ABSTRACT
David Ford, a longtime scholar in the field of domestic violence, is fond of saying: "Research is to policymakers and practitioners what a lamppost is for a drunk to be used more for support than illumination". Research neither guided nor illuminated federal policy and funding for family preservation programs. By January 2000, time was running out for the state of Hawaii and its departments of education and health. MST's (Multisystemic Therapy) web page summarizes its history and applications: MST was developed in the late 1970s to address several limitations of existing mental health services for serious juvenile offenders. Hawaii's Child and Adolescent Mental Health Division had firsthand knowledge of MST and an understanding of both the theory and the evidence supporting the program. Another evaluation of MST, this one conducted by a team of researchers in Canada, offers a valuable cautionary lesson about research "evidence" and the application of research to social programs and policy.
