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A Midwestern state's child welfare agency contracted with a university to evaluate a 5-year Title IV-E Waiver Demonstration Project. As part of the process study, evaluators employed case study analysis to investigate Waiver knowledge and effects as reported by Regional and Executive Managers across 4 years of the demonstration period. Data from 78 interviews reveal enhanced levels of manager-evaluator rapport and integrated Waiver knowledge across years of data collection. This study highlights the value of middle managers as rich data sources, studying process through qualitative methods in child welfare evaluation, and how consistent relationships can support partnerships over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concrete services are goods and services, such as rent, utilities, healthcare, or other tangible services, that are purchased directly by child welfare agencies to help support the short-term needs of a family. Practice wisdom in social work details the importance of meeting basic needs in order for clients to be able to concentrate on completing the case plan. Some literature has mentioned the importance of concrete services for child welfare practice. However, research has been limited about utilization of these services and their impact on child welfare outcomes. The current mixed methods study examines expenditures for concrete services across four categories over a four-year period in one Midwestern state. The justifications for caseworker concrete service requests and the perceptions of regional and executive managers regarding the effectiveness of the use of concrete services are also examined. Descriptive analysis revealed distributions varied by age and concrete service type. Both caseworker justifications and regional manager interviews revealed the same general themes for children: support of child safety, permanency, and well-being are supported with the use of concrete services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]