The CHAMP Best Practice Laboratory

Testing the Tools

The CHAMP Best Practices Laboratory (BPL) includes maltreatment prevention programs within several large community agencies in New York City that collaborate with the CHAMP Center and Network to test Decision Support Tools (DSTs) and other resources to improve practice. The goal is to assess these tools based on safety, effectiveness, ease of use, and how well they fit within existing workflows. We focus specifically on the agencies’ maltreatment prevention programs, which are already designed to provide preventive services to children and families at risk of maltreatment and its effects. Therefore, we test tools in settings where children and families at risk receive care, so that once a tool proves its readiness through our evaluation, it can be shared with similar settings. If testing reveals results that deviate from expectations—such as weaker outcomes or adverse effects—we use that information to refine the tool or reconsider the models that were used to inform their development. Consequently, the CHAMP Center and Network actively use data from Best Practice Laboratories to continually enhance their knowledge and improve their tools.