Emerging Findings from the 2012-2017 National Cross-Site Evaluation of the Regional Partnership Grant (RPG) Program (Summary)
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Emerging Findings from the 2012-2017 National Cross-Site Evaluation of the Regional Partnership Grant (RPG) Program (Summary)

Published: Apr 09, 2020
Publisher: Washington, DC: Mathematica
Human Services Family Support Child Welfare Mental Health and Substance Use Federal Advisory Services Research and Evaluation Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Evaluation Design Impact Evaluation
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Authors

Russell Cole

Debra Strong

Key Findings
  • RPG strengthened collaborations between providers.
  • Partnerships had best practices for evidence-based programs in place or partially in place.
  • The majority of adults followed for the evaluation received substance use disorder (SUD) treatment before, during, or within a year after the RPG program. (About 70 percent of families had at least one adult in SUD treatment in this time frame.)
  • Opioid users had greater needs, but their outcomes also improved significantly.

The Regional Partnership Grant (RPG) program supports partnerships between providers of child welfare services, substance abuse disorder (SUD) treatment, and other social services that enhance the safety and well-being of children who are in, or at risk of, out-of-home placement because of a parent’s or caretaker’s SUD. The RPG program is a key federal program that the United States Congress authorizes to solely and specifically address the issues that arise at the intersection of child welfare and substance use.

The Children’s Bureau funded this summary of findings to inform stakeholders, policy makers, the partnerships, and the public about key findings from the national cross site evaluation of RPG. It draws on the partnership, implementation, and outcome components of the evaluation to describe how the partnerships came together, their implementation of evidence-based and evidence-informed programs and practices, and improvements over time in adult and child well being among participants. Data were collected from 17 partnerships in 15 states that were funded in 2012 to provide services five years. New cohorts of partnerships funded in 2014, 2017, 2018, and 2019 are also part of the continuing evaluation. Detailed evaluation findings are provided in reports to Congress.

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