News | August 5, 2019

JBA Experts Presenting at National Child Welfare Evaluation Summit, August 20–21

JBA staff will help present nine sessions at the upcoming 2019 National Child Welfare Evaluation Summit in Washington, DC. Sponsored by the Children’s Bureau, the August 20–21 summit will bring together child welfare leaders, researchers, evaluators, and their partners and stakeholders to explore the gap between research and practice. Attendees will discuss how they can help support three overarching goals: building evidence, strengthening practice, and informing policy.

The 2019 conference theme—Leveraging Data and Evaluation to Strengthen Families and Promote Well-Being—recognizes opportunities for child welfare systems and partners to build knowledge and use evidence to ensure that children and youth thrive in strong, healthy families.

JBA will present at the following sessions (final schedule subject to change):

Tuesday, August 20 

“An Evaluator’s Balancing Act: Juggling the Conflicting Roles of Developmental Evaluation and Independent Evaluation”

  • James DeSantis, JBA
  • Joanna DeWolfe, JBA
  • Christine Leicht, ICF
  • Nancy Lucero, University of Denver
  • Anita Barbee, Discussant, University of Louisville

“Making Programs ‘Stick’: What Rigorous Implementation Evaluation Can Teach Us”

  • Jill Filene, JBA
  • Aleta Meyer, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation
  • Allison Metz, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • Cosette Mills, Utah Division of Child and Family Services
  • Krista Metz, University of Chicago

“Measuring What Matters: An Overview of How Hearing Quality and Judicial Decision-Making Are Defined, Measured, and Related to Child Outcomes”

“Efforts to Promote Evidence Building Through Children’s Bureau-Funded Grants and Evaluation Projects”

  • Elliott Graham, JBA
  • Catherine Heath, Children’s Bureau
  • Jan Shafer, Children’s Bureau
  • Maria Woolverton, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation

Wednesday, August 21st

“Overcoming Challenges on the Path to Efficacy Part 1: Preparing for Formative Evaluation”

  • James Bell, JBA
  • Lisa Guillette, Foster Forward
  • Jessie Watrous, University of Maryland

“Evaluating Child Welfare’s Response to Trafficking”

  • Anne Fromknecht, JBA
  • Amy Cole, Resource Development Associates
  • D.F. Duncan, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • Amy Farrell, Northeastern University
  • Melissa Hope Johnson, University of South Florida

“Becoming a Trauma-Informed Child Welfare Organization: A Conceptual Framework and Resources to Promote Trauma-Informed Practices, Policies, and Systems”

  • Erin Ingoldsby, JBA
  • Melinda Baldwin, Children’s Bureau
  • Keitha Wilson, Oklahoma Department of Human Services
  • Sarah Kelly Palmer, Family Service of Rhode Island
  • Aby Washington, District of Columbia Child and Family Services Agency

“Evaluating Our Investment: Key Resources and Capacities for Conducting Cost Studies”

“Make Every Voice Count: An Innovative Approach to Incorporate Differing Perspectives When Assessing Change in Child Welfare Agency Capacity”

  • Heidi Melz, JBA
  • Charlie Ferguson, JBA
  • James O’Malley, The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice

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