ABSTRACT
Delivering interventions that are evidence-informed or evidence-based has become synonymous with quality care or effective services and is increasingly being demanded as a standard by policymakers, funders and service systems. Not meeting criteria for ‘evidence’ can mean a loss of contract or funding. In the field of residential programs and practices, few program models and interventions have a sufficiently developed empirical base to warrant the label ‘evidence-based,’ yet many residential programs claim to be delivering evidence-informed or evidence-based services. This chapter was included to provide an overview of evidence-informed and promising residential programs and practices for youth and families. However, a simple presentation of programs and practices that may be evidence-informed is not possible because evidence-informed care implies a flexible and context-specific definition of evidence that draws on a range of sources, both tacit and formal. The chapter approaches its stated task by first providing an overview of what is known about residential intervention outcomes. It further discusses relevant distinctions between evidence-based, evidence-informed, research-based, promising, etc. practice and their implications for a current understanding of evidence for residential programs. Finally, two core principles of the Building Bridges Initiative—family-driven care and youth-guided care—are critically appraised through an evidence-informed lens.
