what gets measured is what it’s done”, measuring child-centered outcomes would focus on child well-being in ways that add an important dimension to the current (though also important) process-oriented child welfare metrics such as timeliness of response, frequency of social worker visits, length of time in care etc. Is anyone aware of efforts underway to measure child-level outcomes in any counties or states? Thanks for whatever help you can provide. Rich Gehrman Executive Director Safe Passage for Children of Minnesota 651-303-3209 www.safepassagemn.org