NCJ Number
73120
Date Published
1977
Length
166 pages
Annotation
This report analyzes the costs in both dollars and personnel of 11 child abuse and neglect demonstration service projects funded by the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare from 1974 through 1977 to test alternative strategies for dealing with child abuse and neglect.
Abstract
Data were collected through monitoring for 1-month periods every 3 of 4 months during the demonstration period. Project staff recorded their own time expenditures in relation to discrete project activities; project directors accounted for all nonpersonnel expenditures for the month. Donated resources were included. Costs were adjusted to reflect regional wage and price differences. Results showed that the demonstration projects were staffed by about 450 people, including volunteers, and spent $2.21 million annually. They also received over $330,000 a year in donated resources. Monthly average number of cases in treatment was 800; over 2,200 new cases were opened by the projects each year. Countless other cases received minimal supportive services from the projects. Individual counseling was the most widely offered service. Other services included crisis intervention, multidisciplinary team review, and lay therapy. Fewer than 175 children received direct treatment services from the projects each year, but over 50,000 professional and lay people annually received direct education or training or education relating to child abuse and neglect. Lay and group services cost about $7.25 per counseling contact, parent education classes cost about $9.50 per person, individual counseling cost $14.75 per contact and multidisciplinary team review cost $125.50. Larger volume services provided group services at lower costs, but costs of individual services were unrelated to service volume. Efficiency was related to larger staff size, fewer supervisors per staff, and explicit rules and procedures. Worker satisfaction was negatively related to efficiency. Footnotes, tables, one figure, and examples of adaptation of cost data to program planning are provided. Appendixes present project descriptions, listings of evaluation reports and papers, and additional information on methodology and results. For related evaluations, see NCJ 73114-19, 73121-23, and 73090.