Assessing family preservation programs

doi:10.1016/0190-7409(92)90016-O

Children and Youth Services Review

Volume 14, Issues 1–2, 1992, Pages 77-97

https://doi.org/10.1016/0190-7409(92)90016-O Get rights and content

Abstract

The major existing evaluations of family preservation programs are reviewed and assessed. Although most of the evaluations used randomized experiments or close equivalents and were well carried out, the evaluations reviewed do not provide definitive findings concerning effectiveness. The evaluations were found to have the following shortcomings: 1) The numbers of subjects were too small to detect effects reliably, 2) The programs evaluated were not given enough time to be fully operational before being evaluated, 3) The major criterion of success, placement avoidance, is arguably insufficient, and 4) The analysis strategies used were overly simple. As a consequence, the evaluations neither support nor contradict the effectiveness of family preservation strategies

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Cited by (80)

Proving promise and support: Preliminary evaluation of the Indiana Family Preservation Services
2023, Child Abuse and Neglect
As part of the implementation of Family First Preservation Services Act, and to meet legal requirements set by the Indiana State Legislature in 2019, Indiana Department of Child Services (DCS) implemented Indiana Family Preservation Services (INFPS) to maintain children in the home when it is deemed safe to do so.
This paper explores the effects of INFPS on child removal episodes and repeat maltreatment.
This study compares all children and families receiving INFPS between January 1, 2021 to March 31, 2021 to a similar cohort of in-home cases that opened between January 1, 2019 and March 31, 2019.
Contribution analysis and a quasi-experimental design are employed by using administrative records and survey data collected from service providers.
INFPS is associated with reduced repeat maltreatment by about 3–4 % at the case-level and about 2–3 % at the child-level. In contrast to repeat maltreatment, in both case-level and child-level analyses, INFPS was not significantly associated with decreased likelihood of child removal.
Overall, these results identify short-term effectiveness of INFPS on reducing repeat maltreatment during the treatment period. Results highlight the potential utility of INFPS to improving such outcomes, through increased use of evidence-based practices (EBP). Current findings demonstrate the need for continued research on the long-term effects of INFPS on child and family outcomes.
The intersection of child welfare services and public assistance: An analysis of dual-system involvement and successful family preservation completion on a maltreatment re-report
2021, Children and Youth Services Review
Citation Excerpt :
One critique of FP programs involves the variations in service models, which makes comparisons among different FP service models complicated (Al et al., 2012; Bezeczky et al., 2020; Nelson et al., 2009; Schweitzer et al., 2015). Due to these mixed findings, researchers have called for more research examining the effects of FP for different subgroups of families and using different outcomes (Bagdasaryan, 2005; Littell & Schuerman, 1995; Nelson et al., 2009; Rossi, 1992; Wells & Tracy, 1996; Yoo & Meezan, 2001). Given its focus on both therapeutic and concrete services (Al et al., 2012; Franke, Pecora, Christie, McCroskey, Lorthridge, Ho, Vo, & Rosenthal, 2013; McCroskey, 2001), the FP program may be an effective strategy for helping dual-system families reduce the likelihood of future maltreatment as FP provides comprehensive services targeting the aforementioned risk factors to a CWS re-report; however, few studies have explored this possibility.
Families involved in child welfare services (CWS) and public social services simultaneously, known as dual-system families, have been shown to be at higher risk for repeat child abuse and neglect compared to CWS-only families, yet few studies have examined these families’ characteristics and whether programs like Family Preservation (FP) might help protect their children from a re-report to CPS. Using administrative data on families receiving FP between January 2013 and December 2014 (including a subset of dual-system families), we examined the effect of demographic characteristics and successful FP completion on a maltreatment re-report between 2013 and 2017.
Dual-system families differed from CWS-only families on demographics including mother’s age, child race/ethnicity, and child age. Controlling for demographics, multivariable survival analyses revealed that dual-system involvement was associated with increased risk of a re-report while successful FP completion was associated with decreased risk of a re-report. An interaction effect of dual-system involvement by FP completion was tested but not significant, and the effect of FP completion was similar for CWS-only families and dual-system families. Our findings highlight the vulnerability of dual-system families and suggest that successful FP completion can help protect against the risk of a maltreatment re-report for both dual-system families and CWS-only families.
A meta-analysis of intensive family preservation programs: Placement prevention and improvement of family functioning
2012, Children and Youth Services Review
Citation Excerpt :
This may be due to risks that were not acknowledged before, that were detected as a consequence of the intensive intervention, and which eventually led to out-of-home placement. This explanation suggests that risk assessment is problematic, a conclusion that has been drawn before (e.g. Berry, 1991; Lindsey et al., 2002; Rossi, 1992; Thieman & Dail, 1992; White & Walsh, 2006). It is possible that neither the interventions nor the studies that assumed risk for placement were accurate in establishing such risk.
