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In many states, emergency shelter care facilities are the main point of entry into the child welfare system. Despite this important "gatekeeping" role, emergency or crisis shelters serving abused and neglected children have been overlooked as research settings, and little has been written about them in the child welfare literature. This article describes the evolution, design, and implementation of the Christmas Box House, a new model for shelter care in the State of Utah. Emphasis is placed on the public-private partnerships that not only spurred the development of the Christmas Box House model, but will now be critical to the success of planned research efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]