To provide objective analyses about the effects of prevention and treatment programs on
child welfare outcomes, RAND researchers built a quantitative model that simulated how
children enter and flow through the nation's child welfare system. They then used the model
to project how different policy options (preventive services, family preservation treatment
efforts, kinship care treatment efforts, and a policy package that combined preventive
services and kinship care) would affect a child's pathway through the system, costs, and …

To analyze the effects of prevention and treatment programs on child welfare outcomes,
RAND researchers built a quantitative model simulating how children enter and flow through
the nations child welfare system. They then projected how different policy options
(prevention services, family preservation efforts, and kinship care efforts) would affect a
childs pathway through the system, costs, and early adulthood outcomes.