Early Emotion Development Intervention Improves Mental Health Outcomes in Low-Income, High-Risk Community Children.

Children living in poverty and facing related forms of adversity are at higher risk for experiencing concurrent and later psychopathology. Although negative psychological outcomes can be improved by enhancing sensitive and responsive caregiving early in development, interventions targeting the caregiver-child dyad are not readily accessible. The present study investigated the feasibility and effectiveness of delivering a shortened eight-session form of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy-Emotion Development (PCIT-ED) in-person or remotely as an early intervention for 3-6-year-old children (N = 62) at elevated risk for psychopathology who were growing up in low-income communities. Caregiver-child dyads were randomized to eight-sessions of PCIT-ED or online parenting education. Relative to parenting education, children receiving PCIT-ED exhibited lower externalizing symptoms and functional impairment and more positive peer relationships following the intervention. Findings support the effectiveness of this shortened form of PCIT-ED, delivered in-person or remotely, as an early intervention to improve symptoms of psychopathology and functioning in high-risk children living in poverty.Trial registration Clinicaltrials.gov; NCT04399629.

Grandi Byen-supporting child growth and development through integrated, responsive parenting, nutrition and hygiene: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Poor child growth and development outcomes stem from complex relationships encompassing biological, behavioral, social, and environmental conditions. However, there is a dearth of research on integrated approaches targeting these interwoven factors. The Grandi Byen study seeks to fill this research gap through a three-arm longitudinal randomized controlled trial which will evaluate the impact of an integrated nutrition, responsive parenting, and WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) intervention on holistic child growth and development. METHODS: We will recruit 600 mother-infant dyads living in Cap-Haitien, Haiti and randomize them equally into one of the following groups: 1) standard well-baby care; 2) nutritional intervention (one egg per day for 6 months); and 3) multicomponent Grandi Byen intervention (responsive parenting, nutrition, WASH + one egg per day for 6 months). Primary outcomes include child growth as well as cognitive, language, motor, and social-emotional development. The study also assesses other indicators of child health (bone maturation, brain growth, diarrheal morbidity and allergies, dietary intake, nutrient biomarkers) along with responsive parenting as mediating factors influencing the primary outcomes. An economic evaluation will assess the feasibility of large-scale implementation of the interventions. DISCUSSION: This study builds on research highlighting the importance of responsive parenting interventions on overall child health, as well as evidence demonstrating that providing an egg daily to infants during the complementary feeding period can prevent stunted growth. The multicomponent Grandi Byen intervention may provide evidence of synergistic or mediating effects of an egg intervention with instruction on psychoeducational parenting and WASH on child growth and development. Grandi Byen presents key innovations with implications for the well-being of children living in poverty globally. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT04785352 . Registered March 5, 2021 at https://clinicaltrials.gov/.

Parameterizing Toxic Stress in Early Childhood: Maternal Depression, Maltreatment, and HPA-Axis Variation in a Pilot Intervention Study.

Adverse experiences superseding a child's capacity to sustain regulation of emotion and adaptive function are theorized to constitute "toxic stressors" when they induce a deleterious biological response within an individual. We ascertained presumptive parameters of toxic stress among 164 low-income infants and toddlers (ages 4-48 months) from 132 families enrolled in Early Head Start (EHS). We randomized a subset of these families into a pilot intervention arm of parenting education (the Incredible Years, TIY), which supplemented the EHS curriculum. Official report child abuse and neglect (CAN) and child behavior were serially ascertained over the course of the study. We observed relatively low associations among maternal depression, CAN, caregiver-child relationship quality, hair cortisol, and adverse child behavioral outcomes. Moreover, despite poverty and the high prevalence (51%) of CAN in this sample, the frequency of clinical-level internalizing and externalizing behavior among the children did not exceed that of the general population, by their parents' report. The pilot supplementation of EHS with TIY improved attendance in group meetings but did not significantly reduce adverse behavioral outcomes or CAN. This study revealed marked independence of standard indices of toxic stress (child maltreatment, maternal depression, caregiver emotional unavailability) which have been presumed to be risk factors for the development of psychopathology. That they were weakly inter-correlated, and only modestly predictive of child behavioral outcomes in this EHS sample, caution against presumptions about the toxicity of individual stressors, highlight the importance of ascertaining risk (and compensatory influences) comprehensively, suggest buffering effects of programs like EHS, and demonstrate the need for greater understanding of what parameterizes resilience in early childhood.

