Wyden, Crapo, LaHood, Davis Call on HHS to Guarantee Timely and Transparent Approval for Evidence-Based Services that Help Prevent Foster Care Placements

Press Release

"Congress did not intend for the Clearinghouse to be an academic review process. Instead, Congress envisioned an entity that proactively reviewed the latest research and provided a wide variety of evidence-based intervention options that ensure states can invest in programs that are proven to support children and families, and best fit local needs. Despite this, a relatively small number of interventions have been reviewed, an even smaller number have been given a "supported" or "well-supported" designation, and outside stakeholders have reported that the process has been slow and opaque. Although the final decision on which interventions qualify for federal funding should be made by the Clearinghouse, we encourage [the Administration for Children and Families] to consider how the federal review process could be expedited for interventions that have received rigorous review by non-Federal clearinghouses. We also urge the Clearinghouse to proactively review interventions, similar to the HHS Home Visiting Evidence of Effectiveness ("HomVEE') clearinghouse.

We have received feedback that the Clearinghouse frequently makes decisions without giving study authors and developers the opportunity to gather relevant information in the decision-making process. In some cases, interventions have been rejected by the Clearinghouse because of the way the results were calculated, not because the results themselves failed to provide evidence of effectiveness."

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