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I’m thrilled to see that EBPexchange is up and running–at least in trial format. We have much to discuss about EBPs in social work.
Look forwrd to see further developments in the area.
The breakout session powerpoint results for the EPB symposium in Austin are
available online at http://www.utexas.edu/ssw/ceu/practice/breakoutpp.html
Reducing the number of children entering the foster care system continues to be a challenge for child welfare agencies. Research shows that Intensive Family Preservation Services provide families with services that reduce long-term involvement in the child welfare system (Frazier, Nelson, & Rivard, 1997).
The Intensive Family Preservation Services began in 1989 and provides comprehensive, concentrated, and short-term in-home services that are intended to prevent out-of-home placement for children at imminent risk of removal and assist in strengthening the family unit as a whole. The services are intended to protect children in homes where alleged neglect and abuse have occurred and prevent recidivism of abuse and neglect within the home (Kirk & Griffith, 2004).
Research of the effectiveness of Intensive Family Preservation Services has found that these programs were successful in preventing foster care placement. These services were found to reduce but not eliminate long-tem involvement in the child welfare system (Little, 2001). Programs that may reduce child maltreatment provide short term, home-based services that focus on stabilizing families and reducing further risk to out of home placement, such as case management, parenting classes, family therapy, and financial assistance (Henegan, Horowitz, & Leventhal, 1996)
Recommendations for further research include the measurement of other outcomes, such as child development, maternal-child interactions, and repeated episodes of maltreatment or intentional injury, as these outcomes may demonstrate more conclusively that children and families benefit from Intensive Family Preservation Services. Also needing to be considered is that there are few standardized methods of measuring these outcomes, which may lead to inconsistent definitions of success. Addressing whether or not an overburdened, under funded child welfare system can indeed provide an adequate response to child maltreatment is also important for future research.
More information regarding Intensive Family Preservation Services can be found by visiting the Child Welfare League of America’s website at http://www.cwla.org or to review the Evaluation of the Maryland Family Preservation Program, visit http://www.bonhamresearch.com.
Baltimore City Health Department Date Snap (2006). Retrieved October 10, 2007
from http://www.baltimorehealth.org.
DePanfilis, D., & Dubowitz, H. (2005). Family Connections: A program for
preventing child neglect. Child Maltreatment, 10, 108-123.
Fraser, M.W., Nelson, K.E., & Rivard, J.C. (1997). Effectiveness of Family
Preservation Services. Social Work Research, 21, 138-153.
Heneghan, A.M., Horwitz, S.M., & Leventhal, J.M. (1996). Evaluating Intensive
Family Preservation Programs: A Methodological Review. Pediatrics,
97, 535-542.
Kirk, R.S. & Griffith, D.P. (2004). Intensive family preservation services:
Demonstrating placement prevention using event history analysis.
Social Work Research, 28, 5-16.
Littell, J.H. (2001). Client participation and outcomes of intensive family
preservation services. Social Work Research, 25, 103-113.
Wells, K. & Tracy, E. (1996). Reorienting Intensive Family Preservation
Services in relation to Public Welfare Practice. Child Welfare,
Child maltreatment is the general term used to describe all forms of child abuse and neglect. Antisocial behavior is one of the leading factors of child maltreatment. It is crucial to understand how antisocial behavior develops and provide possible solutions and programs to deter the behavior. Early childhood home visitation programs would not only help to prevent anti social behavior, but also monitor the safety of the child at risk (Moffitt, 1993). The Prenatal and Early Childhood Nurse Program helps to recognize anti social behavior early on and provide services to the expecting mother during the onset of her pregnancy. Several studies show that nurse home visitation programs reduce the risks for early antisocial behavior and prevents problems associated with juvenile delinquency such as child abuse, maternal substance abuse and maternal criminal involvement (Olds, Kitzman et al., 1997).
Risk factors include low income, first time mothers who are likely to deliver premature, neurological impaired babies. Protective factors include prenatal care, parenting classes and on call support (Olds and Korfmacher, 1997).
The purpose of the Prenatal and Early Childhood Nurse Home Visiting program is to prevent child abuse and neglect, promote positive parenting, promote resiliency in children and promote a healthy beginning for every child. Throughout the entire pregnancy until the child reaches the age of two, trained professionals help encourage improved quality of care for the infants and toddlers, ultimately preventing child maltreatment, childhood injuries, developmental delay, and behavioral problems. The program also focuses on preventing unintended subsequent pregnancies, preventing school drop out and reducing ongoing welfare dependency (Olds, Eckenrode et al., 1998).
Research shows the early home visitation programs to be very effective and beneficial.
Research has proven home visitation programs to be effective in the ability to reduce the development of antisocial behavior, reduce adverse maternal/prenatal health-related behaviors, reduce child abuse and neglect as well as welfare dependence. Common problems associated with home visitation programs included target families not accepting initial enrollment into the programs, families not engaging and completing the program and funds financing these programs. Home visiting programs are more effective when they employ highly trained visitors such as licensed nurses and social workers, are based on theories of development and behavioral change, and target at risk population (Olds, Henderson, Kitzman, 1994).
Although extensive research has been done on the implementation of home visiting programs, I believe more research should be done on the follow up of these women in the United States as well as their children when they reach child bearing ages. This could possibly show how effective the program truly is based on the children’s parenting. Future research should also focus on a multiple disciplinary approach involving not only nurses and social workers, but also teachers, counselors and therapists. This suggestion is based on studies that show the multidiscipline approach can make a significant difference because all team members contribute core skills with unique contributions (Schuetze, 2004).
To Find Out More Visit:
http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles/172875.pdf.
http://www.excellence-earlychildhood.ca/documents/Zercher-SpikerANGxp.pdf
Key Citations to Research
-Prenatal and early home visitors
-Home Visitation Programs
-Protecting Children
-Programs that reduce child abuse and neglect
Resources
Moffitt, T.1993. Adolescence-limited and life-course-persistent antisocial behavior: A developmental taxonomy. Psychological Review 100(4):674–701
Olds, D., Henderson, C., Kitzman, H. 1994. Does prenatal and infancy nurse home visitation have enduring effects on qualities of parental care giving and child health at 25 to 50 months of life? Pediatrics 93 (1):89-98.
Olds, D., Kitzman, H., Cole, R., and Robinson, J. 1997. Theoretical foundations of a program of home visitation for pregnant women and parents of young children. Journal of Community Psychology 25 (1):1-7.
Olds, D., and Korfmacher, J. 1997. The evolution of a program of research on prenatal and early childhood home visitation: Special issue introduction. Journal of Community Psychology 25 (1):1-7.
Olds, D., Eckenrode, J., Pettitt, L., Robinson, J., Kitzman, H., Cole, R., and Powers, J. 1998. Reducing the risks for antisocial behavior with a program of prenatal and early childhood home visitation. Journal of Community Psychology 26(1):65–83.
Schuetz, K. 2004. Social Workers –Vital to multidisciplinary hospital teams. Social Work Today 4 (3):32-34.