Assessing family preservation programs

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