The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE) is soliciting applications for Prevention Services Evaluation Partnerships.
Donor Name: Administration for Children and Families
State: All States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 07/11/2023
Size of the Grant: $1,500,000
Grant Duration: 36 months
Details:
The grants aim to support summative (i.e., impact) randomized control trial or quasi experimental evaluations of a mental health, substance abuse prevention and/or treatment, in home parent skill-based, or kinship navigator program or service. The grants will support collaborations among evaluators and partnering Title IV-E agencies, community entities, and/or researchers that have experience in working with foster children or children in kinship care arrangements to conduct well-designed and rigorous summative evaluations of programs and services intended to provide enhanced support to children and families, including pregnant and parenting youth in foster care, as well as prevent child abuse and neglect and foster care placements.
Goals and Expectations
- Each grant recipient will conduct a summative (i.e., impact) randomized control trial or quasi-experimental evaluation of a mental health, substance abuse prevention and/or treatment, in-home parent skill-based, or kinship navigator program or service that is intended to provide enhanced support to children and families, as well as prevent child abuse and neglect and foster care placements.
- Grant recipients will partner and actively engage with at least one Title IV-E agency and/or community entity and other relevant individuals and groups in the research process as appropriate to the goals of each phase of the project’s life cycle (e.g., development of research questions, measurement choices, contextualization of findings, and external communication priorities). If the program or service being evaluated is designed or adapted for specific cultural, ethnic, or racial groups, or if it aims to serve populations that have been historically marginalized and/or have historic or ongoing disproportionate representation in the child welfare system, individuals from those groups must be actively engaged in the project.
- Grant recipients will collaborate with one another and with federal staff during monthly virtual meetings and four full-day meetings (planned for in-person).
- Grant recipients will disseminate their research in an effort to build the evidence for programs and services intended to provide enhanced support to children and families and to prevent child abuse and neglect and foster care placements. Contributions to this body of evidence may include addressing key gaps in knowledge, improving on existing methodological approaches to evaluating prevention services programs, and contributing to the available evidence that can be systematically reviewed by the Clearinghouse.
Programs and services to be evaluated must be eligible for review by the Clearinghouse. As described in the current version of the Handbook, to be eligible for review, a program/service must:
- Fall into at least one of the four eligible program or service areas: mental health prevention and treatment programs or services, substance abuse prevention and treatment programs or services, in-home parent skill-based programs or services, and kinship navigator programs; and
- Be clearly defined and replicable. To meet this criterion, programs and services must have available written protocols, manuals, or other documentation that describes how to implement or administer the practice. Protocols, manuals, and other documentation must be available to the public to download, request, and purchase.
Project Requirements
Grant recipients must work with their Title IV-E agency, community, and/or research partners to plan and conduct well-designed and rigorous summative (i.e., impact) evaluations of programs and services intended to provide enhanced support to children and families as well as prevent child abuse and neglect and foster care placements.
Funding Information
- Estimated Total Funding: $8,900,000
- Award Ceiling: $1,500,000
- Award Floor: $250,000
Project Period
Project period will be 36 months with one budget period of 36 months.
Eligible Applicants
- Independent school districts
- Public and State controlled institutions of higher education
- Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities
- Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
- Private institutions of higher education
- Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments)
- County governments
- For profit organizations other than small businesses
- City or township governments
- State governments
- Small businesses
- Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)
- Special district governments
Additional Information on Eligibility
The eligibility for this opportunity is not restricted except as noted in this section. Applications from individuals (including sole proprietorships) and foreign entities are not eligible and will be disqualified from competitive review and funding under this funding opportunity. Faith-based and community organizations that meet the eligibility requirements are eligible to receive awards under this funding opportunity. Faith-based organizations may apply for this award on the same basis as any other organization, as set forth at and, subject to the protections and requirements, ACF will not, in the selection of recipients, discriminate against an organization on the basis of the organization’s religious character, affiliation, or exercise.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.