{"id":31935,"date":"2024-11-25T16:59:02","date_gmt":"2024-11-25T16:59:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/caseyfamilyv2.wpengine.com\/safecare-oklahoma-arkansas\/"},"modified":"2026-08-18T16:21:57","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T16:21:57","slug":"safecare-oklahoma-arkansas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casey.org\/es\/safecare-oklahoma-arkansas\/","title":{"rendered":"\u00bfC\u00f3mo ayuda SafeCare a los padres de ni\u00f1os peque\u00f1os?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Most parents have wished for support at some point along their parenting journey.1<\/sup><\/a> For some, home visiting programs provide the tools, knowledge, and confidence they need to successfully navigate the challenges of parenting. While the details of home visiting programs can vary \u2014 such as services, intensity, and who is being served \u2014 all include regular visits from a professional or paraprofessional focused on building parenting skills. Home visiting programs have a strong evidence base<\/span><\/a> for increasing positive outcomes for families and have been shown to support healthy child development, increase family economic independence, increase positive parenting practices, and decrease child maltreatment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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SafeCare<\/span><\/a>\u00ae<\/sup> is one home visiting program that has been found to be effective in supporting parents of children from birth to age 5 by teaching parents positive parent-child interaction, how to respond to common childhood behaviors, how to improve the home environment by minimizing safety hazards, and how to recognize signs of child illness and injury. The goals of SafeCare are for parents to increase their positive parent-child interactions, improve home safety, improve their ability to care for their child\u2019s health, and reduce incidents of maltreatment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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SafeCare is offered once a week for 18 to 20 weeks, with each visit lasting 60 to 90 minutes and including an explanation of skills followed by modeling and role modeling, an assessment of skill achievement, fidelity monitoring, and booster training, if needed. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the National SafeCare Training and Research Center at Georgia State University engaged families through virtual, technology-based delivery of SafeCare, developing guidance for home visitors and resources to support parents<\/span><\/a> through the pandemic. SafeCare materials are available in English, Spanish, French, and Hebrew,2<\/sup><\/a> and the provider curriculum is offered in both Spanish and English.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \n \n \n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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New beginnings<\/b><\/h3>\n

Lubov Glover saw a booth for SafeCare at a baby expo. Pregnant with her second child, she was desperate for advice on how to manage her toddler\u2019s behavior. Glover\u2019s home visitor \u2014she refers to her as \u201csuper nanny\u201d \u2014 helped her set goals and realize that her expectation for her toddler \u201cnot to act like a toddler\u201d was unrealistic, resulting in inconsistent parenting. Through regular sessions, Glover came to realize that she was in a mentally and emotionally abusive marriage and had underlying depression, both of which impacted her interactions with her child. Her home visitor helped her get the mental health services she needed. As a result, Glover gained the confidence to file for divorce, allowing her to build a healthy life for herself and her children, now 6 and 9. Eventually, Glover began a new career path and now is employed by the same mental health service provider where she first sought help.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \n \n \n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Evidence of impact<\/h2>\n \n \n \n

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There have been more than 60 studies examining varying elements of the SafeCare model.3<\/sup><\/a> In general, SafeCare has been shown to have a positive impact on the behaviors targeted by the model. For example, one study found an increase of 84% in parenting skills and a 78% decrease in the number of home hazards.4<\/sup><\/a> When compared to families that received services as usual, families that received SafeCare were less likely to have a recurrence of child maltreatment over the subsequent three years (15% vs. 44%),5<\/sup><\/a> exhibited improved parenting behaviors, and reported reduced parent stress.6<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

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Research suggests that SafeCare works well with American Indian and Latinx families. Results of one study<\/span><\/a> indicate that SafeCare was well received by American Indian parents, who felt it was culturally competent and resulted in strong partnership with their home visitor. SafeCare also has been adapted to engage Latinx families without altering adherence to the core components of the model.7<\/sup><\/a> A program developer and university researchers, in partnership with parents from the local Latinx community, designed the adaptations, targeting areas of language, extended family, acculturation, traditional beliefs, relationship development, learning style, and racism, stereotypes and discrimination. Latinx families that received this adapted SafeCare model indicated they were highly satisfied and felt the approach was culturally compatible. The adapted model has obtained national certification.8<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

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With so many studies on SafeCare, varying criteria has been used to determine levels of evidence, and that has led to different ratings for the model. While an independent technical review of SafeCare<\/span><\/a> proposed that the model should be considered \u201cwell-supported,\u201d the Title IV-E Prevention Services Clearinghouse currently rates SafeCare as \u201csupported\u201d<\/span><\/a> for in-home parent skill-based programs and services.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \n \n \n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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I can literally say SafeCare turned my life around completely.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

