In their paper Issues in Differential Response (DR), Hughes, Rycus et. al. analyzed 57 studies of DR – known in Minnesota as “Family Assessment” (FA) – written between 1993 and 2010. They noted that the few evaluations showing positive outcomes were mostly written by the same consultants and paid for by the creator and promoter of Differential Response, Casey Family Programs.
These favorable studies claimed that DR kept children safe while engaging parents more effectively than traditional approaches. Hughes and Rycus concluded that the evaluation authors manipulated data to obtain these findings, and that most other studies had opposite results. Piper et. al. analyzed an additional 50 studies in 2019 and reached similar conclusions.
The concerns raised about DR/FA in the child welfare literature are substantial. Its proponents should acknowledge that and address these findings more fully than they have to date.
Hear this blog post, as well as our in-depth commentary, in this week’s podcast.
[…] Passage for Children of Minnesota has delivered hard news on what appear to be terrible practices guiding child protection in our community. This comes at a […]