About the Department
The Research and Evaluation Department is actively engaged in program evaluation and other research activities with all Casey Family Services programs. Recent research efforts have studied:

• Outcomes for alumni of long-term foster care program and the cost of providing aftercare services to these young adults,
• Pathways into and through treatment foster care,
• The effectiveness of family reunification and family preservation programs, and
• Families seeking post-adoption services and their service needs.

Completed Studies and Their Findings

• Probate Court Study Spurs Reform
  Just one month after Casey Family Services' study of the Connecticut Probate Court System was released, a pilot regional children's probate court was created to address some of the shortcomings it identified. The 73-page report, A Study of Connecticut's Probate Courts and the Management of Children's Matters Involving Custody and Guardianship, reviewed the operation of the State's Probate Courts from the point of view of various shareholders and studied Probate Courts outside Connecticut for ideas about how the needs of children could be better met.

  "This really brings together all of our strengths," says Casey Family Services Executive Director Raymond Torres. "Through our direct work with families, we knew the courts could do better for children. Through our research department, we were able to conduct a comprehensive study of the system with concrete recommendations for making it work better. Through our continuing work with policy makers and families, we will be able to make sure the outcomes do, in fact, improve the way the Court deals with children and families."
  Download a copy

  
  
• The Foster Care Alumni Follow-up Study (pdf)
  
  
• The Post-Adoptive Services Study
  
  
• Treatment Foster Care Study (pdf)
  
  
• West Haven Probate Court Project: A Collaborative Endeavor (pdf)
  
  
• What is Trauma?
  An article from Casey Family Services research Department about how to recognize and treat trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder.
  What is Trauma? (pdf)
  
  

Research and Evaluation Projects

• The Casey Family Resource Centers Initiative (pdf)
• Concept Mapping (pdf)
• Computer Technology Education Project
• Continuous Quality Improvement
• Family Resource Center Implementation Evaluation
• Family Reunification Evaluation Project
• Foster Parent Recruitment and Retention Study
• Levels of Care Project
• Overcoming the Challenges to Consumer Surveys: A CQI Success Story
• Preliminary Findings of the Implementation Evaluation of Reunification Program
• Probate Court Project
• What is an Impact Evaluation?
• What is ADHD?
• What is a Clinical Model?
• What is Evidence-Based Practice?
• What is Prevention?
• What is Results Orientation?
• What is the Child and Family Service Review?

Presentations, Publications and Related Activities