Evidence-Based and Research-Informed Approaches

The Kempe Center is the intermediary and implementor of a variety of evidence-based and research-informed programs and services.

As the intermediary, the Center assists other entities to administer programs at the local level. “Evidence-Based” programs and services have been rigorously researched and proven to yield consistent and replicable results that are found to have beneficial effects for program participants or clients. “Research-Informed Practices” are interventions that are based on the best-available evidence.

We apply objective, evidence-based standards in research, training, and service delivery. We welcome diverse viewpoints and uphold academic freedom while complying with civil-rights and ethical obligations. Kempe offers evidence-based programs related to:

Preventing and treating child abuse and neglect
Family and child wellbeing
System transformation
Creating thriving communities wherein children are safe, and families flourish

Programs

Differential Response

Differential response (DR) is an alternative to traditional investigations in child welfare for accepted reports of abuse or neglect. It focuses on partnering with families to provide support and services that meet their needs, while dismissing the labels of perpetrator and victim and removing the determination or finding. If you are interested in implementing or evaluating differential response in your jurisdiction, please contact [email protected] for more information.

Family Group Decision Making

Each year there are millions of children and youth who come to the attention of child welfare, juvenile justice, school counselors/social workers, health care providers and other public/private agencies. Traditionally, at best, many systems have worked only with the children and their current caregivers to resolve the concerns that brought them to the agency’s attention, and at worse, have excluded or marginalized the voices of caregivers, children and their extended family systems. Family group decision making (FGDM)—an innovative social reform championed worldwide since the early 1990s—challenges this paradigm and practice, resulting in an inclusive and participatory process that positions family groups to lead decisions about their own members.

Fostering Healthy Futures®

Fostering Healthy Futures® (FHF) programs build on youth’s strengths and assets through mentoring and skills training to promote healthy development. FHF serves children and youth with current or previous child welfare involvement due to one or more adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). These ACEs may include maltreatment, out-of-home placement, instability in housing, caregivers or schools, and/or parental substance use, mental illness, or incarceration. FHF programs were developed and tested at the Kempe Center and the University of Denver through three randomized controlled trials.

Rocky Mountain Multisystemic Therapy®

The Rocky Mountain Multisystemic Therapy (MST) Network provides program development support for agencies interested in exploring and starting an MST team. We follow a comprehensive program development process to ensure that new MST teams are set up to succeed and meet all the requirements to become officially licensed to deliver MST. We carefully consider each agency’s goals, strengths and needs to engage in effective and personalized program development. If you are interested in learning more about bringing MST to your agency or organization, please email us at: [email protected]

SafeCare® Colorado

SafeCare® Colorado is a free, voluntary parent support program for parents and caregivers with children ages five and under who need extra support to keep their families safe and healthy. Parent support providers help build on parents’ existing skills in the areas of parent-child interactions, home safety and child health. For more information please contact: [email protected]

Trauma-Responsive Implementation and Practice

The Trauma-Responsive Implementation and Practice (TRIP) program is engaged in implementation, evaluation, and research in two areas of evidence-based practice: The TRIP program is involved in helping numerous agencies from the fields of child welfare, behavioral health, education, infant mental health and early education, juvenile and criminal justice, health care, and human services become more trauma responsive. TRIP’s approach to implementation of trauma-responsive practices is individualized to each agency but typically includes needs assessment, goal setting, training, clinical consultation, continuous improvement, and planning for sustainability.

Fostering Healthy Futures®

Background

Click here to watch video on FHF

Fostering Healthy Futures® for Preteens (FHF-P)

FHF-P is a 30-week preventive intervention program for preadolescent children ages 9-11 and consists of weekly skills groups and 1:1 mentoring by graduate students in social work, psychology, or a related field. Skills groups provide an opportunity for children who have all experienced ACEs to process their experiences and practice important social skills, such as feelings identification, problem solving, and healthy coping. Studies have demonstrated that children who participated in FHF, compared to a control group, evidenced:

Better mental health functioning
Fewer trauma symptoms
Reduction in long-term suicidality
Less mental health treatment
Less delinquency/justice involvement
Fewer short-term risk factors for substance abuse
Reduction in long-term substance use
Less residential treatment
Fewer placement changes, greater permanency
Higher quality of life

Fostering Healthy Futures® for Teens (FHF-T)

FHF-T is a 30-week preventive intervention program that utilizes individualized skills-based mentoring for 8th and 9th graders. Mentors are trained to support adolescents in goal setting and then work with them to learn and implement skills to help them achieve their goals. In addition to weekly mentoring, teens have the opportunity to participate in workshops to build and practice psychosocial skills. FHF-T’s outcomes include reducing juvenile justice involvement and increasing permanency.

Alignment with the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA)

FHF-P is listed as a supported program on the Title IV-E Prevention Services Clearinghouse in the Mental Health service area. The program and its outcomes are consistent with FFPSA’s goals of supporting evidence-based programs, increasing permanency, reducing congregate care, improving mental health, and supporting kinship care. Stakeholder evaluations and rates of program engagement suggest that Fostering Healthy Futures® programming is highly acceptable to diverse children, families, and community partners.

Find Out More

For additional program information, please contact FHF Dissemination Director:

Michel Holien
303-817-8162
[email protected]

www.fosteringhealthyfutures.org

SafeCare®

SafeCare® Colorado Intermediary

Training, coaching, technical assistance, and consulting in Colorado to agencies considering or implementing SafeCare®, from site readiness assessment and support to scaling and sustainability.

SafeCare® Colorado is a free, voluntary parent support program for parents and caregivers with children ages five and under who need extra support to keep their families safe and healthy. Parent support providers help build on parents existing skills in the areas of parent-child interactions, home safety and child health.

To learn more about SafeCare® Colorado click here. Below are additional resources from SafeCare® Colorado:

Find / contact a SafeCare® Colorado program near you
Read more about SafeCare® Colorado in this fact sheet
Complete an online referral form for yourself/your child
Submit a paper referral form

To read more about the SafeCare® program, please visit the National SafeCare Training and Research Center’s website here.

Find Out More

For further questions about SafeCare® Colorado, please contact:

Katherine L. Casillas, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine
Director, SafeCare® Colorado
303-864-5131
[email protected]

Tools & Resources

CU Campuses

CU Anschutz

Department of Pediatrics

School of Medicine

Evidence-Based and Research-Informed Approaches

The Kempe Center is the intermediary and implementor of a variety of evidence-based and research-informed programs and services.

Programs

Differential Response

Family Group Decision Making

Fostering Healthy Futures®

Rocky Mountain Multisystemic Therapy®

SafeCare® Colorado

Trauma-Responsive Implementation and Practice

Fostering Healthy Futures®

Background

Fostering Healthy Futures® for Preteens (FHF-P)

Fostering Healthy Futures® for Teens (FHF-T)

Alignment with the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA)

Find Out More

SafeCare®

SafeCare® Colorado Intermediary

To read more about the SafeCare® program, please visit the National SafeCare Training and Research Center’s website here.

Find Out More

Department of Pediatrics