TY  - SER
AU  - Sykora, Joan
TI  - Off to a better start: what we know about early intervention services
SN  - 1172-4382
PY  - 2005///
CY  - Wellington
PB  - Ministry of Social Development
KW  - FVC
KW  - CHILD NEGLECT
KW  - CHILDREN AT RISK
KW  - CHILDREN
KW  - EARLY CHILDHOOD
KW  - FAMILIES
KW  - FAMILY POLICY
KW  - INTERVENTION
KW  - PROGRAMMES
KW  - SOCIAL SERVICES
KW  - SOCIOECONOMIC FACTORS
KW  - CHILD ABUSE
KW  - NEW ZEALAND
N1  - Social Policy Journal of New Zealand, November 2005, 26: 117-130
N2  - This article discusses a review of the international literature on best practices and quality of early intervention programmes. In New Zealand and elsewhere, evaluations of early intervention programmes indicate that long-term, positive outcomes can be achieved and sustained by children participating in high-quality early care and education. Recognising the importance of getting children off to a good start in life, the Ministry of Social Development is building capacity throughout New Zealand to provide a variety of early intervention services to families. It was revealed that there is much to learn from the experiences of programmes that have been rigorously studied. Eight key elements of early intervention services that can be provided to families to help strengthen the long-term development and wellbeing of children encompass: programme quality, personnel and staffing issues, range of services, timing of service provision, duration of service delivery, intensity of services, location of services, and engagement and retention of families in services. It is concluded that the current status of the early intervention research provides a solid foundation of information about the effectiveness of early childhood interventions in English-speaking countries of the world. However, the issue of transferability to New Zealand must be considered before policy makers and service providers in New Zealand can reliably build upon this foundation. While many of the interventions and much of the research have been done in other parts of the world and at other points in time, these data offer a solid starting point for exploring what is likely to be effective in New Zealand
UR  - http://www.msd.govt.nz/about-msd-and-our-work/publications-resources/journals-and-magazines/social-policy-journal/spj26/26-what-we-know-about-early-intervention-services-pages117-130.html
ER  -