Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention Program Evaluation
Keywords:
Family Support Services, child maltreatment, Community-Based Care,
Contact:
Abstract
Family Support Services (FSS) are voluntary services that are offered to families when a child protective investigator determines that a child is currently safe but at risk for future child maltreatment. Under the Florida practice model, families may be referred to FSS if they exhibit one or more risk factors associated with child maltreatment and are eligible for secondary prevention services. FSS are designed to build protective factors that will improve the long-term safety of children in the home, and may be provided along with case coordination depending on the assessed level of risk.
This report presents results of an evaluation of FSS provided by six Community-Based Care (CBC) lead agencies in Florida. A mixed methods approach was used to address a variety of research questions about the provision of services, the impact of services on protective factors, and the effectiveness of services in reducing the incidence of child maltreatment. The evaluation team conducted focus groups with administrators and front-line staff (Study 1), a descriptive analysis of responses to a survey distributed to caregivers participating in FSS (Study 2), and an exploratory analysis of relevant data from the Florida Safe Families Network (Study 3). The report concludes with a summary of findings and recommendations.
Authors:
Lodi Rohrer
Melissa Johnson
John Robst
Flandra Ismajli
Sophie James
Citation
Rohrer, L., Johnson, M., Robst, J., Ismajli, F., & James, S. (2019, July). Final report: Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention program evaluation. Tampa, FL: University of South Florida.