FAQs

Below we provide responses to frequently asked questions (FAQs). The FAQs are informed by questions submitted to the Prevention Services Clearinghouse. FAQs will continue to be updated based on questions received.

Archived FAQs relevant to the Handbook of Standards and Procedures, Versions 1.0 and 2.0 are available to download on the Archives page.

Program and Service Review Process

How are programs and services reviewed by the Clearinghouse?

There are two tracks for review of evidence for the Prevention Services Clearinghouse – a Developer Submission Track and an Accelerated Review Track. More information about the two review tracks is available on the Resources page.

What is the Developer Submission Track?

As of [MONTH] 2026, the Developer Submission Track allows program and service developers (or those partnering with developers) to recommend their programs or services for review by completing a short, standardized form that streamlines the review process.

The short, standardized form allows developers to attest that their program or service meets select statutory requirements and provides brief information to facilitate the Clearinghouse’s independent, systematic evidence review.

The Developer Submission Track involves seven steps:

  1. Submission of the Developer Submission Form by the developer and/or entities partnering with the developer
  2. Assessment by the Prevention Services Clearinghouse to determine that all required fields on the Developer Submission Form are filled
  3. Prioritization of the order that programs and services are reviewed by the Assistant Secretary for the Administration for Children and Families
  4. Determination of study eligibility and prioritization by the Prevention Services Clearinghouse
  5. Review of evidence using the design and execution standards by the Prevention Services Clearinghouse
  6. Recommendation of program and service ratings based on the evidence review by the Prevention Services Clearinghouse
  7. Final determination of the program and service ratings by the Assistant Secretary for the Administration for Children and Families

More information about the Developer Submission Track is available here.

What is the Accelerated Review Track?

As of [MONTH] 2026, the Accelerated Review Track will be used to review all programs and services that are not submitted by a program or service developer under the Developer Submission Track. The Accelerated Review Track uses a streamlined version of the independent, systematic review process used by the Prevention Services Clearinghouse since its inception in 2018.

The Accelerated Review Track streamlines the review process by doing the following: conducting early outreach with those who recommend programs and services that have been selected for review; leveraging meta-analyses, other evidence clearinghouses, and systematic reviews, as well as other sources to identify rigorous studies that may be eligible for review; using AI for abstract and full-text screening to streamline the process for determining eligible studies for review; streamlining author and developer queries by requesting shorter response times; and, for programs and services with a substantial number of eligible studies, prioritizing five eligible studies for initial review.

The Accelerated Review Track involves seven steps:

  1. Identify programs and services
  2. Assess eligibility of programs and services and recommend prioritization for review
  3. Literature search
  4. Study eligibility and prioritization
  5. Evidence review using the design and execution standards
  6. Recommendation of program and service ratings based on the evidence review by the Prevention Services Clearinghouse
  7. Final determination of the program and service ratings by the Assistant Secretary for the Administration for Children and Families

More information about the Accelerated Review Track is available here.

What is the Fast-Track Evidence Review Procedure for FDA-Approved Medications for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD) and Medications for Alcohol Use Disorder (MAUD) as Part of Comprehensive Treatment Plans?

As of [MONTH] 2026, there is a new Fast-Track Evidence Review Procedure for FDA-Approved Medications for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD) and Medications for Alcohol Use Disorder (MAUD) as Part of Comprehensive Treatment Plans.

This review procedure leverages rigorous FDA approval and post-market surveillance processes to streamline Prevention Services Clearinghouse evidence review timelines while aiming to maintain alignment with the statutory requirements of the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) legislation.

The Fast-Track Evidence Review Procedure for FDA-Approved Medications for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD) and Medications for Alcohol Use Disorder (MAUD) as Part of Comprehensive Treatment Plans involves implementing four steps intended to arrive at a program or service rating as quickly as possible:

  1. Rely on FDA approval and post-market surveillance to assure the ongoing medication safety and effectiveness to address the “risk of harm” requirement in the FFPSA.
  2. Leverage studies used in FDA approval and post-market surveillance as well as other sources to identify rigorous studies and begin reviewing high priority eligible studies that have the potential to affect the program or service rating immediately.
  3. Streamline the author query process so that only information that has the potential to affect the program or service rating is requested.
  4. Only review studies until the program or service cannot possibly achieve a higher rating.

