RCCP receives Duke Foundation funds to study CARE Model

November 22, 2013

The Duke Endowment of Charlotte, NC has granted a sixth-year funding allocation to the Residential Child Care Project (RCCP) through to January 31, 2015. The funding allows the RCCP to gather and analyze longer-term data in their quasi-experimental field study of the Children and Residential Experiences (CARE) Model in North Carolina. The results of the study will be submitted to the California Evidence-based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare for consideration as a Promising Practice.

The CARE model is a research-informed, principle-based, multi-component program designed to build the capacity of residential care and treatment organizations to serve the best interests of the children. The research-informed CARE principles support a theory of change (TOC) which outlines the causal pathways by which CARE is expected to improve socio-emotional and developmental outcomes for children (Holden, 2009; Holden, Izzo, Nunno, Smith, Endres, Holden, & Kuhn, 2010). This TOC lays the foundation for quality therapeutic residential care and provides a working model to guide agency planning and evaluation. The principles are applied throughout the organization to inform adult-to-adult interactions and adult-to-child interactions, guide data-informed decision-making, and set priorities for serving the best interests of the children. By incorporating the principles throughout all levels of the organization and into daily practice, an organizational culture is developed to help sustain the implementation of the principles.