Evaluating the Effectiveness of Implementing the Use of Racial Equity Standards Areas

Abstract

Background and Purpose

This research project evaluated the collaboration of the Council on Accreditation (COA), the accrediting body for child welfare programs, and Black Administrators in Child Welfare (BACW) integration of the Racial Equity Standards Areas (RESA) into the COA standards.  

The evaluation of this integration occurred with agencies that were identified as having an overrepresentation of African Americans in their child welfare system and that were scheduled for reaccreditation. The intent of the BACW grant was to provide agencies with information on the best practices for serving children of color and to seek an evaluation of the implementation of these practices.

Methods

Researchers recruited participants for the evaluation study from the public and private child welfare agencies that participated in the Racial Equity Strategy and Standards Integration Project (RESSIP) pilot. A total of six agencies and organizations participated in the evaluation. At the organizational level, one private agency, two county agencies, a state agency, the accrediting agency, and the BACW participated. The breakdown of participants is as follows: 40 persons participated in the interviews conducted as part of the evaluation.  The average age of participants was 47.4.  The youngest study participant was age 31.  The oldest participant was 65 years old.  One out of every three participants had 16-20 years of experience in child welfare and a majority (93%) of participants had a masters’ degree in some field.

The research study report was qualitative in its data sources, methods of data collection, and analysis. Study investigators reviewed multiple sources of primary and secondary data to answer questions empirically about what the pilot project did, who and how did people participate, and what was accomplished.

The study relied on two types of procedures.  One set of procedures described and summarized the frequencies and relative proportions of the characteristics of participants as well as events that occurred during the “life” of the pilot.  The other set of procedures relied on the analysis of experiences of persons involved with the pilot. 

The project was guided by two major research questions:

1. What was it like to experience the integration of these two sets of standards?

2. What was it like to experience the RESSIP?

Findings

Lessons learned included the need for customized training and education on overrepresentation of children of color in the foster care system.  The research participants struggled with attaching meaning to the experience of overrepresentation, are the persons in need of training and education.  

This report also has described the critical role that extending the scope of data-gathering activities and revisiting the function of data management played in the final phase of implementation of RESSIP.

Conclusion and Implications

This evaluation project was able to give voice to how child welfare and administrators workers understood how the standards for COA and RESA could affect the delivery of child welfare services.