This document was printed from the website of the California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare (CEBC), which you can access at http://www.cebc4cw.org/
This document was printed from the website of the California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare (CEBC), which you can access at http://www.cebc4cw.org/
Note: Comprehensive Assessment Tool (CAT) was not responsive to the CEBC's request for information about their program. The following information was obtained from publicly available sources (websites, articles, etc.).
Scientific Rating:
NR
Not able to be Rated
See scale of 1-5
Relevance to Child Welfare Rating:
NR
Not able to be Rated
See scale of 1-3
Brief Description:
The Comprehensive Assessment Tool (CAT) has been reviewed in the area of Casework Practice, but lacks the necessary research evidence to be given either a Scientific Rating or a Child Welfare Relevance Rating. The Comprehensive Assessment Tool (CAT) is an assessment system consisting of tools for supporting risk management by child welfare caseworkers. The assessment tools cover response determination, initial safety and referral, placement, continuing services and case closure. Users can upload completed forms to a secure website. The developer provides analysis of the measures and reports to aid caseworkers in making decisions and also offers training and technical assistance. The CAT is designed to be implemented on a countywide basis.
Manual and Training section:
The publicly available information indicates that there is some training available for Comprehensive Assessment Tool (CAT), please contact Jonathan Wilwerding, Research Associate, at Sphere Institute via phone (650-558-3980).
Relevant Published, Peer-Reviewed Research:
Comprehensive Assessment Tool (CAT) has been reviewed and it was determined that this program lacks the type of published, peer-reviewed research that meets the CEBC criteria for scientific rating of 1 - 5. Therefore, the program has been given the classification of "NR - Not able to be Rated." It was reviewed because it was identified by the topic expert as a program being used in the field, or it is being marketed and/or used in California with children receiving services from child welfare or related systems and their parents/caregivers. Some programs that are not rated may have published, peer-reviewed research that does not meet the above stated criteria or may have eligible studies that have not yet been published in the peer-reviewed literature. For more information on the "NR - Not able to be Rated" classification, please see the Scientific Rating Scale.
There are currently no published, peer-reviewed research studies for Comprehensive Assessment Tool (CAT).
References:
Bagdasarian, S., Furman, W., & Franke, T. (2008). Implementing California's Differential Response model in small counties. Protecting Children, 23(1/2), 40-56.
Contact Information
Name: Jonathan Wilwerding
Affiliation/Agency: Sphere Institute
Phone: 650-558-3980
E-mail: jwilwerding@sphereinstitute.org
Website: www.sphereinstitute.org/cat.html
Date review compiled: June 2009