Quality improvement centers were created by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Children's Bureau beginning in 2001 to promote knowledge development through an innovative approach to applied collaborative research in child welfare. The National Quality Improvement Center on the Privatization of Child Welfare Services was funded to assess the current status of privatization, conduct a knowledge gaps analysis, fund and conduct cross-site evaluation of research and demonstration projects, promote the expansion of the evidence base, and facilitate ongoing dialogue among child welfare administrators, policy makers, researchers, and practitioners regarding public/private partnership in-service provision. The article discusses the impetus and empirical foundation for the creation of the center, provides an overview of the purpose and approach being taken, and describes its knowledge development initiatives. Additionally, a brief contextual history of child welfare privatization is provided, along with key content findings from the recently completed needs assessment.
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