Guide to Selecting an Evidence-Based Intervention

This guide, created by the Child & Family Research Institute and the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, is intended to assist agencies and communities in developing community-wide interventions and selecting an evidence-based intervention that best meet community needs and circumstances.

After completing a needs assessment, the next step is to design a community-based child maltreatment prevention strategy, based on the identified community needs and resources. This document provides guidance to administrators and program directors charged with choosing evidence-based practices or programs (EBPs) that meet the needs of their target population and community. While this guide focuses on the process of selecting an EBP, it is important to note that no single EBP can have a broad impact on preventing child maltreatment on its own. Instead, EBPs act as components within a larger community-wide strategy. Thus, before undertaking the task of selecting specific EBPs, you should make sure you have developed a holistic and comprehensive community strategy to address the root causes of child maltreatment in your community, as identified by a needs assessment.

This guide provides information, tools and other resources to help you select EBPs to include in a
community prevention strategy.

Guide to Selecting an Evidence-Based Intervention