Descriptive Study of the Coordination of Tribal TANF and Child Welfare Services
Challenge
How best to evaluate ACF-awarded grantees on the outcomes and impact of their coordination of tribal TANF and child welfare services?
In 2011, the Office of Family Assistance (OFA), Administration for Children and Families (ACF) awarded grants to 14 tribes and tribal organizations to coordinate tribal TANF and child welfare services to address family risk factors for child abuse and neglect. The grantees agreed to participate in a study as a condition of the grant award to assess the outcomes and impact of the programs implemented with the grant funding.
Solution
A three-year collaborative evaluation and assessment of the grantees approaches to approaches, systems and programs using grant funds.
The Study of Coordination of Tribal TANF and Child Welfare Services were sponsored by ACF's Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation. James Bell Associates were the lead entity on the project; NORC at the University of Chicago and the Center for American Indian and Alaska Native Health at the University of Colorado at Denver were project partners. The goal of this three-year study was to document the ways in which the tribal grantees were creating and adapting culturally relevant and appropriate approaches, systems, and programs to increase coordination and enhance service delivery to address child abuse and neglect.
The 14 projects addressed the following:
- improved case management for families eligible for assistance from a Tribal TANF program,
- supportive services and assistance to tribal children in out-of-home placements and the tribal families caring for such children, including adoptive families, and
- prevention services and assistance to tribal families at risk of child abuse and neglect. The grantees' approaches varied in terms of the point of intervention, intensity and degree of coordination, and integration into child and family serving systems.
The study documented the strategies and approaches used by the grantees, facilitating factors and challenges to implementation, and lessons learned.
Borrowing from the participatory research approach, the project team and grantees engaged in ongoing communication, working to create a research partnership and the collaborative construction of knowledge. Data collection involved annual site visits to the 14 grantees to conduct semi-structured interviews with tribal leaders, elders, program staff, Tribal TANF and Indian Child Welfare staff and supervisors, and community partners, as well as observations of interventions and document reviews. Grantees reviewed and commented on the reports developed. Project staff also provided evaluation technical assistance to the grantees.
Results
Diverse services provided and substantial progress made in system level changes to improve communication and collaboration.
Findings indicated that the grantees serve TANF enrolled or eligible families that were identified as at-risk for child abuse or neglect; families who are already involved with Indian Child Welfare; and families with a child in out-of-home placement. Tribally-developed service models were informed by cultural teachings and practices. Practice-based evidence was based on traditional ways and indigenous knowledge. Grantees provided diverse services, reflecting the multiple, interrelated needs of the families. The grantees had made substantial progress in implementing system-level changes to improve coordination and collaboration.