In addition, this Fast-Track Procedure leverages all available studies regardless of the date of publication.

The ACF Assistant Secretary has final approval authority over all program or service rating determinations.

Program or Service Recommendations

How do I submit a program or service for review under the Developer Submission Track?

To use the Developer Submission Track, developers (or those partnering with developers) complete the Developer Submission Form and submit it to the Prevention Services Clearinghouse. The Developer Submission Form requests the following information:

  • Submitter information
  • Program or service area selection
  • Program or service manual citation and information about availability of manual
  • Risk of harm attestation
  • Weight of evidence attestation
  • Case data attestation
  • Studies for Prevention Services Clearinghouse review
  • Brief program or service description
  • State, tribe, or territory endorsement(s)

Submitters will be required to attest that the program or service meets the following statutory requirements specified in the Family First Prevention Services Act:

  • Program/service area (“mental health prevention and treatment,” “substance abuse prevention and treatment,” “in-home parent skill-based,” “kinship navigator”)
  • Program or service “has a book, manual, or other available writings that specify the components of the practice protocol and describe how to administer the practice”
  • “There is no empirical basis suggesting that, compared to its likely benefits, the [program or service] constitutes a risk of harm to those receiving it”
  • “The overall weight of evidence supports the benefits of the practice”
  • “There is no case data suggesting a risk of harm that was probably caused by the [program or service] and that was severe or frequent”

The Prevention Services Clearinghouse assesses developer submissions to determine if all required fields in the submission form are complete. Incomplete submissions will be rejected. Complete submissions will be shared with the Administration for Children and Families.

The Prevention Services Clearinghouse is not responsible for determining if developer-submitted information meets statutory requirements or if the submitted information is accurate, factual, or credible.

How do I recommend a program or service for review under the Accelerated Review Track?

Any member of the public, including state and local government administrators and tribes and federal partners, can recommend a program or service for review.

The Prevention Services Clearinghouse accepts recommendations submitted via email at any time from any member of the public and other key advisors, including federal partners, and state, tribal, and local administrators.

In addition, the Clearinghouse may release public calls to obtain recommendations for programs and services.

Any member of the public, including program and service developers, has the option to recommend a program or service for review by the Prevention Services Clearinghouse.

Recommendations should be sent to PreventionServices@abtglobal.com. All submitters will receive acknowledgment of their submission’s receipt. Due to the large volume of submissions, the Prevention Services Clearinghouse is not able to inform individual submitters when the program or service may be selected for review.

Only Information Needed:

  • Name of the program or service you are recommending: If the program or service has changed names or is known by multiple names, please list them.

Optional Information:
Additional information is optional but helpful to support the review process.

  • Program or service area(s) addressed: Specify Mental Health Prevention and Treatment, Substance Use Prevention and Treatment, In-home Parent Skill-based, and/or Kinship Navigator programs.
  • Version or adaptation of the program or service, if applicable.
  • Program or service contact information, including the developer or sponsoring organization and website, if available.
  • Citation(s) or links for available books, manuals, or other documentation describing the program or service and its implementation.
  • Indicate how the program or service manual(s) can be accessed.
  • Information about child welfare relevance and the population(s) served.
  • Information about available implementation supports, such as training, coaching, fidelity tools, or implementation guidance.

How does ACF determine the order that programs and services are reviewed by the Prevention Services Clearinghouse?

Developer Submission Track:

The Prevention Services Clearinghouse shares all complete developer submissions with ACF. ACF determines the order in which programs and services are reviewed and notifies the Prevention Services Clearinghouse. The Prevention Services Clearinghouse then adds the programs and services selected to the working list of Programs and Services Planned for Review.

Accelerated Review Track: Program and Service Prioritization Criteria

A high volume of programs and services identified are potentially eligible for review. The Clearinghouse will recommend programs and services to ACF for review based on (a) being in active use; (b) recommendations received, with particular consideration given to programs and services recommended by state, tribal, or local government child welfare administrators and federal partners; (c) child welfare relevance; (d) population(s) served; (e) previous evaluations and studies; (f) implementation supports; and, (g) coverage across program or service areas.

