Child maltreatment is a significant public health concern that affects children's health and well-being throughout their life. Children who are maltreated are at an increased risk of developing a disability or delay and are more vulnerable to a range of mental health-related problems, including depression, anxiety, substance abuse, criminality,…

When low-income women become parents for the first time, they often need support, education and encouragement to be the best parent they can be. They truly want to succeed. Desire, unfortunately, is not enough. These women are usually most open to health care assistance, parenting tools, and a therapeutic relationship with a community health…

Objective: To evaluate the effects of a home visiting program modeled after Healthy Families America on parenting behaviors in the first 2 years of life. Methods: A sample of 1173 families at risk for child abuse and neglect who met the criteria for Healthy Families New York (HFNY) was randomly assigned to either an intervention group that was…

The study described the Home Accident Prevention Inventory which was used to assess hazards in the homes of families under state protective service for child abuse and neglect. Followup showed that the treatment package resulted in decreases in the number of these hazards which were maintained over an extended period. (Author/DB)

Home-based peer tutoring was used to teach math skills to 4 girls with deficits in mathematics and histories of abuse or neglect. Girls living in the same home formed tutoring dyads, and each participant served as both the peer tutor and the tutee during the course of the study. At the initiation of the tutoring intervention, an expert tutor…

Describes home-based family therapy as form of family counseling performed within residences of clients. Discusses obstacles to home-based therapy, then presents examples illustrating challenge of providing home-based counseling to religious, abusive families. Also illustrates use of consultation to improve service delivery. (NB)

This report on a survey of 224 home visitation programs that provide services for abused and neglected children and their families presents data on program characteristics, characteristics of home visits, credentials of home visitors, and program documentation procedures. Programs reported that training in parenting skills and parent coping were…

This study assessed child maltreatment group differences in 530 families receiving intensive family preservation services based on the HOMEBUILDERS model. Results indicated that neglectful families, compared to abusive ones, were poorer and more likely to be headed by a single parent, to have mental health and substance abuse problems, and to have…

Evaluation of a personal safety program with 172 preschoolers found that participants demonstrated greater knowledge about sexual abuse and higher levels of personal safety skills than controls, that children taught by their parents recognized inappropriate-touch requests better than children taught by teachers, and that children taught at both…

Treatment protocol review technique was used to summarize characteristics of effective interventions from nine studies of child maltreatment examining recovery from abuse or effects of maltreatment on child and parent outcomes. Findings suggested that stronger effects are yielded by: targeting parents and the parent-child interaction context in…

This commentary reviews progress towards the development and implementation of home-based services aimed at preventing abuse and neglect and promoting the health and development of the infant and mother. The effectiveness of the Healthy Families model and the Olds' model are highlighted, and challenges facing home visitation programs are…

Evaluates the Family Program, a family-centered program in northern Virginia which provides intensive in-home support and treatment to families with children in the custody of county child welfare departments. The sample comprises 42 closed cases. Results show that families that are at risk benefit significantly from extensive support systems.…

An evaluation of an in-home treatment program for child-abusing families in California revealed that, in comparison to a conventional group who received traditional counseling services, families receiving intensive in-home therapy experienced a reduction in stress, improved their communication skills, and were able to keep their children in the…

Describes an approach to welfare services based on a home visitor model. Notes that child welfare agencies have moved to a decidedly short-term orientation toward service delivery, whereas the problems faced by many families require a more long-term approach, with services designed to address problems with roots in a host of social, economic, and…

Presents an exploratory, descriptive study on family-centered, home-based services, involving a secondary analysis of an existing database. Suggests that both these services are effective in the prevention of placement for both high- and low-risk clients. Notes, however, that home-based services seemed to be more effective with multi-problem…