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Practice to Research and Back in a Social Service Agency: Trying to DO BETTER

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Abstract

Background

There is a growing emphasis of evidence-based program requirements being integrated into social welfare policies for youth care services in the U.S. This trend highlights the need for increased practitioner understanding and involvement in the research process to develop and implement evidence-based programs for youth with emotional and behavioral disorders who receive residential services.

Objective

The purpose of this review was to provide residential care practitioners and researchers with an understanding of a transdisciplinary translational research approach for social service agencies and the research activities that can be included.

Method

A review of the literature from a collaborative project between a social service agency and university that resulted in the development and testing of an aftercare intervention for youth departing residential programs was used to explain the framework.

Result

The DO BETTER framework outlines a process that (1) focuses on input from practitioners and consumers to help determine problems that impact youth and families, (2) involves research and practitioner partnerships to conduct a variety of research activities to create solutions and (3) provides results that are useful for practitioners. The research activities of the project illustrate the iterative processes of practice to research and back to practice that included youth, caregivers, practitioners, researchers, and experts from other disciplines.

Conclusion

The framework is provided to help researchers plan for collaborative research with social service agencies, and to help non-researchers in agencies become more familiar with research activities to increase their involvement in program design, testing, implementation and sustainability.

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Funding

This research was supported by Grants Numbers R324B070034 and R324A120260 from the U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. The statements in this manuscript do not necessarily represent the views of the U. S. Department of Education; Institute of Education Sciences; [R324B070034; R324A120260].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Child and Family Translational Research Center, 378 Bucher Dr., Boys Town, NE, 68010, USA

    Patrick M. Tyler

  2. Department of Preventive Medicine, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, 66 N. Pauline St., Suite 637, Memphis, TN, USA

    W. Alex Mason

  3. Boys Town Youth Care Programs, 13603 Flanagan Blvd, Boys Town, NE, USA

    Barb Vollmer

  4. Academy for Child and Family Well-Being, Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders, University of Nebraska at Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA

    Alexandra L. Trout

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  2. W. Alex Mason
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Correspondence to Patrick M. Tyler.

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Tyler, P.M., Mason, W.A., Vollmer, B. et al. Practice to Research and Back in a Social Service Agency: Trying to DO BETTER. Child Youth Care Forum 50, 149–165 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-020-09548-3

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