2-004 - The Early Head Start-Child Welfare Study: Long-Term Follow up of Program Impacts, Early Parenting, and Measurement Considerations

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

While maltreatment prevention efforts are expanding, few programs demonstrate effectiveness in reducing maltreatment (IOM, 2013). This symposium presents papers derived from the Early Head Start-Child Welfare Study (EHSCWS), an investigation of the impact of Early Head Start (EHS) on child abuse and neglect. Early Head Start (EHS) is a comprehensive two-generation early education program designed for low-income families with infants and toddlers.

A large national randomized trial in 17 communities, the EHS Research and Evaluation Project (EHSREP), found positive impacts of for both parents and children. However, information on child maltreatment was not collected. This paper symposium is based on the integration of two data sets EHSREP and child-level state administrative data on reporting and placement of children. The results are a 13-year longitudinal follow-up study for seven of the original 17 sites (n=1,247 children; 628 program and 619 control).
Administrative records were coded for the following factors:
1. Number and date of substantiated reports of child maltreatment
2. Number and date of out-of-home placements
3. Number of child welfare encounters
4. Maltreatment type of each substantiated report: (1) physical abuse and/or sexual abuse (2) neglect.
The three papers capitalize on the experimental design and the rich data collected on child and parent outcomes in the EHSREP. The first paper looks at EHS program impacts on child maltreatment, the second investigates associations between early parenting, maltreatment, and EHS programming, and the third examines issues of measuring maltreatment. Each will address implications for early childhood maltreatment prevention policy and programs.

Sub Unit

• Parenting & Parent-Child Relationships

Chair

• Catherine C. Ayoub, Harvard University

Discussant

• Melissa Brodowski, Administration for Children & Families, US Dept. Health & Human Services

Individual Presentations

• Impacts of Early Head Start on Child Maltreatment: Outcomes from a 13-Year Longitudinal Study - Presenting Author: Catherine C. Ayoub, Harvard University; Beth L. Green, Portland State University

• Associations Between Early Parenting Behaviors and Maltreatment - Presenting Author: Rachel Chazan Cohen, Univ of Massachusetts Boston

• :Issues in Measuring Child Abuse and Neglect in Studies on Preventive Interventions: - Presenting Author: Jessica D Bartlett, Harvard University