69´«Ã½

School Climate & Safety Report Roundup

Results Mixed for Home-Visit Programs

By Debra Viadero — April 07, 2009 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
Email Copy URL

Many popular home-visitation programs for parents of young children may not be as effective as policymakers believe, a review of the research has found.

Of the six program models whose research track records were reviewed by the , only one—a Denver-based effort called the —produced strong evidence of positive .

Used in 25 states, the Nurse-Family Partnership enlists nurses to visit the homes of pregnant women who will be first-time mothers. Most of the mothers are unmarried women or teenagers from low-income families. Through their visits, which go on for up to two years, the nurses provide families with information on parenting, child development, and other topics.

According to the coalition’s review, which was released last week, three randomized studies of the program—one each in Denver, Elmira, N.Y., and Memphis, Tenn.—have found that it reduces incidences of child abuse and neglect, mothers’ arrests, and the amount of time families are on welfare. The studies also showed that it leads to cognitive and developmental gains for children.

However, studies yielded no, or minimal, positive effects for five other home-visitation programs: Hawaii Healthy Start, Healthy Families New York, Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY), Parents as Teachers, and Parent-Child Home Program.

The coalition is a Washington-based group that promotes the use of rigorous research in public policymaking.

Related Tags:

A version of this article appeared in the April 08, 2009 edition of Education Week

Events

School & District Management Webinar Crafting Outcomes-Based Contracts That Work for Everyone
Discover the power of outcomes-based contracts and how they can drive student achievement.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School & District Management Webinar
Harnessing AI to Address Chronic Absenteeism in 69´«Ã½
Learn how AI can help your district improve student attendance and boost academic outcomes.
Content provided by 
School & District Management Webinar EdMarketer Quick Hit: What’s Trending among K-12 Leaders?
What issues are keeping K-12 leaders up at night? Join us for EdMarketer Quick Hit: What’s Trending among K-12 Leaders?

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.

Read Next

School Climate & Safety What 69´«Ã½ Need To Know About Anonymous Threats—And How to Prevent Them
Anonymous threats are on the rise. 69´«Ã½ should act now to plan their responses, but also take measures to prevent them.
3 min read
Tightly cropped photo of hands on a laptop with a red glowing danger icon with the exclamation mark inside of a triangle overlaying the photo
iStock/Getty
School Climate & Safety Opinion Restorative Justice, the Classroom, and Policy: Can We Resolve the Tension?
Student discipline is one area where school culture and the rules don't always line up.
8 min read
The United States Capitol building as a bookcase filled with red, white, and blue policy books in a Washington DC landscape.
Luca D'Urbino for Education Week
School Climate & Safety Letter to the Editor School Safety Should Be Built In, Not Tacked On
69´«Ã½ and communities must address ways to prevent school violence by first working with people, says this letter to the editor.
1 min read
Education Week opinion letters submissions
Gwen Keraval for Education Week
School Climate & Safety Opinion How One Big City District Is Addressing the Middle East Conflict
Partnerships are helping the Philadelphia schools better support all students and staff, writes Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr.
Tony B. Watlington Sr.
4 min read
Young people protesting with signs.
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty