Children whose caregivers have substance use disorders, may face adversity in many forms, including being removed from their home and placed in foster care. With congressional funding, the Children’s Bureau in the Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Administration for Children and Families in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) established the Regional Partnership Grant (RPG) program to advance the well-being, permanency, and safety of these children and their families. RPG grants fund programs and services that are designed to prevent placing at-risk children in out-of-home care. Mathematica is using data contributed by the partnerships to conduct an ongoing national cross-site evaluation.
By February 2016, 21 regional partnerships made up of child welfare organizations, providers treating substance use disorder, and other support systems had enrolled 1,161 families, including more than 2,700 children in 19 states. Adults and children were participating in one or more of 35 programs designed to strengthen families, promote mental health, and treat substance abuse: programs were offered in different combinations by the partnerships. Early data on enrollment in a newly released report to Congress reveal:
In the coming year, RPG grantees will continue providing data to the cross-site evaluation. Future reports to Congress will reveal the grantees’ implementation of evidence-based services, family outcomes, and program impacts.
For more information about this project, please visit the RPG webpage.
