NCJ Number
253092
Date Published
November 2018
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This is a report on the activities of a researcher-practitioner partnership that is focusing on improving policies and practices in responding to and preventing child victimization in New Jersey, while developing general knowledge that can improve services for child victims.
Abstract
Wynona's House (the practitioner) promotes justice and healing for child victims of abuse and violence by providing a trauma-informed, safe, child-friendly environment for child abuse investigations and treatment; supporting a multi-disciplinary process of working with child abuse victims; and engaging in strategic public and private community partnerships to develop and improve services that respond to and prevent child abuse. Cross Associates (the researcher) specializes in victimization research, program evaluation, and organizational development. Its mission is to provide cost-effective research and evaluation expertise to social programs. When the partnership between Wynona's House and Cross Associates began, Wynona's House had begun efforts to identify and purchase a customizable case-management software system out of which they could develop outcome reports. The leadership of both organizations envisioned a partnership that would be sustainable beyond the grant period in building Wynona's House's capacity for making more effective use of data, in identifying and disseminating best practices, and testing innovative interventions and research. The project would also provide Cross Associates with the opportunity to learn about the policies, practices, and unique challenges of responding to and preventing child victimization in New Jersey, as well as an opportunity to establish a partnership for developing knowledge that could improve services generally for child victims. Specific goals and activities of the partnership are described in this report. A separate section of the report focuses on the development and improvement of data sources for future program evaluation and research under the partnership.