Intensive family preservation services research: Current status and future agenda

Abstract

Intensive family preservation services are designed to prevent the placement of children and youths in out-of-home placements. The literature pertaining to the effectiveness of these services is summarized. On the basis of this summary and the deliberations of the National Intensive Family Preservation Services Research Conference, a research agenda is proposed. It is concluded that future research should be directed toward understanding the proportion of children at risk of out-of-home placement who could be served by such programs, the context in which programs are implemented, the functioning of children and families, and the maintenance of treatment gains over time. The importance of theoretically anchored research is also stressed.