ACF determines the order in which programs and services are reviewed and notifies the Prevention Services Clearinghouse which programs and services will be added to the working list of Programs and Services Planned for Review.

Timeline Questions

Do you have an estimated timeline to complete the review of a particular program or service?

The Prevention Services Clearinghouse website includes a working list of programs and services that are planned for independent, systematic review. This can be found on the Programs & Services Planned for Review page.

It is difficult to predict the timeline for review of an individual program or service. Review timelines may be influenced by a number of factors including, but not limited to:

  • The number of studies reviewed.
  • Questions that arise during the review of studies that require internal or external expert consultation.
  • Whether studies have all the information necessary to complete the review or whether queries are needed to obtain additional information – and, if required, the time it takes to receive responses.

Our goal is to review as many programs and services as quickly as possible to support states’ efforts to improve outcomes for children and families through implementation of the Family First Prevention Services Act. We encourage individuals to sign up for email updates on the Clearinghouse website to receive notifications about changes to the working list of programs and services planned for systematic review and the release of new program or service ratings.

What are the next programs and services planned for systematic review?

The Clearinghouse has a working list of the next programs and services planned for systematic review. To learn more about this list, please visit the Programs & Services Planned for Review page.

When will new programs and services be added to the list?

Our goal is to review as many programs and services as quickly as possible to support states’ efforts to improve outcomes for children and families through implementation of the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA). The current list of programs and services planned for systematic review is available on the Programs & Services Planned for Review page.

The Prevention Services Clearinghouse will continue to update the working list of Programs and Services Planned for Review on a rolling basis. Join our email list to be notified of updates.

Can the Prevention Services Clearinghouse tell me why the program or service I have recommended has not yet been selected for review by ACF?

The Prevention Services Clearinghouse has received a high volume of program and service recommendations to date. This includes hundreds of emails received in response to each of the public calls that solicited recommendations for programs and services. Many of these recommendations identify multiple programs and services. The Prevention Services Clearinghouse staff log and consider all program and service recommendations and respond to submitters noting that their recommendations have been received. Given the high volume of recommendations, it is not currently feasible within resource and time constraints for staff to send individualized responses to submitters indicating why a program or service recommended has not yet been selected for review by ACF.

A comprehensive, searchable list of programs and services that have been recommended for review is available on the website.

Author and Developer Engagement

How does the Prevention Services Clearinghouse engage program or service developers during the review process?

The Prevention Services Clearinghouse may engage program and service developers as necessary at multiple steps of the review process. Engagement may differ between the Accelerated Review Track and the Developer Submission Track.

Under the Accelerated Review Track, the Prevention Services Clearinghouse queries program and service developers for information deemed necessary (1) to verify program or service eligibility and manual citations; (2) to understand the program or service as it is intended to be delivered; (3) to understand alternative manual editions, manual variants, or other changes in the program or service over time; or (4) to inform a public description of the program or service on the Prevention Services Clearinghouse website. All queries have a clearly stated deadline for response.

Under the Developer Submission Track, developers submit information to the Prevention Services Clearinghouse to attest to certain statutory requirements and provide information that can streamline the evidence review. All required fields must be completed in the form for developer submissions to be considered.

Developers of programs and services reviewed in either track are notified of the results of a program or service review (or re-review) through the publication of the review results on the Prevention Services Clearinghouse website.

How does the Prevention Services Clearinghouse engage with study authors?

The Prevention Services Clearinghouse queries study authors for information deemed necessary to determine a rating for a program or service or a study that could contribute to a program or service rating, as follows: (1) to determine the eligibility of a study for review; (2) to assign a design and execution rating of high, moderate, or low; (3) to assess statistical significance; (4) to determine the length of sustained effects; (5) to assess whether a study was conducted in a usual care or practice setting; or (6) to assess risk of harm. Author queries are sent to study authors with a clear deadline. If authors do not respond to queries, the Prevention Services Clearinghouse proceeds with completing the review using available information. The Prevention Services Clearinghouse retains all information submitted by authors, including information submitted after a deadline. Late information may be incorporated into a review if feasible.

Program or Service Eligibility and Review Procedures

What programs and services are eligible for review?

