External Research Request Process A Guide for Researchers Updated

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External Research Request ProcessA Guide for
ResearchersUpdated

• Research and Evaluation Section
• Business Information Systems Division
• Department of Children and Family Services
• County of Los Angeles
• July 6, 2009

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This presentation summarizes DCFS Research and
Evaluation Section policies, processes, and
procedures for external research requests.
Details are documented and available for review.
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DCFS Research and Evaluation Section

• Expand the capabilities of DCFS to plan and
  conduct original research projects and program
  evaluations.
• Support a continuing infusion of evidence-based
  practices into DCFS.
• Manage the DCFS external and internal research
  request processes.

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Our Staff

• Christopher Jarosz, Ph.D., has graduate training
  in psychology, physiology, and computer science.
  He has planned and conducted behavioral,
  community health, and organizational research.
  Chris teaches college courses in the life
  sciences previously he taught courses in
  psychology.
• Ming H. Lee, M.P.H., has training in biology and
  graduate training in public health and
  biostatistics. Ming has planned and conducted
  studies in perinatal health indicators and their
  influences on birth outcomes.
• Tran Ly, Ph.D., has graduate training in
  psychology, education, and child development.
  She has planned and conducted studies involving
  families of children with various disabilities.
  Tran taught college courses in educational and
  abnormal psychology, and child and adolescent
  development.

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DCFS External Research Mission

• Invite and facilitate research relevant to the
  field of child welfare, and of potential benefit
  to DCFSs children and families and County and
  DCFS long-term goals.
• Identify and solicit research on subjects of
  interest to DCFS that lead to better
  understanding of the children and families we
  serve and new or improved policies in reaching
  desired outcomes.
• Disseminate research in the field of child abuse
  and neglect including external and internal
  research on the children and families we serve.

The Research and Evaluation Section will post the
top DCFS research needs on its website to help
guide researchers on potential areas of inquiry.
We will fast-track related research and CWS/CMS
data requests when it is feasible.
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External Research Requirements

• External research using DCFS data, resources, or
  staff must meet at least one of four requirements

• Be relevant to the field of child welfare.
• Benefit DCFSs children and families by
  developing an improved understanding of the
  factors contributing to the abuse and neglect of
  children.
• Determine the effectiveness of DCFS policies,
  programs, systems, and service delivery models in
  serving abused and neglected children and their
  families.
• Be consistent with long-term goals of the County
  of Los Angeles and DCFS.

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Ethical Principles

• The main policy governing research identified,
  facilitated, or conducted by the DCFS Research
  and Evaluation Section is the protection and
  safety of children by safeguarding
• Confidentiality of private information (Welfare
  and Institutions Code WIC, Section 10850 and
  Chapter 19-004 of the California Department of
  Social Services Policies and Procedures Manual).
• Protection of human subjects (Federal Register,
  Federal Policy for the Protection of Human
  Subjects Notices and Rules, Volume 56, Number
  117, Appendix III).
• The ethical principles established in the Belmont
  Report will guide all research involving human
  subjects
• Respect for personsincludes informed consent
• Beneficencepotential risks and benefits to
  subjects
• Justicefairness in the selection of research
  subjects

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Ethical Principles (continued)

• Requests to conduct research in which potential
  risks exist to minors, clients who were minors at
  the time DCFS provided services, or other
  vulnerable clients will not be approved.

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Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects

• The Committee for the Protection of Human
  Subjects (CPHS) is the Institutional Review Board
  (IRB) for the California Health and Human
  Services Agency (CHHSA).
• CPHS review may be required if the research
  involves personally-identifiable data from
  CWS/CMS and other state systems extending beyond
  Los Angeles County.
• Research involving only data from Los Angeles
  County must be reviewed and approved by the IRB
  at the researchers institution.
• For more information about CPHS and its role, see
  the website at
• http//www.oshpd.state.ca.us/boards/cphs/index.ht
  ml

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External Research Request Process
Involvement BlueDCFS OrangeIRB GreenJuvenile
Court
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Researcher contacts the DCFS Research and
Evaluation Section.
2
Researcher submits a complete research request
package to the Research and Evaluation Section.

