Different ecological perspectives for evaluating residential care outcomes: Which window for the black box?

Some conceptual and methodological issues in the evaluation of residential care for children and adolescents are discussed comparing different ways of understanding an ecological approach to outcome evaluation. An original Ecological Model for the Evaluation of Residential Care representing an example of a theory-driven approach based on developmental psychopathology and Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Theory is illustrated. This model provides a framework for analyzing and explaining the relationships between the intervention ecosystem and children's outcomes.