Abstract
Public health nurse home visiting is a promising approach for addressing the complex needs of families at risk of child maltreatment. The Colorado Nurse Support Program advances service provision by using evidence-based practices to provide tailored assessment and intervention to low-income, primiparous, and multiparous families with children under 18 years of age identified as high risk by county human service systems. This study aimed to test the effects of the Nurse Support Program on child protective services case characteristics between Nurse Support Program families and a demographically comparable reference group of families and evaluate changes in parenting outcomes from pre- to postprogram involvement for Nurse Support Program families. We used a matched comparison group quasi-experimental design in which families in the Nurse Support Program ( n = 48) were compared to families ( n = 150) who were identified using administrative data from Colorado's Comprehensive Child Welfare Information System. Outcomes were child protective case characteristics (child protection referrals, open assessments, founded assessments, open cases, and children's placement in out-of-home care) and parenting outcomes. Nurse Support Program families were less likely to have a child protection case opened or have their child placed in out-of-home care. There were no significant between-group differences in child protection referrals, open assessments, or founded assessments. Families in the Nurse Support Program showed improvements in parenting outcomes over time. Findings suggest that the Nurse Support Program is a successful public health nurse home-visiting approach to promote positive parenting and family preservation among families with complex needs. Implementing tailored public health nurse home-visiting programs, such as the Nurse Support Program, should continue to be evaluated and supported to mitigate the public health risk of child maltreatment.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
