To address the far-reaching consequences of adult substance use disorders on families and children, Congress authorized competitive grants to support partnerships among child welfare, substance abuse treatment, and related organizations. Children’s Bureau (CB) within the Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth, and Families at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services established the Regional Partnership Grant (RPG) program to implement programs to meet the needs of this target population.

CB funded Mathematica, along with its subcontractor Walter R. MacDonald & Associates (WRMA), to conduct a cross-site evaluation of the grantees’ RPG projects. Mathematica/WRMA designed a cross-site evaluation to address the following research questions:

1. Which partners were involved in each RPG project and how did they work together?
2. How much progress did RPG4 projects make toward interagency collaboration and service coordination?
3. How did the child welfare and substance use treatment agencies work together to achieve the goals of RPG?
4. What referral sources did RPG projects use? Did referral sources change over time?
5. What are the characteristics of families who enrolled in RPG?
6. To what extent did RPG projects reach their target populations?
7. What core services were provided and to whom?
8. Were core services that families received different from the services proposed in grantee applications? If so, what led to the changes in planned services?
9. How engaged were participants with the services provided?
10. Which agencies (grantees and their partners) provided services?
11. What proportion of families exited RPG?
12. What plans and activities did RPG projects undertake to maintain the implementation infrastructure and processes during and after the grant period?
13. What plans and activities did RPG projects undertake to maintain the organizational infrastructure and processes after the grant period?
14. To what extent were RPG projects prepared to sustain services after the grant period?
15. What plans and activities did RPG projects undertake to develop funding strategies and secure resources needed after the grant period?
16. How did the federal, state, and local context affect RPG projects and their efforts to sustain RPG services?
17. What were the well-being, permanency, safety, recovery, and family functioning outcomes for children and adults who enrolled in RPG projects?
18. What were the impacts of RPG projects on children and adults who enrolled in RPG?

The cross site evaluation uses several data sources to answer these research questions: (1) a partner study, (2) enrollment and services data, (3) outcomes data, and (4) site visits.

Investigators: Sarah Avellar, Ph.D., Mathematica, Washington, DC Angela D'Angelo, Ph.D., Mathematica, Chicago Elizabeth C. Weigensberg, Ph.D., Mathematica, Chicago Juliette Henke, MPP, Mathematica, Princeton Yange Xue, Ph.D., Mathematica, Princeton