Dallas County Juvenile Justice Case Disposition Process Evaluation

In examining Dallas County’s rate of time to disposition for juvenile cases, the Office of the Dallas County District Attorney examined data from the Texas Office of Court Administration and discovered that the time-to-disposition rate for juvenile cases within the county was slower compared with other urban counties across the state. In addition, the rates…

What Can Hurt (and Help) Decision Making in Older Adulthood

Age-related declines in decision making in older adulthood are well-documented, and they can harm the financial, physical, and psychological health of older adults. Because of this, gaining insights into what can protect them against (or make them vulnerable to) poor decision making is important. This webinar, which summarizes recent research findings from Rush University Medical…

New Hampshire Child Welfare SDM® Risk Validation Study Report

In 2019, the New Hampshire Division for Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) partnered with Evident Change to update their current suite of Structured Decision Making® (SDM) assessments. The goal of this study was to examine how the current risk assessment is performing across three SDM® principles of utility, accuracy, and equity. This risk validation study…

Research Brief: New Hampshire Child Welfare Participatory SDM® Risk Validation Study

In 2020, Evident Change and the New Hampshire Division for Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) used a collaborative, stakeholder-informed approach to conduct a participatory risk validation of the Structured Decision Making® (SDM) risk assessment. This research brief shares highlights of participatory SDM® risk assessment validation process and a few key data considerations. A full report documents…

Case Study: Participatory SDM® Risk Validation in New Hampshire

Growing knowledge about the limitations and potentially negative impact of using data-driven applications such as risk assessments has led research teams to create a more inclusive process for understanding the trade-offs in risk assessment implementation and validation. Evident Change and the New Hampshire Division for Children, Youth, and Families used a collaborative, stakeholder-informed approach to…

Family Visit Coaching: Outcomes After Reunification

A recent Evident Change study found that parents who completed Family Visit Coaching (FVC) services had fewer incidences of substantiated abuse or neglect after reunification compared to a control group. The analysis showed that FVC was effective at reducing substantiations after reunification. Previous FVC research indicated that parents improved their parenting skills during FVC services…

Provider Outreach Guide

A new tool guides justice system agencies in creating a more well-rounded service array to meet the needs of the people they serve. Many individuals who have been impacted by the juvenile and/or criminal justice systems have unaddressed needs and traumas. These needs often lead them to—and keep them in—a cycle of justice system involvement….

RGV Community Resources

As part of a study in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) area of Texas, Evident Change researchers created a list of resources available to the local community there. They provide services focused on mental health, substance use disorder, emergency shelter for victims of domestic violence, legal advocacy to victims and their families, and more. This…

Using Administrative Data From APS: Opportunities and Considerations

As more states improve their data systems, Adult Protective Services (APS) agencies are eager to examine administrative data to improve their work. This presentation will use non-technical language to review practical considerations related to organizing and analyzing APS administrative data. We will address approaches for handling erroneous and missing data, as well as defining metrics…

Data for Equity

The Data for Equity program was created to help direct-service and other organizations build capacity for using data. Data for Equity can help agencies create internal cultures of accountability around equity, work toward sustainable reductions in racial and ethnic disparities, and rebuild systems in a way that supports equitable outcomes.