The impact of responsible fatherhood programs on parenting, psychological well-being, and financial outcomes: A randomized controlled trial.

The objective of this study was to examine differences in parenting, psychological well-being, and economic outcomes between fathers receiving two different programs offered by Fathers & Families Support Center for economically disadvantaged fathers: (a) Family Formation (FF), a 6-week/240-h program focused on economic stability/mobility, responsible fatherhood, and healthy relationships, with case management and legal services; (b) Economic Stability (ES), a 4-week/80-h program focused only on economic stability with limited case management and legal services. A randomized controlled trial (RCT) was used to compare fathers in FF (n = 350) vs. ES (n = 342). Surveys were administered at enrollment and 3- and 12-months postintervention. Linear and generalized linear mixed models were used to assess changes in program outcomes over time and across study groups. Four hundred and eighty-two fathers responded to either follow-up survey (251 FF, 231 ES). Nearly all (98%) were non-white (93% Black, 5% other/mixed race) and were on average 34 years old. Approximately 46% attended ≥75% of program sessions (FF 48% vs. ES 44%). Both FF and ES groups experienced improvements in parenting, psychological well-being, and financial outcomes after the programs, but changes in outcomes over time did not differ significantly by program. The lack of difference in outcomes between fathers in FF and ES groups could be due to a similar core focus on employment-related curriculum for both groups. Gaining financial stability could have contributed to positive improvements in other fatherhood domains. Implications for future research and practice are discussed herein.

El objetivo de este estudio fue analizar las diferencias en la crianza, el bienestar psicológico y los resultados económicos entre padres que recibían dos programas diferentes ofrecidos por el Centro de Apoyo a los Padres y las Familias (Fathers & Familiares Support Center) para padres desfavorecidos económicamente: (a) Formación de una Familia (Family Formation, FF), un programa de 6 semanas/240 horas centrado en la estabilidad/movilidad económica, la paternidad responsable y las relaciones saludables, con gestión de casos y servicios legales; (b) Estabilidad Económica (Economic Stability, ES), un programa de 4 semanas/80 horas centrado solamente en la estabilidad económica con poca gestión de casos y servicios legales. Se usó un ensayo controlado aleatorizado para comparar a los padres de FF (n=350) con los de ES (n=342). Se realizaron encuestas en la inscripción y a los 3 y a los 12 meses posteriores a la intervención. Se usaron modelos lineales y modelos mixtos lineales generalizados para evaluar los cambios en los resultados de los programas con el tiempo y entre los grupos de estudio. 482 padres respondieron a cada encuesta de seguimiento (251 FF, 231 ES). Casi todos (el 98 %) eran de color (el 93 % negros, el 5 % de otra raza o de raza mestiza) y tenían, en promedio, 34 años. Aproximadamente el 46 % asistió a más del 75 % de las sesiones de los programas (el 48 % de FF frente al 44 % de ES). Tanto el grupo de FF como el de ES tuvieron mejoras en la crianza, en el bienestar psicológico y en los resultados económicos después de los programas, pero los cambios en los resultados con el tiempo no variaron significativamente por programa. La falta de diferencia en los resultados entre los padres del grupo de FF y los del grupo de ES podría deberse a un enfoque principal similar en un currículo relacionado con el empleo para ambos grupos. La adquisición de estabilidad económica podría haber contribuido a mejoras positivas en otras áreas de la paternidad. Se comentan las consecuencias para la futura investigación y la práctica.

Childhood Maltreatment, Public Service System Contact, and Preventable Death in Young Adulthood.

Data from a longitudinal cohort study of low-income children reported for maltreatment matched to similarly poor nonreported children were used to examine intentional and unintentional injury deaths in young adulthood. The goal was to examine the unique contribution of maltreatment history and identify other potential systems for preventive efforts. Maltreatment reports were associated with increased risk of injury-related death per 6-month intervals (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.09, p < .05). Young adults with histories of both status offenses and delinquent offenses were at greater risk for later death (HR = 2.24, p < .05) as were those with histories of emergency room (ER) treatment for intentional injury prior to age 18 years (HR =3.95, p < .05). More than 50% of the deaths were firearm-related; nearly all firearm deaths occurred among Black youth. Implications for prevention within at-risk populations are discussed.

