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Building Research Capacity in Residential Treatment Centers: An Approach for Empirical Studies

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Abstract

Residential treatment centers (RTCs) for children in the United States face growing pressures to engage in research and to conduct scientifically rigorous studies demonstrating treatment effectiveness and outcomes. At the same time, the existing research suggests that evidence regarding the effectiveness of residential treatment is limited and, more specifically, offers few illustrations of RTCs engaged in rigorous scientific research. This article reviews the benefits and challenges of conducting agency-based research and offers an approach to building institutional capacity for conducting research within RTCs.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social Work, North Carolina Child Welfare Education Collaborative, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 9201 University City Blvd., Charlotte, NC, 28223-0001, USA

    A. Suzanne Boyd

  2. California State University, Dominguez Hills, Carson, CA, USA

    Susan D. Einbinder

  3. Pressley Ridge, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Mary Elizabeth Rauktis

  4. University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC, USA

    Sharon G. Portwood

Authors
  1. A. Suzanne Boyd
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  2. Susan D. Einbinder
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  3. Mary Elizabeth Rauktis
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  4. Sharon G. Portwood
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Correspondence to A. Suzanne Boyd.

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Boyd, A.S., Einbinder, S.D., Rauktis, M.E. et al. Building Research Capacity in Residential Treatment Centers: An Approach for Empirical Studies. Child Youth Care Forum 36, 43–58 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-006-9030-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-006-9030-y

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