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The Cultural Exchange Inventory (CEI) is a 15-item instrument designed to measure the process (7 items) and outcomes (8 items) of exchanges of knowledge, attitudes and practices between members of different organisations collaborating in implementing evidence-based practice. We conducted principal axis factor analyses and parallel analyses of data describing exchanges with intermediary organisations, treatment developers, other agencies in the same county, and agencies in other counties of 105 leaders of county youth-serving systems in California and Ohio participating in a randomised controlled trial of the effectiveness of community development teams in scaling up the use of an evidence-based practice for treatment of youth in foster care. The CEI scale demonstrates strong internal consistency and convergent and discriminant validity, and shows potential in understanding the role of cultural exchanges in evidence-based practice implementation.

Objectives: This article describes the Standard Interview for Evidence Use (SIEU), a measure to assess the level of engagement in acquiring, evaluating, and applying research evidence in health and social service settings. Method: Three scales measuring input, process, and output of research evidence and eight subscales were identified using principal axis factor analysis and parallel analysis of data collected from 202 state and county child welfare, mental health, and juvenile justice systems leaders. Results: The SIEU scales and subscales demonstrate strong internal consistency as well as convergent and discriminant validity. Conclusions: The SIEU is easy to use and can be administered as a complete scale or as three smaller scales to separately examine evidence in acquisition, evaluation, or application. The measure demonstrates potential in understanding the role of research evidence in service settings and in monitoring the process of evidence-based practice and application of scientific principles in social work practice.

This study explored perceptions of community informants on socioenvironmental factors that explain why rates of child maltreatment reporting are different in neighborhoods with similar population characteristics. This study used data from the SoCal Neighborhoods and Child Welfare study, a multiphase, mixed-methods study of neighborhoods in Los Angeles and San Diego counties. Semistructured qualitative interviews with key informants ( N = 28) in 22 census tracts explored factors that account for differences in maltreatment rates among sociodemographically similar neighborhoods. Thematic content analysis revealed three themes regarding neighborhood contributors to maltreatment behaviors and reporting: (a) community norms and values, (b) community resources and providers, and (c) housing dynamics and built environment. Findings indicate complexity in forces that affect maltreatment behavior and reporting. Adding to research on neighborhood social dynamics and child maltreatment, findings suggest that composite indicators of maltreatment within neighborhoods are affected by maltreatment behaviors and the definition, recognition, and reporting of maltreatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We followed Latino infants prospectively through age 1 to determine whether maternal foreign-born status conferred a protective advantage against reported and substantiated maltreatment across Hispanic-origin groups, and whether the likelihood an infant was reported or substantiated for maltreatment varied by Hispanic origin. We drew data for all Latino infants born in California between 2000 and 2006 (N = 1,909,155) from population-based birth records linked to child protective services data. We used χ tests to assess distributional differences in covariates and utilized generalized linear models to estimate the adjusted relative risk of report and substantiation in models stratified by nativity. We observed significant health advantages in reported and substantiated maltreatment for infants of foreign-born mothers within every Hispanic-origin group. Risks of report and substantiation among infants of Mexican and Central/South American mothers were consistently lower than Puerto Rican and Cuban mothers despite socioeconomic disadvantage. The presence of disparities among Hispanic-origin groups in child maltreatment report and substantiation during infancy has implications for the health of Latinos across the life course. Further research is warranted to unravel the complex processes underlying observed relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- The purpose of this paper is to examine the experiences of Latino clients following a naturalistic cultural adaptation made to SafeCare, an evidence-based home visiting intervention designed to address specific linguistic and cultural issues affecting the Latino community during implementation in San Diego County, California. Design/methodology/approach -- Hierarchical linear models examined whether Latino clients experienced differences in perceptions of SafeCare delivery, working relationship with the home visitor and satisfaction with services when compared with non-Latino clients and whether language of service delivery and provider-client ethnic match were related to Latino clients' experiences of the intervention. Findings -- Overall, across several different dimensions, there was no decrement in experience with SafeCare for Latino clients compared to non-Latino ones, implying that adaptations made locally adequately engaged Latino and Spanish-speaking clients in services without compromising perceived adherence to the programme model. Research limitations/implications -- Because this was a non-experimental study, conclusions could not be drawn as to whether the locally adapted SafeCare would fare better in Latino client ratings than SafeCare unadapted. However, the findings are important because they contradict concerns that EBPs may not be relevant to diverse client groups, and support the idea that when adaptations are made, it is possible to maintain adherence at the same level of adherence as when the programme is delivered in its non-adapted form. Originality/value -- The study explicitly documents and generates knowledge around an organic adaptation made in a community to an evidence-based intervention for a client group about whom there has been documented concern regarding the relevance of and engagement in services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the use of research evidence (URE) in decisions to adopt evidence-based practices (EBPs) by 151 leaders of youthserving systems in California and Ohio. With some exceptions, demographic characteristics were not associated with URE, but leaders of child welfare agencies were more likely than leaders of other systems to ignore the research. Leaders consider other forms of evidence, including resources necessary and available to support EBPs, demand for research evidence, and personal experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research identifying racial and ethnic disparities in child protective services (CPS) involvement in the U.S. has focused on the overrepresentation of Black children and the growing Latino child population. Little attention has been paid to children of Asian origin, the most underrepresented group of children in the U.S. CPS system. The objective of this analysis was to examine subgroup patterns of CPS involvement in California for Asian and Pacific Islander (API) children prospectively based on maternal nativity and ethnic origin. We extracted data for API children born in California in 2006 and 2007 (N=138,858) from population-based birth records and linked those records to CPS records spanning the first 5 years of life (through 2012). We assessed distributional differences in risk indicators for the full birth cohort of API children and calculated a summary risk variable representing the cumulative number of risks present at birth. Generalized linear models were used to estimate API children's adjusted relative risk of CPS report by subgroup. Overall, 12.2% of children born in California in the 2006-2007 birth cohort were API. The majority of API children had foreign-born mothers (80.9%). Children of U.S.-born Hawaiian, Guamanian, or Samoan mothers had the highest rate, with 20.4% being reported to CPS by their 5th birthday. The lowest rates of child abuse and neglect reporting were observed among children of foreign-born Asian Indian (2.5%), Korean (2.7%), and Chinese (2.8%) mothers, compared to 5.4% of all Asian and Pacific Islander children, and 14.8% of children in general population. Findings underscore the presence of disparities in CPS involvement among API children, which has implications for health and well-being across the life course and for targeted maltreatment prevention strategies., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)