• Court approval is required for
• Review of open or closed case files
• Individual CWS/CMS case records
• Interviews of children or families
• Observations or testing of children
• Other types of sensitive information

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Research and Evaluation Section conducts a
review of the research request package.
4
7
Research and Evaluation Section sends a letter
to the Researchers IRB to trigger the review
process.
Researcher submits a petition to the Juvenile
Court.
5
8
Researchers IRB approves the proposed research
the Research and Evaluation Section is notified.
The Juvenile Court issues a court order to the
Researcher and a copy to DCFS if the petition is
approved.
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6
DCFS sends the project approval letter to the
Researcher (interim approval if Juvenile Court
review is required).
DCFS sends the project approval letter to the
Researcher.
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Time Requirements

• Three review processes, each with its own time
  requirements, can occur during the proposal
  review DCFS, IRB, and Juvenile Court.
• The DCFS approval process takes up to 45 calendar
  days once the complete research request package
  is received by the Research and Evaluation
  Section.
• The researcher meets with the Research and
  Evaluation Section to discuss the data
  requirements and establish a proposed delivery
  schedule that can be accommodated within the
  sections workload.
• The IRB review schedule is determined by the
  researchers institu-tion.

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Time Requirements (continued)

• In addition to the Juvenile Courts own review
  requirements, its time frame for the process is
  determined by seeking external comments.
• For the court approval process, pursuant to Local
  Rule 17.2(d), any objections from DCFS or County
  Counsel and other community stakeholders must be
  received by the Juvenile Court within 20 calendar
  days from the date that the Court provided notice
  of the petition.
• The time frame for review comments is 15 calendar
  days when the notice is sent via fax or e-mail.

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Components of the Research Request Package
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Process Detail (maps to the process flow)
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Regardless of past or present relationships with
DCFS and other County of Los Angeles departments
and entities, all prospective researchers are
expected to follow the policies and processes
outlined in this guide.
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1Initial Contact

• Please contact the Research and Evaluation
  Section as soon as possible in your planning
  process.
• We can, for example, help ascertain the quality
  and availability of existing data, and help with
  navigational advice within the DCFS organization.
• We are also available for conducting
  presentations on the research request process to
  institutions.

The Research and Evaluation Sections focus is on
partnership and collaboration in meeting the
needs of external researchers and DCFS.
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DCFS Staff Interviews

• Some studies may involve the interviewing of CSWs
  and other DCFS staff.
• The researcher must contact the DCFS Regional
  Administrator and Union representatives to
  discuss the interview content, schedule, and time
  requirements.
• Workarounds may need to be developed, such as
  group interviews at lunchtime to accommodate
  staff workloads.

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2Research Request Package

• Timelines for DCFS, IRB, and the Juvenile Court
  approvals must be considered when developing the
  research plan and proposed start date.
• Mail the complete research request package to the
  DCFS Research and Evaluation Section (mailing
  address on the last slide).
• We will e-mail or mail a receipt to the
  researcher once the research request package has
  been received and verified for completeness.

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3DCFS Review

• The DCFS bureaus involved in the proposed
  research, with support of the Research and
  Evaluation Section, will determine the
  appropri-ateness of the project.
• We may consult other researchers, subject matter
  experts, and written materials on the soundness
  of the methodology, data integrity, and related
  matters in developing recommendations for DCFS
  management.
• We will consult with other entities such as
  County Counsel when needed, and with data experts
  to confirm the availability and quality of data.

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4 and 5IRB Process

• The Research and Evaluation Section will mail a
  letter to the IRB once DCFS gives its initial
  approval for the project.
• The researchers institution agrees to follow
  Federal regulations through written assurances
  with the U.S. Office of Protection from Research
  Risks (OPRR) of the Department of Health and
  Human Services.
• The researcher will obtain additional IRB
  approval for research projects extending beyond
  the original project time scopere-approvals may
  be audited by DCFS.

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6DCFS Approval

• If Juvenile Court approval is not required
• The Research and Evaluation Section will contact
  the researcher by telephone or e-mail once the
  project is approved.
• The Section will mail a letter of approval to the
  researcher authorizing the project to proceed.
• Once DCFS approval is received the researcher
  will arrange for staff interviews when specified
  in the research designthis process will involve
  contacting the Regional Administrators and Union
  representa- tives.