For the Accelerated Review Track, as specified in the Family First Prevention Services Act, to be eligible for review by the Prevention Services Clearinghouse, programs and services must meet two criteria:

  1. Program or Service Area. Only programs and services in one or more of these four program areas are eligible for review:
    1. Mental health prevention and treatment programs and services. Eligible mental health programs and services include those that aim to reduce or eliminate behavioral and emotional disorders or risk for such disorders. Included programs and services may target any mental health issue.
    2. Substance use prevention and treatment programs and services. Eligible substance use prevention and treatment programs and services include those that have an explicit focus on the prevention, reduction, treatment, remediation, recovery from and/or elimination of substance use or misuse. Included programs and services can target any specific type of substance, multiple substances, or aim to address substance use or misuse in general.
    3. In-home parent skill-based programs and services. Eligible parent skill-based programs and services include those that are psychological, educational, or behavioral interventions or treatments, broadly defined, that involve direct intervention with a parent or caregiver and target parenting skills or other skills that can be applied to where the child resides, including in the home.
    4. Kinship navigator programs. Eligible kinship navigator programs include those focused on assisting kinship caregivers in learning about, finding, and using programs and services to meet the needs of the children and youth they are raising and their own needs, and that promote effective partnerships among public and private agencies.
  2. Books, Manuals, or Other Documentation. Eligible programs and services must have available books, manuals, or other documentation that describe how to implement or administer the program or service. There must be affirmative, documented evidence that the materials that satisfy this requirement exist and are available to the public to download, request, obtain through training or certification, or purchase; materials may be presented in a web-based format.

For the Developer Submission Track, program and service developers select the program and service area that applies to the submission and identify the book, manual, or other documentation that specify the components of the practice protocol and describe how to administer the practice.

Re-review Procedures

Can a program or service be re-reviewed?

Accelerated Review Track

Programs and services reviewed by the Prevention Services Clearinghouse may be considered for re-review due to missing information or errors in the original review or due to the emergence of substantial new evidence that has the potential to change program or service ratings. Prevention Services Clearinghouse staff keep track of the dates that programs and services are reviewed and periodically assess the extent of new evidence available – including keeping track of programs or services where no eligible studies were identified during the review, any late responses to author or developer queries, and considering ad hoc submissions of research to the Prevention Services Clearinghouse. Study authors and program or service developers can submit new evidence or studies as part of requests to re-review a program or service. The public may request a re-review of the program or service rating based on the misapplication of criteria, missing information, or other errors.

Developer Submission Track

Using the Developer Submission Track, a developer (or those partnering with a developer) may request a re-review of their program or service using the Developer Submission Form. Programs and services reviewed by the Prevention Services Clearinghouse may be considered for re-review due to missing information or errors in the original review or due to the emergence of substantial new evidence that has the potential to change program or service ratings. All studies previously reviewed, as well as studies submitted by the developer as part of a re-review submission, will be considered if the program or service is selected for re-review by ACF.

Program and Service Ratings

How are final program and service ratings determined?

The Clearinghouse combines design and execution ratings and characterizations of impact estimates across contrasts and studies to identify a recommended program or service rating of: does not currently meet criteria, promising, supported, or well-supported. As of December 2025, the ACF Assistant Secretary has final approval authority over all determinations regarding whether specific programs and services and associated research studies meet the statutory evidence standards (i.e., ratings) of the Family First Prevention Services Act. More information about the factors considered in assigning program or service ratings is available in the Accelerated Review Track and Developer Submission Track documentation.

Resources

Where can I find information about procedures used by the Prevention Services Clearinghouse to review programs and services?

More information about the Accelerated Review Track is available here.

More information about the Developer Submission Track is available here.

The Handbook of Standards and Procedures, Versions 1.0 and 2.0 are available in the Clearinghouse archives.

Where can I find information about study settings and participant characteristics on the Prevention Services Clearinghouse website?

The Prevention Services Clearinghouse records and displays information about study settings and participant characteristics for all studies that receive a moderate or high rating on design and execution, when reported in study documents. That information is available on the individual program and service pages on the website under the Study Participant Characteristics heading. Individual program and service pages can be found by clicking the “Find a Program or Service” button on the home page or by navigating to the “Programs and Services Reviewed” page under the “Find a Program or Service” menu. Study settings and participant characteristics are not available for programs and services without studies that received a moderate or high rating on design and execution.