This paper presents the findings of a study examining the relationship between family-based early intervention services provided through home visitation and improved outcomes for children, in order to determine the effectiveness of these programmes. This pre-test / post-test design study examined a sample of families (n = 297) across three California-based early intervention home visitation programmes. The findings of the study provides lessons for New Zealand on how early intervention programmes for families can be successful at protecting children from negative outcomes such as abuse and neglect. Programme effectiveness was studied by analysing individual family data to determine the relationship between programme involvement (duration and intensity) and changes in outcome indicators for children pre-intervention and post-intervention. Of the six child outcome indicators examined across three programmes, early intervention services had a significant positive relationship with only one outcome - healthy child birth weight. The key finding of this study was that greater programme involvement, measured by longer and more intense home visitation early interventions, did not result in improved child outcomes. The lessons for New Zealand from this California-based study are that effectively intervening early in a family to enhance a child's wellbeing is complex and seems to require interventions that are part of an integrated model providing quality services that are based on some flexibility in the intensity and duration of services provided. Source: Author's abstract

Social Policy Journal of New Zealand, November 2005, 26: 131-155