Contributors to Fidelity of Child Welfare-Related Interventions: A Review

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis structured literature review of 15 studies explores how practitioner and organizational factors relate to fidelity of specific interventions that have been implemented with children, youth, parents, and/or families served by child welfare systems. The methods used in this review align with the PRISMA methodology for search strategy, data collection and management, and synthesis. The majority of studies measured fidelity at the practitioner level, with a smaller set focused on agency or community levels. Findings across studies were inconsistent regarding the relationship between nine practitioner factors and fidelity. However, at the organizational level, higher fidelity was related to supervisory practices and use of continuous quality improvement methods across multiple studies. Further development is needed to more clearly operationalize child welfare interventions and to test alternative methods for measuring fidelity in child welfare systems.