A national study of intimate partner violence risk among female caregivers involved in the child welfare system: The role of nativity, acculturation, and legal status.

Although intimate partner violence (IPV) is a well-known risk for child maltreatment, little is known if the prevalence of and risk factors for IPV differ among US-born and foreign-born families involved with Child Protective Services. Data came from a new cohort of the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being II (NSCAW II), a national probability study of children reported for child abuse and neglect. The study sample was restricted to female caregivers whose children remained in the home following an investigation (N=2,210). Caregiver self-report information was used to measure physical form of IPV during the past 12 months. The study results revealed no significant differences in IPV victimization rates between foreign-born and US-born caregivers both bivariately and while controlling for key socio-demographic and psychosocial functioning characteristics as well as family needs. Common risk factors for both population groups included caregiver's young age, depression, high family stress and low social support. Additionally, foreign-born caregivers were more likely to experience IPV when there was high neighborhood stress and intimate partner was absent while Hispanic ethnicity, higher education, problematic substance use, and difficulty with paying for basic necessities predicted IPV among US-born caregivers. Neither legal status nor acculturation indicators were significantly associated with IPV victimization for foreign-born. Findings indicate that IPV remains a significant problem for child welfare-involved caregivers and warrant effective screening, identification and prevention.

Cultural Adaptation and Implementation of Evidence-Based Parent-Training: A Systematic Review and Critique of Guiding Evidence.

With advances in knowledge regarding efficacious evidence-based interventions, there have been significant attempts to culturally adapt, implement, and disseminate parent training interventions broadly, especially across ethnic and cultural groups. We sought to examine the extent to which researchers and developers of evidence-based parent training programs have used cultural adaptation models, tested implementation strategies, and evaluated implementation outcomes when integrating the interventions into routine care by conducting a systematic review of the literature for four evidence-based parent training interventions: Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), The Incredible Years (IY), Parent Management Training-Oregon Model (PMTO™), and the Positive Parenting Program (Triple P). A total of 610 articles across the four programs were identified. Of those, only eight documented a rigorous cultural adaptation process, and only two sought to test the effectiveness of implementation strategies by using rigorous research designs. Our findings suggest that there is much work to be done to move parent-training intervention research towards a more rigorous examination of cultural adaptation and implementation practices.

Females in the Juvenile Justice System: Who Are They and How Do They Fare?

Increasing numbers of female youth involved in the juvenile justice system highlight the need to examine this population. This study enumerates distinct profiles of risk and protection among juvenile court-involved females, examining young adult outcomes associated with these profiles. Administrative data on 700 participants were drawn from multiple service sectors in a Midwest metropolitan region. Latent class and Pearson chi-square analyses were used. Five unique classes were identified; these classes were associated with young adult outcomes. One class of impoverished African American females was most likely to experience problematic young adult outcomes but least likely to have received juvenile justice services. Findings highlight the heterogeneity in the female juvenile court population and discrepancies between service needs and service receipt.

Recruiting Fathers to Parenting Programs: Advice from Dads and Fatherhood Program Providers.

The benefits of high-quality father-child relationships for fathers and children alike are well documented. While evidence suggests parenting programs can improve the quality of father-child relationships, few fathers participate in such programs. This qualitative study aims to fill the gap in knowledge on best practices for recruiting urban African American fathers, a group of fathers with unique parenting challenges, to parenting programs. Focus groups were conducted with 29 fathers to gain their perspectives on recruitment strategies. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted with a nationwide sample of 19 fatherhood program providers to learn about their most successful recruitment strategies. Recruitment strategies based on emergent themes from the focus groups and interviews are presented here. Themes included using word-of-mouth recruitment, increasing advertising, targeting advertising specifically to urban African American fathers, providing transportation and incentives, recruiting through the courts, collaborating with other community agencies, and offering parenting programming along with other programming valued by fathers such as employment assistance. Implications for developing strategies for recruiting urban African American fathers to parenting programs are discussed.

