Implementing Evidence-Based Child Welfare: The New York City Experience

In 2011, the New York City Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) started on a bold new course of introducing 11 evidence-based and evidence-informed practice models into its continuum of preventive services. In partnership with Casey Family Programs, the National Implementation Research Network, provided implementation support for the evidence-based models. By 2015, almost 5,000 families were being served annually through an evidence-based model. Preliminary results indicate that preventive evidence-based models are having a positive impact, including increased collaboration among providers serving high-risk families, and a decrease in the number of indicated investigations for families receiving high-risk family services. This report chronicles ACS’s experience of implementing evidence-based models. It includes a detailed description of how implementation science and the Active Implementation Frameworks were used to support and sustain the evidence-based models.