Este resumen sintetiza los hallazgos de un único estudio de investigación, Preventing child maltreatment: Examination of an established statewide home-visiting program.
¿Qué podemos aprender de este estudio?
Approximately one-third of children entering out-of-home care are infants and toddlers under age 3. This study examined the impact of Connecticut’s statewide home visiting program (Nurturing Families Network) on child maltreatment for socially high-risk families by tracking three key child welfare outcomes – investigated reports of maltreatment, substantiated reports of maltreatment, and out-of-home placements.
Detalles del estudio
- Población: First time mothers who were identified as socially high-risk (2,662 voluntary participants, 4,724 eligible non-participants)
- Fuente de datos: Screening and enrollment data linked to Connecticut’s CPS records
- Metodología: Longitudinal cohort, comparison group matched on risk scores and sociodemographic characteristics
- Fechas: CPS records for children born between January 1, 2008, and December 31, 2011, tracked from birth through December 31, 2013
Cita Chaiyachati, B.H., Gaither, J. R., Hughes, M., Foley-Schain, K., & Leventhal, J. M. (2018). Preventing child maltreatment: Examination of an established statewide home-visiting program. Child Abuse & Neglect, 79, 476-484.
¿Cuáles son las conclusiones críticas?
- En percentages of families with CPS investigations were similar between the home-visited group and the comparison group (21% for both). The authors note that increased monitoring of participants (surveillance bias) may be a barrier to detecting the impact of home visiting programs.
- Home visiting was associated with a 22% decrease in the likelihood of CPS substantiations. In addition, among families that did have a substantiated report, the first substantiation occurred later in the child’s life for families involved with home visiting than for families that did not receive home visiting services.
- Cuidador smaller percentage of home-visited families had an out-of-home placement (3%) than comparison families (4%), but this result was not statistically significant.
¿Por qué es importante para nuestro trabajo?
These results highlight the potential for home visiting as an important approach to preventing child abuse and neglect. The lower rate of substantiated maltreatment among families involved with home visiting is consistent with a recent assessment in Kentucky. It may take time for other states to see similar outcomes, given the length of time families need to be tracked to determine long-term CPS outcomes.
Casey Family Programs consulta con individuos y equipos en todo el país para recopilar investigaciones, experiencias y conocimientos sobre enfoques que pueden reducir de manera segura la necesidad de acogida familiar y garantizar el bienestar de los niños y las familias. Compartimos esta información ampliamente para ayudar a los líderes de bienestar infantil y a sus socios a abordar problemas similares en sus propias comunidades. Para preguntas sobre este recurso, o si tiene otras necesidades de información sobre bienestar infantil, envíe un correo electrónico a kmresources@casey.org.
