CALiO™ – Cornerstone of Evidence-Based Practice for Nationally Dispersed Field Professionals

Date

2016

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

National Children's Advocacy Center

Abstract

One of the greatest challenges for field professionals is ready access to research, guidelines, protocols and best practices that contribute to evidence-based practice. This is particularly true for professionals working in agencies that provide social services, without access to academic or organizational collections. The problem is further exacerbated when the professionals are located in local organizations throughout the U.S. and abroad. The Child Abuse Library Online (CALiO™) was launched over a decade ago by the National Children’s Advocacy Center to specifically address this problem. The National Children’s Advocacy Center, a non-profit organization funded primarily through federal grants and other contributions was first established more than 30 years ago, and remains the primary center for training and information dissemination. Over 900 Children’s Advocacy Centers, structured as formal working collaborations between law enforcement, district attorney offices, and health and victim services agencies combat child maltreatment. This paper offers an overview of the unique needs of widely dispersed field professionals working with allied goals but varied expertise, the fundamental principles guiding the policies and services of CALiO™, and an overview of usage patterns by these professionals. In addition to the targeted services of CALiO™ for the professionals affiliated with Children’s Advocacy Centers, CALiOTM has expanded its purview to include all professionals in fields related to child abuse and neglect, domestic and globally. These professionals include employees of Child Welfare Services and other social agencies, law enforcement, and the courts, and medical and mental health professionals who are not allied with Children’s Advocacy Centers. This paper also discusses CALiO™Collections, the open access repository of multilingual scholarly and research publications, practice guidelines and international documents. CALiO™ Collections contains over 2,700 open access publications, videos, and materials related to child maltreatment, trafficking, and commercial exploitation. The unusual strategy for populating CALiO™Collections and its usage are briefly examined.

Description

Keywords

special libraries, conference presentation, open access repositories, digital library, evidence-based practice, child abuse, research into practice, best practices, child abuse

Citation

King, D. N., & Wells, M. K. (2016). CALiO™ – Cornerstone of Evidence-Based Practice for Nationally Dispersed Field Professionals. [Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the Special Libraries Association in Philadelphia, PA on June 13, 2016]. Huntsville, AL: National Children's Advocacy Center.

DOI