Impact of a Statewide Home Visiting Program on Parenting and on Child Health and Development

• NCJ Number: 220462
• Journal: Child Abuse and Neglect Volume: 31 Issue: 8 Dated: August 2007 Pages: 829-852
• Author(s): Debra Caldera; Lori Burrell; Kira Rodriguez; Sarah Shea Crowne; Charles Rohde; Anne Duggan
• Date Published: August 2007
• Length: 24 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: Alaska Dept of Health & Social Services; Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Program/Project Description
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This paper focuses on Healthy Families Alaska’s (HFAK’s) impact on promoting child health and development as medicated by its impact on parenting attitudes, knowledge, and behaviors.

Abstract

Study results indicate there was no overall impact on child health, but Healthy Families Alaska (HFAK) group children had more favorable developmental and behavioral outcomes. HFAK and control mothers had similar parenting outcomes except that HFAK mothers had greater parenting self-efficacy. Fewer HFAK families had a poor home environment for learning. HFAK families were more likely to use center-based parenting services. The impact was greater for families with lower baseline risk, and there was little evidence of effectiveness for families with a higher dose of service. The study found that a home visiting program targeted to families at-risk of child maltreatment improved some aspects of parenting, child development, and child behavior, but not child health. The program was less effective in families at greater risk, suggesting that it might not be appropriate for such families. The Alaska Legislature established the State’s first HFAK program in 1995. The HFAK was designed using Healthy Families America (HFA) site development guides, training, and technical assistance. The HFAK aims to promote positive parenting, child health, and child development. HFAK has explicit performance indicators around child health and development. This study assessed the impact of a voluntary, paraprofessional home visiting program on promoting child health and development and maternal parenting knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. The study consisted of 6 HFAK programs enrolling 325 families from 2000 to 2001. They were randomly assigned to HFAK and control groups, mothers were interviewed at baseline, and families were followed until children were 2 years old. Parent outcomes included knowledge of infant development, parenting attitudes, quality of the home environment, and parent-child interaction. Tables, references