Meeting the needs of families at high-risk for child maltreatment: The braiding of two evidence-based curricula

Families at highest risk for child maltreatment have an array of needs that are seldom answered by a singular intervention. To mitigate a myriad of social-ecological forces putting them at high-risk, service providers frequently combine or deliver curricula in an informal manner without empirical support. This approach has risks of diluting potential outcomes and leaving needs of the family unaddressed.

In this presentation, we will discuss an ongoing research effort in Georgia and North Carolina in which two evidence-based parenting programs, SafeCare^® and Parents as Teachers^®, are systematically braided. Providers deliver a manualized braided curriculum, PATSCH (Parents as Teachers and SafeCare at Home) and are supported with a coach. The theoretically derived rationale for braiding as well as the methodology for doing so will be reviewed.  Also presented will be interim outcome data regarding the potential for reducing the risk of child maltreatment, including standardized measures; environmental scans of the home; and parent-child interactions. Implications of this kind of approach and future directions will be discussed.