— Lubov Glover, Parent, Oklahoma<\/cite><\/figcaption>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n
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Upstream support to families<\/h2>\n \n \n \n

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In the early 2000s, Oklahoma Human Services<\/b><\/span> (OKDHS) formed a workgroup dedicated to improving outcomes for families. The workgroup examined available research from across the country and discovered that, except for SafeCare and one other program, there were no programs designed for populations needing extra support that showed positive outcomes. OKDHS decided to implement SafeCare because the model appeared to be the most promising, and it presented the state with an opportunity to help build an evidence base. The agency began to implement SafeCare in 2002, and in 2003 obtained federal funding to begin an evaluation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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In 2016, the Arkansas Department of Human Services<\/b><\/span> (ADHS) found itself in a similar situation. The agency was looking to address a statewide increase in the foster care population \u2014 attributed to increases among children from birth to age 5 and substance-exposed infants \u2014 and concerns about child deaths connected to unsafe sleep practices. ADHS decided to implement SafeCare because it was a home visiting program designed for the age range the agency was looking to serve and, more importantly, it was designed for \u2014 and had been used in \u2014 a child protection context.<\/p>\n

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While OKDHS and ADHS\u2019 SafeCare implementation efforts were separated by almost 15 years, both jurisdictions\u2019 experiences offer insights and lessons for other jurisdictions considering SafeCare as part of Title IV-E Prevention Plan under the Family First Prevention Services Act. One important similarity was that both jurisdictions chose to contract with providers already experienced in delivering home visiting services and working with local community agencies.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \n \n \n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Lifelong change<\/h3>\n

As a nurse at an alternative school, Betty Hawkins-Emery initially was interested in SafeCare to support her students who also were teen parents. At the time, Hawkins-Emery was a new mother to a 3-year-old with Down syndrome and decided that while she was exploring the program on behalf of her students, she could benefit from SafeCare as well. She signed up and has been involved in the program ever since. The information she gained from her initial interactions with her home visitor allowed her to set goals and gain the knowledge she needed to care for her family. Her home visitor introduced her to resources and programs that support children with Down syndrome, allowing her to become a vocal advocate for her son\u2019s care. In addition to being the proud parent of a thriving 13-year-old, Hawkins-Emery\u2019s involvement in SafeCare has affected her life in ways she never thought possible. Thanks to her increased confidence and advocacy efforts, she has been invited to be part of multiple committees and has completed a master\u2019s degree in public administration.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \n \n \n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Oklahoma<\/h3>\n

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SafeCare is a voluntary service offered through contracts with provider agencies across Oklahoma and is well-established as a core part of how OKDHS works with families. OKDHS began implementing SafeCare over 20 years ago, but the road to statewide implementation \u2014 achieved in 2008 \u2014 had its challenges. During the initial rollout, SafeCare training was delivered over five days. Since OKDHS contracted with providers already offering home-based services, feedback revealed that some home visitors were resistant to using a structured intervention with families when they already had been delivering services without a manual. Administrators wanted to demonstrate that SafeCare could be flexible and was effective, so they modified the training, offering it in modules. By allowing time between the learning modules, home visitors were able to test the new skills with families. They observed that families were receptive to the SafeCare approaches and they observed families\u2019 progress, which reduced their concerns.<\/p>\n

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OKDHS continued to expand the program, informed by the feedback from the first training cohort of SafeCare home visitors. The information led to the development of an interview protocol that increased the likelihood of hiring home visitors who would embrace the SafeCare model, including its oversight element. To support fidelity and continuous quality improvement, a SafeCare coach periodically will observe a home visit to support staff and ensure families are receiving the services as intended.<\/p>\n

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OKDHS collaborated with the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in the model\u2019s implementation, including training, consultation with provider agencies, and evaluation. The collaboration helps to ensure the fidelity benchmarks of SafeCare are met. If benchmarks are not being met, the university and OKDHS develop a plan to address the challenges and chart a path forward. The university also facilitates two SafeCare parent partnership boards, one for mothers and one for fathers, to learn from parents who have experienced SafeCare first-hand.<\/p>\n

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As the site of one of the largest\u00a0randomized controlled trials<\/a>\u00a0of SafeCare, OKDHS found that SafeCare reduced maltreatment recidivism by about 26% (in the subsequent seven years) when compared to services as usual. OKDHS leadership reports that families perceive SafeCare as \u201creal and practical,\u201d and therefore makes a difference in their responding positively to the service. In\u00a0one study<\/a>, when compared to services as usual, OKDHS found that the families participating in SafeCare achieved more of their goals, were more satisfied with services, and felt their culture was more likely to be respected.<\/p>\n

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OKDHS has supported various pilots over the years to enhance SafeCare and explore how to better meet the needs of families, including:<\/p>\n