| Family preservation
programs are defined to include (1) placement prevention services,
(2) broader family preservation services that may be less intensive
and of longer duration, and (3) reunification services to speed the
return of children to their homes after entering substitute care.
Measures of program success will include prevention of placement of
children into substitute care (for pre-placement services),
successful reunification (for reunification services), improved
child psychological well-being, improved child behavior, improved
family functioning, and reduction of the recurrence of child abuse
and neglect. Random assignment designs are in place. Children and
families will be re-interviewed one year after selection into
treatment and control groups and will be followed longer through
administrative records. The contractor for the study is Westat,
Inc., of Rockville, Maryland. Subcontractors working with Westat
include James Bell Associates of Arlington, Virginia, and the
Chapin Hall Center for Children of Chicago, Illinois. |
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