Racial/Ethnic Differences in Child Protective Services Reporting, Substantiation and Placement, With Comparison to Non-CPS Risks and Outcomes: 2005-2019.

We used National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System and Census data to examine Black-White and Hispanic-White disparities in reporting, substantiation, and out-of-home placement both descriptively from 2005-2019 and in multivariate models from 2007-2017. We also tracked contemporaneous social risk (e.g., child poverty) and child harm (e.g., infant mortality) disparities using non-child protective services (CPS) sources and compared them to CPS reporting rate disparities. Black-White CPS reporting disparities were lower than found in non-CPS risk and harm benchmarks. Consistent with the Hispanic paradox, Hispanic-White CPS reporting disparities were lower than risk disparities but similar to harm disparities. Descriptive and multivariate analyses of data from the past several years indicated that Black children were less likely to be substantiated or placed into out-of-home care following a report than White children. Hispanic children were slightly more likely to be substantiated or placed in out-of-home care than White children overall, but this difference disappeared in multivariate models. Available data provide no evidence that Black children were overreported relative to observed risks and harms reflected in non-CPS data. Reducing reporting rates among Black children will require addressing broader conditions associated with maltreatment.

Time to leave substantiation behind: findings from a national probability study.

Data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-being, a national probability study of children and families investigated for child maltreatment, were analyzed to answer the question: Do substantiated and unsubstantiated cases differ in rates of recidivism over 36 months? Recidivism was classified as (a) any re-reports, (b) substantiated re-reports and (c) subsequent foster care placements. Bivariate (survivor functions estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method) and multivariate (Cox regression modeling) analyses were conducted. The results revealed that risk of recidivism was similar regardless of substantiation status of the index investigation. We suggest that the substantiation label be removed from field use. Instead, we suggest that agencies record service needs in the families they serve, and also record whether or not the family meets criteria for referral to the family court. These would be far more practical and meaningful ways to measure child welfare services.

Is the overrepresentation of the poor in child welfare caseloads due to bias or need?

One hanging question in child welfare policy and research is whether there is an artificial overrepresentation of the poor in child welfare caseloads or whether this reflects the co-occurrence of poverty and need. In order to address this question, this study uses data from child welfare (report, assessment, service and re-report), income maintenance, special education, hospitals, juvenile court, public mental health treatment, and census data. Poor children reported to child welfare are compared to non-poor children reported to child welfare and also to poor children not reported to child welfare. Poor children reported for maltreatment had greater risk factors at the parent and neighborhood levels and higher rates of negative outcomes than children in either comparison group. Among children reported for maltreatment, poor children have worse outcomes, both within child welfare (e.g., recurrence) and outside of child welfare (e.g. juvenile court, hospitalization for violence) than non-poor children. These data suggest that the overrepresentation of poor children is driven largely by the presence of increased risk among the poor children that come to the attention of child welfare rather than high levels of systemic class bias.

The State of Parent Training: Program Offerings and Empirical Support.

Parent training programs, with a range of empirical support, are available to improve parenting skills and reduce child behavior problems. Yet, little is known about programs provided in typical communities. This pilot study's purpose was to identify and describe parent programs-and the agencies that provide them-in one midsized midwestern city. The sample included 21 program directors and 25 practitioners employed by 19 agencies. data were gathered using structured phone interviews. of the 35 programs represented, 37.1% were developed by the agency, while close to two thirds were previously developed interventions. only a small number of the parent programs identified were classified into the category of strong empirical support; however, several included hallmarks often associated with empirically supported parent programs.

Intermediary/purveyor organizations for evidence-based interventions in the US child mental health: characteristics and implementation strategies.

