This paper discusses a study to examine recidivism outcomes for the home-based SafeCare model, aimed at addressing child neglect, for parents in the Child Protective Services system.
The authors report on a trial in which they compared Child Protective Services (CPS) recidivism outcomes between the home-based SafeCare (SC) model for child neglect and comparable home-based services, but without SC modules, for parents in the CPS system across two quality control strategies: coached (C) and uncoached implementation. SC is a home-based behavioral skills training model designed for neglecting or maltreating parents. The study was conducted in a scaled-up, statewide implementation setting, in which 2,175 maltreating parents, treated by 219 home visitors, were enrolled and treated in a 2 × 2 (SC versus services as usual × C versus uncoached implementation strategy) randomized cluster experiment. Cases were followed for an average of 6 years for CPS recidivism events. The authors conducted subpopulation analyses for parents meeting customary SC inclusion criteria. Findings support the adoption and use of SC within CPS home-based services systems. C implementation may be especially valuable for cases where the client-model fit is less strong. Publisher Abstract Provided