NCJ Number
241004
Date Published
June 2006
Length
52 pages
Annotation
This paper presents the results of an evaluation of Healthy Families New York, a home visiting program modeled after Health Families America.
Abstract
Findings from this evaluation of the Healthy Families New York (HFNY) program include the following: mothers who participated in the program reported committing fewer acts of abuse and neglect during the child's first 2 years of life compared to mothers in the control group; and HFNY mothers who were young, first-time mothers and randomly assigned at 30 weeks of pregnancy or less were less likely to engage in minor physical aggression (51 percent versus 70 percent) and abusive parenting in the past week (41 percent versus 62 percent) compared to their counterparts in the control group. This paper presents the results of an evaluation on the effectiveness of the HFNY program 2 years after the birth of the child. The HFNY program is a home visiting program modeled after Health Families America. The goals of the program are to promote positive parenting skills, prevent child abuse and neglect, support child health and development, and improve parent's self-sufficiency. Data for the evaluation came from a sample of 1,173 families at risk for child abuse and neglect and were randomly assigned to the HFNY program or to a control group that received information and referrals to other services. Analysis of the evaluation's findings suggests that parental demographics may play a significant role in determining who receives the most benefit from home visitation programs. Suggestions for improving the impacts of the program are discussed. Figures, tables, references, and appendixes