Child Welfare System Relevance Levels

The Child Welfare System Relevance Level is determined by examining the goals of the program, target population for which the program was developed, and any research that has been conducted for the program to determine its relevance to children and families served by the child welfare system. In some cases, information is obtained from the developer to determine the relevance level.

Please note that the relevance level is not a rating and it should not be used to exclude programs from consideration. Programs that are determined to have a level of medium or low may still be very useful to child welfare populations.

High

The program was designed, or is commonly used, to meet the needs of children, youth, young adults, and/or families receiving child welfare services.

Medium

The program was designed, or is commonly used, to serve children, youth, young adults, and/or families who are similar to child welfare populations (i.e., in history, demographics, or presenting problems) and likely include current and former child welfare services recipients.

Low

The program was designed, or is commonly used, to serve children, youth, young adults, and/or families with little or no apparent similarity to the child welfare services population.

To see a search of programs by Child Welfare System Relevance, click here.

Programs, if rated on the Scientific Rating Scale, are also examined to see which child welfare outcome(s) (e.g., safety, permanency, or child and family well-being) are addressed in the research evidence for that program. Please click here for further information on these outcomes.

Page last updated on 11/11/2022.