Rural Research Needs and Data Sources for Selected Human Services Topics
Prepared by: Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.
Contents
Research Summary (in PDF format )
A Synthesis of Research on Family Preservation and Family Reunification Programs. Tables
TABLE 1:
SUMMARY OF NON-EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES OF FAMILY PRESERVATION PROGRAMS
A Synthesis of Research on Family Preservation and Family Reunification Programs. References
Ahart, Ariel, Ruth Bruer, Carolun Rutsch, Richard Schmidt, and Susan Zaro (1992). Final Report: Intensive Foster Care Reunification Programs. Paper submitted to the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Macro International, Inc.
Arizona Department of Economic Security, Division of Social S
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A Synthesis of Research on Family Preservation and Family Reunification Programs. Summary
There is little solid evidence that programs aimed at preventing out-of-home placements or reunifying families with children in foster care have the intended effects. Results of nonexperimental studies have been misleading and the findings of controlled studies in these areas are mixed. Some studies involved samples that were so small that it woul
A Synthesis of Research on Family Preservation and Family Reunification Programs. Correlates of Reunification and Reentry
Several researchers have examined characteristics that are associated with reunification. Some studies have focused on clients in programs aimed at facilitating reunification, although most have examined factors associated with "natural" reunifications (that is, the return home from regular foster care). These studies do not support causal inferen
A Synthesis of Research on Family Preservation and Family Reunification Programs. Results of Controlled Studies
We know of only two well-controlled studies of special services designed to reunify children in foster care with their biological families. One was conducted before the passage of Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 and one after that Act. These two experiments are described below and in Table 3. 47
A Synthesis of Research on Family Preservation and Family Reunification Programs. Family Reunification
In addition to establishing the objective of preventing placements, the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 called for the reunification of children in foster care with their biological parents whenever possible, within the larger context of efforts to achieve permanent and safe living conditions for children. Yet, the issue of famil
A Synthesis of Research on Family Preservation and Family Reunification Programs. Cost
Family preservation programs have been promoted as a way to save costs on foster care. Claims of cost savings based on non- experimental studies must assume that most of the families who receive intensive, home-based services would have required placement in the absence of these services. The costs of intensive services are then compared with esti
A Synthesis of Research on Family Preservation and Family Reunification Programs. Program Effects on Child and Family Functioning
Several studies examined effects of services on measures of family functioning. 33 Some studies have simply examined change in these measures over time, but change can often be explained by maturation, statistical regression, and a host of external influences. Hence, we are interested in comparing the status of the treatment group following servi
A Synthesis of Research on Family Preservation and Family Reunification Programs. Prevention of Subsequent Child Maltreatment
The hope in family preservation programs is to prevent the placement of children without subsequent maltreatment. Few studies have examined the effects of family preservation programs on the recurrence of child maltreatment. Obviously, it is impossible to detect all maltreatment of children, so researchers have generally depended on reported incid
A Synthesis of Research on Family Preservation and Family Reunification Programs. Summary
Although many non-experimental studies have suggested that high percentages of families remain intact after intensive family preservation services, the results of randomized experiments provide more convincing tests of the extent to which "placement prevention rates" can be attributed to the effects of these programs. The findings of the controlle
A Synthesis of Research on Family Preservation and Family Reunification Programs. Relationships between Service Characteristics and Placement
Several studies have examined correlations between service characteristics and placement outcomes. For example, Yuan et al. (1990) found that placement was more likely among families who received less intensive family preservation services. Nelson et al. (1988) reported that placement rates were lower in programs that offered more focused, shorter
A Synthesis of Research on Family Preservation and Family Reunification Programs. More Recent Experimental Studies
California's AB 1562 In-home Care Demonstration Project, in operation in eight counties from 1986 to 1989, was an intensive, in-home services program. Cases thought to involve "imminent risk of placement" due to abuse or neglect were referred by county child protective services offices. 20 Families were served for an average of 7 weeks in progra
A Synthesis of Research on Family Preservation and Family Reunification Programs. Early Experimental Studies
In the studies reviewed so far, rates of placement in the groups provided family preservation services were quite low. However, we cannot conclude from these results that the services were the cause of the low rates of placement. The reason for this is that we cannot be sure what would have happened to these cases in the absence of services. To de
A Synthesis of Research on Family Preservation and Family Reunification Programs. Overflow Designs
Overflow designs, in which a comparison group is composed of cases not served because programs are full, provide information about effects that is somewhat better than single group or non- comparable group designs. We review four such studies here.
A Synthesis of Research on Family Preservation and Family Reunification Programs. Non-experimental Studies
Many early evaluations of programs designed to prevent placement used non-experimental designs in which groups receiving these services were followed without comparing them to other groups or in which nonequivalent comparison groups were used. 5 The studies of only groups receiving services appear to have had implicit "phantom" nontreatment cont
