NCJ Number
111221
Journal
Child Welfare Volume: 67 Issue: 2 Dated: (March-April 1988) Pages: 161-174
Date Published
1988
Length
14 pages
Annotation
Four family-support programs designed to help multiproblem families avoid out-of-home placements for their children illustrate common denominators for their implementation.
Abstract
The Prenatal/Early Infancy Project in a rural county of New York State's Appalachian region provides for specially trained nurses to visit the homes of high-risk, first-time mothers beginning in the last trimester of pregnancy and continuing for 2 years after the baby's birth. The second program example was a demonstration program with similarities to the Prenatal/Early Infancy program but with the additional advantage of a 10-year followup of families to evaluate long-term effects. The third program example is a therapeutic day care program operating out of a private child care agency in Seattle, Wash. It grew out of the need for specialized day care services for high-risk parents reported to child protective services. The fourth program uses a paraprofessional parent aide who performs explicit time-limited services aimed at helping parents mobilize to use their own support resources. All of the programs report positive outcomes in reducing risk factors for child maltreatment. Some of the common factors in the four programs are the blending of professional and nonprofessional roles to provide social support for the families, early intervention, careful attention to assessment and intervention planning, referral of families to appropriate community-based programs, and public-private collaboration in providing services. 31 references.