Grant: Project Grant

Child abuse and neglect is a serious public health concern not only in North America but worldwide. In Ontario, child neglect is the second most common form of substantiated maltreatment among cases investigated by child welfare, with an incidence rate of 24%. SafeCare® is an evidence-based, in-home parenting program that specifically addresses child neglect for young families (newborn-5 years) involved in child welfare. Following a previous CIHR grant in which we successfully implemented SafeCare across 6 Ontario child welfare agencies, we are now seeking funds to evaluate the program in greater detail across child welfare agencies that are diverse in terms of size (urban, rural), location (northern, southern Ontario), and culture (Indigenous families). For the evaluation, we will gather information from both children and caregivers prior to the SafeCare program and at various time points following program completion. We will use various data collection methods (questionnaires, testing, child welfare data) to examine three research questions: 1) Does the program work differently for families and if so, what factors are associated with better outcomes over time? 2) How does SafeCare work in terms of mechanisms of change (parental improvements in emotion regulation)? and 3) Does participation in SafeCare decrease rates of re-entry into child welfare? The current project not only has the potential to impact the health of individual children and families but it also has population health implications. Specifically, child neglect is expensive from a community point of view (medical care, out-of-home placement, poor educational outcomes) and once established, it tends to remain persistent. By evaluating SafeCare outcomes over a long-term basis and better understanding the ways in which it works, child welfare may continue to invest in this evidence-based program and make refinements to improve its effectiveness