Title

The Effect of Early Head Start on Child Welfare System Involvement: A First Look at Longitudinal Child Maltreatment Outcomes

Date

2014

Author(s)

Beth L. Green, Catherine Ayoub, Jessica Dym Bartlett, Adam Von Ende, Carrie Furrer, Rachel Chazan-Cohen, Claire Vallotton, and Joanne Klevens

Brief Type

Journal Publication

Model(s)

  • Early Head Start Home-Based Option

Description

The high societal and personal costs of child maltreatment make identification of effective early prevention programs a high research priority. Early Head Start (EHS), a dual generational program serving low-income families with children prenatally through age three years, is one of the largest federally funded programs for infants and toddlers in the United States. A national randomized trial found EHS to be effective in improving parent and child outcomes, but its effectiveness in reducing child maltreatment was not assessed. The current study used administrative data from state child welfare agencies to examine the impact of EHS on documented abuse and neglect among children from seven of the original seventeen programs in the national EHS randomized controlled trial. Results indicated that children in EHS had significantly fewer child welfare encounters between the ages of five and nine years than did children in the control group, and that EHS slowed the rate of subsequent encounters. Additionally, compared to children in the control group, children in EHS were less likely to have a substantiated report of physical or sexual abuse, but more likely to have a substantiated report of neglect. These findings suggest that EHS may be effective in reducing child maltreatment among low-income children, in particular, physical and sexual abuse. (author abstract)

Data Collection Methods

  • Program administrative record reviews
  • Record and document reviews

Status

Finished

For More Information

Green, B. L., Ayoub, C., Bartlett, J. D., Von Ende, A., Furrer, C., Chazan-Cohen, R., ... & Klevens, J. (2014). The effect of Early Head Start on child welfare system involvement: A first look at longitudinal child maltreatment outcomes. Children and Youth Services Review42, 127-135. doi: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2014.03.044
Author Contact Information:
Beth L. Green
beth.green@pdx.edu

Topics

  • Participant, Family, and Program Outcomes