Housing Services in Child Welfare

This study tests an experiment in the child welfare system to understand the costs and cost effectiveness of an intervention for inadequately housed families under investigation for child maltreatment. Primary and administrative data are used to generate actual service costs across social service systems, while using systems science to model and simulate integration of housing services within the child welfare system.

This project is supported by the Administration for Children and Families – Children’s Bureau through project award 90CA1815 (PI: Fowler) and an award from the National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (R01-HD067540; PI: Fowler). The content does not necessarily represent the official view of NICHD.

Project Goals

• Develop costs and cost effectiveness estimates of the Family Unification Program to inform policy 
• Use simulations to experiment with possible policy and program interventions
• Engage decision-makers into a process of planning cross-agency coordination to address housing