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Unapproved Research Requests

• Most research requests have been approvedDCFS is
  supportive of external partnerships to foster
  research on the welfare of children.
• Research requests have been be denied when the
  research would violate client or staff
  confidentiality, or when it would require an
  inordinate amount of DCFS staff time that would
  affect normal work duties.
• The DCFS Director has the final DCFS approval
  authority over all research requests involving
  DCFS data, resources, and staff.
• The Juvenile Court may deny a proposed research
  project if it could expose children and family to
  risk or harm.

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7 and 8Court Approval

• Approval of the Juvenile Court is required for
  all research requests involving
• Review of closed or open case files
• Individual CWS/CMS case records
• Interviews of children or families
• Observations or testing of children
• Other sensitive information
• Court approval for these types of requests is
  required for DCFS employees conducting research
  for their education (e.g., thesis or
  dissertation).
• Forms for the court petition are available from
  the Juvenile Court (see the end of this
  presentation for contact information).

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7 and 8Court Approval (continued)

• The researcher submits the petition directly to
  the court, and copies the Research and Evaluation
  Sectionthe researcher will gather the DCFS
  signatures for the court petition.
• The Juvenile Court may request input from the
  Research and Eval-uation Section, other county
  entities, and community stakeholders.
• It is possible that a research petition would be
  approved despite a DCFS objection.
• The Juvenile Court will respond directly to the
  petitioner, and copy the DCFS Research and
  Evaluation Section and community stakeholders.

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9DCFS Approval

• If Juvenile Court review and approval is
  required
• DCFS will send a project approval letter to the
  researcher after a copy of the court order is
  received.
• The researcher agrees to follow the requirements
  of the IRB, DCFS agreement and supplemental
  agreements, and the court order.

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Work Products

• The researcher agrees to send the DCFS Research
  and Evaluation Section copies of the final work
  products including reports and publications for
  the DCFS files.
• We request these final work products be mailed to
  DCFS Research and Evaluation Section within 180
  days of project completion.
• Pursuant to the standard court order, when court
  approval for the research is required, the
  researcher must also send a copy of the final
  products to the Juvenile Court.
• The researcher agrees to conduct a briefing on
  the research findings if requested by DCFS.

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Scope Changes

• Project approval is given only for the scope of
  work defined in the research plan and the IRB
  application.
• Proposed changes to the project scope (such as
  methods, samples, evaluation instruments, and
  time schedule) must be reviewed and approved by
  DCFS and the IRB.
• For research involving a court order, the
  researcher must notify the Juvenile Court once
  the proposed changes are reviewed and accepted.
• The Juvenile Court will determine if the
  researcher needs to submit a new or updated court
  petition.

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Research Request Content
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Research Request Content

• The cover letter introduces the researchers and
  describes how the proposed research will benefit
  the field of child welfare and DCFS.
• The research proposal to DCFS includes the
  components described on a subsequent pageall
  components must be included, and in the sequence
  listed.
• External Research Request formavailable from the
  DCFS Research and Evaluation website.
• General Agreement and Reporting Agreement
  formsavailable from the DCFS Research and
  Evaluation website.

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Research Request Content (continued)

• Copy of IRB application to Involve Human Subjects
  in Research.
• Letters of support and referenceit is the
  researchers responsibility to gather these
  letters.
• Draft copy of the Juvenile Court petition (for
  research requiring court approval).

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Research Proposal

• Research purpose and research hypotheses
• Literature review summary
• Expected end products (article, report, or other
  publications)
• Research plan and methodologies
• Subject population
• Sampling methods and sample sizes
• How confidentiality will be protected
• Assessment of potential benefits
• Assessment of potential risks and how they will
  be minimized
• Tests to be administered (if applicable)
• Questionnaires or interview schedules (if
  applicable)
• Sample of the informed consent form (if
  applicable)
• Schedule of major milestones including for all
  end products
• Curriculum vitae of principal investigators

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Court Contact Information

• Jennifer T. Wolbransky, Esq.
• Office of the Presiding Judge
• Edelman Children's Court
• 201 Centre Plaza Drive, Suite 3
• Monterey Park, California 91754-2158
• Fax [phone]
• E-mail jtwolbransky_at_lasuperiorcourt.org

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DCFS Contact Information

• Christopher J. Jarosz, Ph.D.
• Chief Research Analyst
• Research and Evaluation Section
• Business Information Systems Division
• Department of Children and Family Services
• County of Los Angeles
• 425 Shatto Place, Room 401
• Los Angeles, California 90020
• Telephone [phone]
• E-mail research_at_dcfs.lacounty.gov