ABSTRACT

In response to the continuing need for agencies providing residential care and treatment to children and youth to develop and/or to enhance their ability to examine the effectiveness and efficiency of their services, this article explores successful strategies for building and sustaining research capacity in these settings. Between five and six years following a collaborative project to implement a program of outcomes research across 37 sites (representing 32 agencies) in two southeastern states, the authors investigated the extent to which research infrastructure and activities had been sustained and/or expanded since the project ended and examined the role of various factors in facilitating and supporting these efforts. At the time of this follow-up study, 24 (75%) of the agencies participating in the original study were still in operation (in the same or some modified form). Of these, 20 (83.3%) responded to an online survey. Overall, data supported a nine-step model for building research capacity that can serve as a guide for a wide range of agencies seeking to obtain scientifically sound data regarding the outcomes of children in their care.

摘要

为响应为儿童和青少年提供住宿护理和治疗的机构的持续需求，以发展和/或提高他们检查其服务的有效性和效率的能力，本文探讨了在这些环境中建立和维持研究能力的成功策略. 在东南部两个州的 37 个地点（代表 32 个机构）实施一项成果研究计划的合作项目之后的 5 到 6 年间，作者调查了自该项目以来研究基础设施和活动持续和/或扩展的程度结束并检查了各种因素在促进和支持这些努力中的作用。在本次后续研究中，参与原始研究的机构中有 24 个（75%）仍在运作（以相同或修改的形式）。其中，20 人（83.3%）回答了在线调查。总体而言，数据支持建立研究能力的九步模型，该模型可以为寻求获得有关儿童在其照顾下的结果的科学可靠数据的众多机构提供指导。