Public Call for Programs and Services

2022 Call for Program and Service Recommendations

The Title IV-E Prevention Services Clearinghouse requests recommendations for mental health, substance abuse, in-home parent skill-based, and kinship navigator programs and services to be considered for systematic review.

Recommendations can be sent to PreventionServices@abtassoc.com.

Submission Deadline: November 22, 2022

Background

The Title IV-E Prevention Services Clearinghouse was established by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to conduct an objective and transparent review of research on programs and services intended to provide enhanced support to children and families and prevent foster care placements. The Clearinghouse, developed in accordance with the Family First Prevention Services Act as codified in Title IV-E of the Social Security Act, reviews evidence on mental health, substance abuse, in-home parent skill-based, and kinship navigator programs and services. The Clearinghouse rates eligible programs and services as well-supported, supported, promising, or does not currently meet criteria.

For more information about the Clearinghouse, please visit our website. Join the Clearinghouse email list to be notified of updates!

Purpose

This call is an opportunity for the public to recommend programs and services for systematic review. Additional public calls for recommendations will occur on at least an annual basis.

The Clearinghouse has retained all past recommendations for programs and services. This includes responses to the 2018 Federal Register Notice (FRN) (83 FR 29122) as well as responses to the 2019, 2020, and 2021 public calls for program and service recommendations. The Clearinghouse will continue to retain recommendations received for consideration in future review cycles.

This call aims to identify eligible programs and services that the Clearinghouse has not previously reviewed.1 To be eligible for review, programs and services must:

  • Address at least one of the four program or service areas: (1) mental health prevention and treatment programs or services, (2) substance abuse prevention and treatment programs or services, (3) in-home parent skill-based programs or services, and/or (4) kinship navigator programs.
  • Have a book/manual/writings available: Programs and services must be clearly defined and replicable. To meet this criterion, they must have available written protocols, manuals, or other documentation that describes how to implement or administer the practice. Protocols, manuals, or other documentation must be available to the public to download, request, or purchase.

We are particularly interested in recommendations for programs and services that are relevant to advancing equity and supporting underserved communities.

To learn about the Clearinghouse’s standards and procedures, including further detail about program or service eligibility and program or service prioritization2, please visit our website or download the Prevention Services Clearinghouse Handbook of Standards and Procedures.

Submission Instructions

Send submissions to PreventionServices@abtassoc.com. All submitters will receive acknowledgment of their submission's receipt, but the Prevention Services Clearinghouse will not inform individual submitters of the outcome of their submissions.

The deadline for submissions is November 22, 2022.

The following information is requested in a cover letter or email:

  • Name of program or service: Some programs or services have changed names or are known by multiple names. Please list all known names for the program or service and if applicable, specify the version or adaptation recommended for review.
  • If available, also include contact information for the program developer which may include the official program website, the organizational email address and contact phone number.
  • Program or service area(s) addressed: Specify: [1] mental health prevention and treatment programs or services, [2] substance abuse prevention and treatment programs or services, [3] in-home parent skill-based programs or services, and/or [4] kinship navigator programs.
  • Citation(s) for available book/manual/writings: Programs and services reviewed by the Clearinghouse must be clearly defined and replicable. Programs and services must have available written protocols, manuals, or other documentation that describe how to implement or administer the practice. Please provide a citation with the title, author, date, and publisher for such materials.
    • If the manual is available to the public (for free or for purchase), please provide a link to the website where individuals may download, request, or purchase the manual. The purpose of this request is to ensure that Clearinghouse staff understand the program as it is designed to be delivered. We will not make these materials public or re-distribute them.
    • Note: The Prevention Services Clearinghouse prioritizes programs or services that are in active use. This means that they must be currently available or delivered with a book, manual, or other documentation available in English. Programs and services that are no longer actively used, are defunct or discontinued, or are otherwise not currently practiced or delivered would not meet this criterion.
  • How the recommended program or service is relevant to advancing equity and supporting underserved communities (if applicable). Specify how the recommendation supports the goals and requirements of the Executive Order on Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities. For example, specify whether review of the recommended program or service is of particular interest due to the specific population it serves. This may include programs and services that are designed for or have been adapted for specific cultural, ethnic, or racial groups; programs that have been tested with special populations even if they weren’t culturally tailored or designed for them; or programs that aim to serve other populations that have been historically marginalized and/or have historic or ongoing disproportionate representation in the child welfare system.

Submissions may also include electronic version(s) of eligible studies: The Prevention Services Clearinghouse conducts a comprehensive literature search for each program or service prioritized for review, but welcomes the submission of study reports, articles, or other supporting documentation.

To be eligible for review, studies must:

  • Be published or prepared in or after 1990;
  • Be publicly available;
  • Be available in English;
  • Use a randomized or quasi-experimental group design with at least one intervention condition and at least one comparison condition; and
  • Measure and report program or service impacts on at least one eligible target outcome (i.e., for all program or service areas: child safety, child permanency, child well-being, adult well-being. For kinship navigator programs only: access to services, referral to services, and satisfaction)

For more information about the Prevention Services Clearinghouse study eligibility criteria3, visit our website or download the Prevention Services Clearinghouse Handbook of Standards and Procedures.

What happens after you recommend a program?

  • Recommendations are logged and information about the program or service area(s), nominator organization, and other details are recorded by Clearinghouse staff.
  • Submitters receive acknowledgment of their submission's receipt, but the Prevention Services Clearinghouse will not inform individual submitters of the outcome of their submissions.
  • Clearinghouse staff then assess the eligibility of each program and record additional information about variants, current priorities, and the available evidence base. This eligibility information, along with recommendations and priorities from federal partners, is then used to prioritize programs for review. Our goal has been, and remains, to review and rate as many services and programs as quickly as possible and within available resources, to support states’ efforts to improve outcomes for children and families through implementation of the Family First Prevention Services Act.

1 For a list of programs and services that have been reviewed by the Prevention Services Clearinghouse, click here   
2 https://preventionservices.acf.hhs.gov/review-process/spps   
3 https://preventionservices.acf.hhs.gov/review-process/sesp