BACKGROUND: Many psychosocial interventions are disseminated and supported by organizations, termed "Intermediary/Purveyor Organizations" (IPOs). Because IPOs remain largely unstudied, we lack understanding of their scale and the strategies they utilize. The role and function of organizations that link resource systems with user systems, such as IPOs, have been identified as an important but understudied issue in implementation science. The objectives of this paper are to describe features of IPOs that disseminate evidence-based interventions (EBIs) for child behavioral health and identify the strategies they use to support their implementation. METHODS: The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services (SAMHSA) National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices (NREPP) listed 119 unique IPOs for the 127 child behavioral health EBIs listed on its website. Data characterizing each organization were drawn from NREPP and GuideStar profiles. From 119 unique IPOs identified, we found contact information for 108. We sent an electronic survey to capture additional organizational information and implementation strategies the IPOs employed in spreading the EBIs; response rate was 50%. Data are presented descriptively and analyzed using ordinary least squares (OLS) regression and Latent Class Analysis (LCA). RESULTS: Virtually all identified EBIs had an IPO. IPOs train individuals, organizations, and communities and provide supervision for the use of EBIs. About 20% of IPOs trained at large scale, some training 500-1000+ providers annually. IPOs reported using an average of 32 distinct strategies to implement their EBIs, with most using educational, planning, and quality improvement strategies. However, there was little convergence around strategy helpfulness. The only significant predictor of number of strategies used by an IPO was the NREPP-posted implementation readiness score of the intervention. LCA revealed that IPOs either used several implementation strategies or used very few. CONCLUSIONS: Findings add significantly to knowledge about IPO structure, scale, and function. They use numerous and varying implementation strategies but report little consensus in what works. The study advances methods for measuring and characterizing real-world implementation by demonstrating the feasibility of using a common nomenclature, per a published compilation and of LCA for data reduction in characterizing profiles of implementation approaches.

Self-reported disciplinary practices among women in the child welfare system: association with domestic violence victimization.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between physical domestic violence victimization (both recent and more than a year in past measured by self-report) and self-reported disciplinary practices among female parents/caregivers in a national sample of families referred to child welfare. METHODS: Cross-sectional survey of more than 3,000 female caregivers in the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-being (NSCAW) study, a nationally representative sample of children and their families referred to child welfare agencies for investigation of abuse and neglect. Women reported physical domestic violence victimization and their disciplinary practices for their child on different versions of the Conflict Tactics Scales. RESULTS: Four hundred and forty-three women reported prior year domestic violence, 1,161 reported domestic violence but not in the past 12 months, and 2,025 reported no domestic violence exposure. Any prior domestic violence exposure was associated with higher rates of self-reported psychological aggression, physical aggression and neglectful disciplinary behaviors as compared to those with no domestic violence victimization in bivariate comparisons. After controlling for child behavior, demographic factors, and maternal characteristics, those with remote and recent domestic violence victimization employed more self-reported psychological aggression, while only caregivers with recent DV reported more physical aggression or neglectful behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: In a national child welfare sample, self-reported aggressive and neglectful parenting behaviors were common. In this sample, domestic violence victimization is associated with more self-reported aggressive and neglectful disciplinary behaviors among female caregivers. The mechanism for these associations is not clear. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Rates of aggressive and neglectful disciplinary practices are especially high among female parents/caregivers exposed to domestic violence. Child welfare agencies should plan routine and structured assessments for domestic violence among parents/caregivers and implement parenting interventions to reduce harmful disciplinary practices for those families identified.

Impact of Pathways Triple P on Pediatric Health-Related Quality of Life in Maltreated Children.

OBJECTIVE: Child maltreatment is an adverse childhood experience associated with reductions in child well-being. This study examines whether an evidence-based parenting intervention delivered to families served by the child welfare system (CWS) affects pediatric health-related quality of life (HRQoL). METHOD: This study is a randomized controlled trial of Pathways Triple P (PTP) delivered to families with open child welfare cases for child physical abuse or neglect (N = 119). Children were 5 to 11 years old and remained in the home after the investigation. The primary outcome measure for this study was the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) 4.0, which measures HRQoL across 4 subdomains: physical functioning, emotional functioning, social functioning, and school functioning. Child- and parent-reported PedsQL 4.0 was assessed at baseline and post-test after the 14-week intervention. RESULTS: Controlling for other factors, children in families randomly assigned to the PTP condition had a significant improvement in overall HRQoL after the intervention compared with families receiving usual services (ßchild-report = 6.08, SE = 2.77, p = 0.03; ßparent-report = 3.83, SE = 1.88, p = 0.04). Subdomain effect sizes differed when considering children's self-report or parents' proxy report. Children's self-report yielded the largest improvement in emotional functioning, whereas social functioning had the largest gain based on parents' proxy report. CONCLUSION: The PTP parenting intervention was associated with higher pediatric HRQoL as reported by both the child and parent. This intervention holds promise to improve child well-being when implemented in the CWS.

