Addressing the needs of infants and toddlers exposed to maltreatment: Examining the impact of an integrated early head start & children and youth services program

Laura Emily Wallace and Patricia H. Manz

Children and Youth Services Review, 2023, vol. 146, issue C

Abstract: Tragically, our nation is witness to the increasing prevalence of child maltreatment, with the highest prevalence among children under three years of age (Administration for Children and Families, 2020). For every 1,000 children under the age of one in the U.S., more than 25 of them are victims of maltreatment. Even more shocking is the fact that an estimated 1,840 children die from abuse and neglect with almost half (45.4%) of all fatalities from maltreatment occurring in children under one year of age (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2019). In 2002, the Office on Child Abuse and Neglect established the Early Head Start Child Welfare System Initiative as a joint effort between the Office of Head Start and the Children’s Bureau. Funding was provided to 24 grantee sites to increase integrated delivery of services to infants and toddlers who were involved in the child welfare system. Programs emerging from this initiative reflect the gold standard for integrated care among developmental and health programs. However, empirical understanding about the implementation and effectiveness of integrated services for infants and toddlers is lacking (Manz et al., 2019). Addressing this gap, this study examined the association of dosage indicators and child outcomes for an integrated Early Head Start and Children and Youth Services Program (EHS/CYS) program involving a state-led Children and Youth Services Program and Early Head Start center-based program. Program data were analyzed to determine the relative benefits of this EHS/CYS program for infants and toddlers dependent upon their age and duration of enrollment. The objective of this study was to yield information that could improve service delivery and outcomes. Results suggested that longer enrollment duration led to increased attainment of developmental milestones in the areas of cognitive, language, and social emotional development. Future directions for research as well as implications for policy are presented.

Keywords: Early Head Start; Child welfare; Birth to Three programs; Integrated programs; Maltreatment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:146:y:2023:i:c:s0190740923000038

DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2023.106808

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