Families First | Plataforma de Evidencias

This is an intervention program for families of children aged 0 to 17 who are at risk due to family conflicts, neglect, abuse, involvement in crime and/or exposure to behavioral problems. The aim is to empower parents through parenting skills training and reduce child maltreatment.
The intervention addresses the risk factors of children, homes, and the community, and seeks to reinforce the strengths of each case through individualized interventions. The program applies the risk, demand, and responsiveness model in home visits carried out three to four times a week for 10 to 12 weeks.

Impact evaluations

Impact evaluation studies have shown that the families assisted by the program had an improvement in child behavior, physical care and resources, and effectiveness in parent-child relationships [1], as well as a statistically significant reduction in rebellious behavior, antisocial behavior, and criminal recidivism rates among the adolescents monitored by the program when compared to the control group, which did not receive the intervention [2].

Bibliographic reference

[1] Lewis, R. E. (2005). The effectiveness of Families First services: An experimental study. Children and Youth Services Review, 27(5), 499–509. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2004.10.009

[2] Hess, J. Z., Arner, W., Sykes, E., Price, A. G. & Tanana, M. (2012). Helping Juvenile Offenders on Their Own “Turf ”: Tracking the Recidivism Outcomes of a Home-based Paraprofessional Intervention. OJJDP Journal of Juvenile Justice, 2(1), 12–24. https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles/240461.pdf

Information source

The California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse