Behavior change across implementations of the SafeCare model in real world settings

Research to Consider While Effectively Re-Designing Child Welfare Services

“…Perhaps due to this misconception regarding the nature of and harm related to the phenomena of child neglect, less attention has been paid to developing effective interventions. One of the few exceptions is SafeCare which is building the evidence base in regard to intervention with child welfare involved families (Whitaker et al, 2020) and has also been shown to be culturally acceptable and effective with underrepresented minority families (Chaffin, Bard, Bigfoot, & Maher, 2012; Rogers-Brown et al, 2020). Current efforts to test approaches to address poverty and material needs show promise of reducing the incidence of maltreatment, but more work is needed to understand the best means of delivery and full impact of these approaches (Drake, Jonson-Reid, & Dvalishvili, in press).…”

Findings from a Structured Adaptation Process for the SafeCare Parenting Program to Address Family Needs in a Diverse Refugee Community

“…SafeCare is a broadly implemented behavioral parenting program that addresses three parenting skills critical for the promotion of positive parenting and the prevention of child maltreatment among parents of children ages 0–5 with three modules: (1) parent–child interaction (targets positive parent–child interaction and the reduction of child behavioral problems), (2) home safety (targets parental knowledge about home hazards and child protection from unintentional injury in the home), and (3) child health (targets parental health literacy and prevention of risk for medical neglect). A substantial body of field-based research supports the SafeCare program (Gershater-Molko et al, 2002; Lutzker & Rice, 1987; Rogers-Brown et al, 2020), and rigorous randomized trials of SafeCare have shown positive results on both child maltreatment recidivism (Chaffin, Hecht et al, 2012) and parenting skills (Carta, Lefever, Bigelow, Borkowski, & Warren, 2013; Whitaker et al, 2020). The SafeCare parenting program also has been well received by parents and seen as culturally relevant by diverse groups, including Latinx and American Indian populations (Chaffin, Bard et al, 2012; Damashek, Doughty, Ware, & Silovsky, 2011; Damashek, Bard, & Hecht, 2012).…”

The Prevention of Child Maltreatment: Using SafeCare® to Highlight Successes and Needs for Improvement in Prevention Efforts

“…The most recent randomized trial comparing SafeCare to services as usual (i.e., unstructured support, crisis management, referrals, and parent education) among parents referred to child welfare systems indicates that SafeCare significantly improved parenting outcomes related to positive child behaviors ( d = 0.46), proactive parenting ( d = 0.25), and parenting stress ( d = 0.28 − 0.30; Whitaker et al, 2020 ). In a secondary data analysis of behavior change among 493 families who received SafeCare across 64 agencies, there was a significant increase in health care ( d = 1.74) and parent–child interaction ( d = 2.10) skills as well as a significant decrease in home hazards ( d = 3.0; Rogers-Brown et al, 2020 ). However, an evidence-based program is only as effective as its dissemination and implementation efforts.…”