Matching EBPs to the Needs of Youth and Families

No one evidence-based practice can meet all of the varied cultural, racial, ethnic, personal, financial, geographic, and diagnostic needs of each youth and his/her family. However, practitioners, with youth and families, can determine the most appropriate EBP to be implemented.

To help you match children’s EBPs to their specific needs, consider:

• First and foremost - Work with, not to youth and families.
• Is the EBP appropriate for all cultures, setting, age group, and gender?  If not what are some practice elements of EBPs to implement?  Visit the State of Hawaii’s Evidence-Based Practice Profiles to learn more.
• Can modifications be made to meet certain cultural concerns without comprising fidelity?
• What kind of time commitments work for the youth and family?
• What components of evidence-based treatments are most useful and desirable by the family (parent-management and child training, cognitive-behavioral approach, social-learning principles)?
• What outcomes are most important to the family (e.g. increase compliance, decrease explosivity, increase in coping mechanisms, and/or increase in school performance)?
• Are there costs to the family associated with a particular EBP?
• Does the EBP work within only one child mental system (juvenile justice, child welfare, school-based)?
• Can the EBP meet the needs of more than one diagnosed condition (i.e. aggression and post-traumatic stress problems?)

Helpful Links:

• A helpful resource guide developed by Columbia University, Guidelines for Child & Adolescent Mental Health Referral, offers practitioners a breakdown of different evidence-based treatments for different diagnoses and problems.



• The section entitled “What are the Evidence-Based Practices?” provides several resources that list evidence-based treatment options for youth and their families.