The aims of the present study were, first, to establish the effect of brief, in-home intensive family preservation programs on prevention of out-of-home placement, family functioning, child behavior problems and social support and, second, to study moderators of these effects. The results of this meta-analytic study, consisting of 20 studies (31,369 participants), show that intensive family preservation programs had a medium and positive effect on family functioning (d = .486), but were generally not effective in preventing out-of-home placement. Intensive family preservation programs were effective in preventing placement for multi-problem families, but not for families experiencing abuse and neglect. Moreover, the effect on out-of-home placement proved to be moderated by client characteristics (sex and age of the child, parent age, number of children in the family, single-parenthood, non-white ethnicity), program characteristics (caseload), study characteristics (study design and study quality), and publication characteristics (publication type, publication year and journal impact factor). The discussion addresses implications for evaluation and practice.
Examining families' perceptions of intensive in-home services: A mixed methods study
2009, Children and Youth Services Review
Intensive in-home services play an important role in child welfare practice. This study explored whether families perceived they were stronger after their involvement with intensive in-home services in Arizona. Phase I of the project sampled 17 families who completed services three to six months prior to the study. Phase II sampled 36 families and followed participants during their involvement with services. The mixed methods concurrent triangulation design was used which involved administering a quantitative measure of family functioning and satisfaction with services, triangulated with qualitative data collected through in-depth interviews with at least one adult member of each family. Ultimately, 102 interviews were conducted with 53 families. The study found most families (75%) felt they were stronger after participating in intensive in-home services. Of these families, many (82%) attributed part of their success to their involvement with these services. These results suggest most families in this study perceived intensive in-home services were helpful. However, 25% of participants did not see their family as any stronger after in-home services and some identified areas in which services could be enhanced. Although the perspectives of most of these families support the usefulness of intensive in-home services, improvements could be made to increase the consistent quality of service delivery potentially yielding more positive results for families.
Brief and intensive family support program to prevent emergency placements: Lessons learned from a process evaluation
2009, Children and Youth Services Review
This article presents the results from the evaluation of the Montreal Brief and Intensive Intervention (BII) program designed to prevent emergency placements or other longer-term services by Youth centers in situations involving family crises by providing short-term, intensive interventions. A multimethods evaluation design was used to evaluate program implementation, processes and outcomes. Quantitative implementation evaluation results showed that the program was globally well implemented, except for two of its core principles: intervention briefness and concrete support. Qualitative process evaluation results were helpful in explaining why these principles were poorly implemented and underscored, in particular, the importance of BII staff members' understanding and attitudes. The implementation results were linked to the outcome evaluation results in order to identify the predictors (characteristics of families and intervention) of success of the intervention. Practical implications are discussed.
Implementation and effects of a service coordination program for youths and their families in complex situations: A mixed evaluation design
2008, Children and Youth Services Review
This article reports on some results from the evaluation of Project YIT, a pilot-project (2003–2006) from Québec's Ministry of Health and Social Services (MHSS). The program entailed the implementation of service coordination teams throughout the province, whose purpose was to improve the accessibility and quality of services in complex cases involving youths (0–18 years old). Three aspects of the program were evaluated: team implementation (objective 1), team outcomes (objective 2) and coordination processes (objective 3). The methodological approach combined qualitative and quantitative techniques in three data collection methods (online database, qualitative analysis of four teams, clinical case studies). Results demonstrate that the teams were overall well-implemented and able to produce intended effects. Implications for practitioners, decision-makers and evaluators are discussed.

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^☆: This review was made possible by a grant from the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation.

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Assessing family preservation programs☆

Abstract

An evaluation of intensive home-based services as an alternative to placement for adolescents and their families

Draft copies of standards for Homebuilders program, four reports dated April 9

Thinking about evaluation

An evaluation of family preservation services: Fitting agency services to family needs

The assessment of imminence of risk of placement: Lessons from a family preservation program

Children and Youth Services Review

The decategorization of child welfare services: A report of Iowa's first years efforts

State family preservation programs: A description of six states ' progress in developing services to keep families together

Family preservation in Tennessee: The home ties intervention

Evaluating the impact of family preservation services in New Jersey

Families in crisis: The impact of intensive family preservation services