Profiles of Child-Welfare-Involved Caregivers Identified by Caseworkers as Having a Domestic Violence Problem: Then and Now.

Over the past 10 years, there has been a significant decline in the rate of domestic violence (DV) experienced among caregivers involved with the child protective services (CPS) system. It is unclear whether this shift is related to changes in caregiver characteristics. Furthermore, despite evidence that suggests CPS caseworkers poorly identify DV and fail to link families to DV services, limited research exists on whether the current CPS interventions that are known to improve caseworkers' DV identification will also improve chances for DV service receipt. The present study uses data from the first and second cohorts of the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW) to compare differences in demographic characteristics and DV experiences between caregivers in NSCAW I (1999-2000; n = 2,758) and NSCAW II (2008-2009; n = 2,207). We also examine the effects of CPS interventions on NSCAW II caregivers' receipt of DV services external to the CPS agency (i.e., external DV services). Caregivers with caseworker reports of active DV in NSCAW I and II were similar in their demographic characteristics and external DV service experiences. However, caregivers in NSCAW II generally reported lower rates of victimization for specific types of violence than NSCAW I caregivers. Finally, caregivers with active DV involved with an agency that used DV assessment tools were 7.03 times more likely to receive external DV services than those in agencies without DV tools (95% confidence interval [CI] = [2.33, 21.22]). Whereas caregivers in agencies that sometimes (odds ratio [OR] = 0.16, 95% CI = [0.03, 0.99]) or always (OR = 0.15, 95% CI = [0.02, 0.98]) had a DV specialist available were less likely to receive external DV services than those in an agency that never/rarely had a DV specialist available. We recommend CPS agencies use specialized assessment tools to identify DV-affected families and link them to services. Additional research is needed to understand what types of services DV specialists offer within CPS agencies and whether these services meet caregivers' needs.

What would help low-income families? Results from a North American survey of 2-1-1 helpline professionals.

Almost half of young American children live in low-income families, many with unmet needs that negatively impact health and life outcomes. Understanding which needs, proactively addressed, would most improve their lives would allow maternal and child health practitioners and social service providers to generate collaborative solutions with the potential to affect health in childhood and throughout the life course. 2-1-1 referral helplines respond to over 16 million inquiries annually, including millions of low-income parents seeking resources. Because 2-1-1 staff members understand the availability of community resources, we conducted an online survey to determine which solutions staff believed held most potential to improve the lives of children in low-income families. Information and referral specialists, resource managers, and call center directors (N = 471) from 44 states, Puerto Rico, and Canada ranked the needs of 2-1-1 callers with children based on which needs, if addressed, would help families most. Childcare (32%), parenting (29%), and child health/health care (23%) were rated most important. Across all childcare dimensions (e.g. quality affordable care, special needs care), over half of the respondents rated community resources inadequate. Findings will help practitioners develop screeners for needs assessment, prioritize resource referrals, and advocate for community resource development.

Trying to bridge the worlds of home visitation and child welfare: Lessons learned from a formative evaluation.

Young children in families contacting the child welfare system are at high risk of recurrent maltreatment and poor developmental outcomes. Home visitation programs to support parenting may offer hope as a preventive resource but these programs are rarely linked with child welfare. This article describes findings from a formative evaluation of a program designed to connect child welfare-involved families to an existing evidence-supported home visitation program. The program, Early Childhood Connections (ECC), was developed by a field-university partnership including leaders from a public state child welfare system, regional early childhood education systems, and several local agencies providing family support services. Despite extensive and rigorous planning by the workgroup and collaborative refining of the intervention approach as agency needs changed, the continued structural and policy changes within both the home visitation agency and the child welfare agencies created significant ongoing barriers to implementation. On the other hand, child welfare-involved families were receptive to engaging with home visitation. Implications of lessons learned for ongoing program development in this area are discussed.