The Family First Prevention Services Act of 2018 established the Title IV-E Prevention Services Clearinghouse, a federally administered resource designed to review and rate programs and services based on their ability to keep children safely with their families and out of foster care. Eight years later, the clearinghouse’s high bar has allowed relatively few programs to be approved, and experts question if it has meaningfully changed what services families receive. Furthermore, researchers and practitioners do not always agree on the strength or interpretation of the evidence behind the approved programs.
Join us as a panel discusses the clearinghouse’s standards, its on-the-ground impact, and potential areas for reform.
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Related Content
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Naomi Schaefer Riley | Washington Examiner | April 24, 2026
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Agenda
3:30 p.m.
Registration Opens
4:00 p.m.
Opening Remarks:
Naomi Schaefer Riley, Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute
4:05 p.m.
Presentation:
Marie Cohen, Author, Child Welfare Monitor
4:30 p.m.
Panel Discussion
Panelists:
Sarah Font, Professor, Washington University in St. Louis
Rob Geen, Principal, CWPolicy
Zach Laris, Founder, Bolder Horizon
Emily Putnam-Hornstein, John A. Tate Distinguished Professor for Children in Need, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Moderator:
Naomi Schaefer Riley, Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute
5:15 p.m.
Q&A
5:30 p.m.
Adjournment



