Axis
Youth Violence Prevention
Problems addressed
Juvenile delinquency
Recidivism
Child abuse, neglect, and/or maltreatment
Externalizing behaviors/problems
Internalizing behaviors/problems
Family breakdown and/or dysfunctionality

Effectiveness

Promising

.

.

.

.

.

Promising

¿Quieres saber más acerca de esta clasificación? Consulte nuestro manual metodológico.

Description

Alternative family care programs are based on the recruitment and training of families interested in supporting children and adolescents in extreme situations of vulnerability that put their safety and/or well-being at risk. Usually, those young people are victims of violence or neglect, and/or display serious behavioral problems, including chronic antisocial behaviors, emotional disturbances, and delinquency.
These interventions are structured with the objective that these families temporarily take in children or adolescents and offer them a structured, protective, and welcoming family environment that is capable of supporting them in meeting their needs and in their development process.
These Alternative Family Care Programs are usually multidimensional and are combined with intensive systemic family interventions. This family care is often accompanied by social services, mental health, and education professionals. When it is safe for the child, when allowed by law, the child is encouraged to maintain ties with his or her family of origin to avoid disruption of ties and facilitate family reintegration.
More recently, an alternative to traditional foster family programs has emerged. In this modality, known as “Kinship Care Programs”, minors who require it are sent to live with other members of their family (or with family friends). These programs allow children to live with people they already know and trust, and aim to reduce the trauma they may experience when placed with strangers in foster homes, as well as to strengthen their sense of identity and self-esteem, which are often tied to family history and culture.

Country of application
  • United States
Evidence

A systematic review by the Campbell Collaboration (with five studies) reported statistically significant reductions in the number of infractions and offenses committed by young people who completed Therapeutic Family Care (TFC) programs. The authors also found significant reductions in the total number of days those young people spent in detention due to conflicts with the law. In both cases, the effects were observed both 12 and 24 months after program completion. The authors of this systematic review conclude that TFC programs appear to be a promising intervention in general. However, they caution that the evidence for their effectiveness considering each of the outcomes reported in the review is based on only one or two studies [1].
Two other systematic reviews (covering 13 and 5 studies, respectively) also compared family care programs with group foster care programs (in which a small number of young people are brought together in group homes). The first of these reviews estimated that foster care prevents almost half of delinquent or criminal acts (follow-up period of one to three years) compared to group foster care programs [2], while the second review reported that, when applied to youth with a history of chronic delinquency, foster care programs reduced the incidence of violent crime by 71.9% compared to the control group. Based on these reviews, the Crime Reduction Toolkit platform classifies this type of intervention as effective to reduce crime (measured based on new convictions and arrests, self-reported antisocial or undesirable behavior, and officially recorded crime statistics).
A second systematic review by the Campbell Collaboration, this time focusing on “Kinship Care Programs”, reported statistically significant positive effects for mental health problems, behavioral problems, emotional well-being, length of stay of children and adolescents in out-of-home care, and incidence of child abuse, neglect, or maltreatment. In this case, the comparison was between the outcomes for youth who participated in these programs and those who participated in traditional foster care programs. However, no statistically significant effects were found for family reunification or for bonding between children and foster families [4]. Based on this review, the Crime Solutions platform classifies this type of intervention as promising in terms of reducing child abuse, neglect, and maltreatment.

Bibliography

[1] MacDonald, G. M. and Turner, W. (2007). Treatment foster care for improving outcomes in children and young people, Campbell Systematic Reviews (9). https://doi.org/10.4073/csr.2007.9

[2] Osei, G. K., Gorey, K. M., Hernandez Jozefowicz, D. M. (2016). Delinquency and Crime Prevention: Overview of Research Comparing Treatment Foster Care and Group Care. Child & Youth Care Forum, 45(1), 33–46. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-015-9315-0

[3] Hahn, R. A., Bilukha, O., Lowy, J., Crosby, A., Fullilove, M. T., Liberman, A., Moscicki, E., Snyder, S., Tuma, F., Corso, P., Schofield, A. (2005). The effectiveness of therapeutic foster care for the prevention of violence: A systematic review. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 28(2 (Suppl 1)), 72–90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2004.10.007

[4] Winokur, M., Holtan, A., and Batchelder, K. E. (2014). Kinship Care for the Safety, Permanency, and Well-Being of Children Removed from the Home for Maltreatment: A Systematic Review. (2014). Campbell Systematic Reviews (2). https://doi.org/10.4073/csr.2014.2

Information Source

Evaluated cases

Boys Town Family Home Program

Axis: Youth Violence Prevention
Type: Alternative Family Care Programs
Effectiveness:

Promising

.

.

.

.

.

Promising
Problem type:
Low educational/academic performance, Child abuse, neglect, and/or maltreatment
Country:
United States
Open

Treatment Foster Care Oregon

Axis: Youth Violence Prevention
Type: Alternative Family Care Programs
Effectiveness:

Effective

.

.

.

.

.

Effective
Problem type:
Juvenile delinquency, Violent crimes, Recidivism, Drug abuse, Teenage pregnancy
Country:
United States
Open

Why might the cases evaluated have different levels of effectiveness in relation to their respective type of solution?
Click here to understand why.

Some cases were not included in the evidence bank due to deficiencies detected in the methodology of their impact evaluations.
Click here to see the list

 

flag

Send us your study!

Have you participated in impact evaluation studies of interventions to prevent crime, violence or disorder? Send us your study. It will be evaluated and may be included in the Evidence Bank!

Contact us