BJSW Advance Access published online on January 19, 2009
British Journal of Social Work, doi:10.1093/bjsw/bcn177
Evaluation of a Healthy Families America (HFA) Programme: A Deeper Understanding
Dr John Douglass Whyte is the Director of the Master of Social Work Program at RMIT University, Melbourne; Australia. He has taught and researched internationally in social work, social theory and the human services. His particular interests are in the general areas of cross-worldview social work practice and the development of chaos and complexity approaches in practice contexts. In addition to his extensive practice and research engagement with Indigenous Australian and Native American communities and agencies, he has also served as program manager on a number of urban low-income housing and rural community development projects.
Ellen E. Whipple, PhD ACSW is an Associate Professor in the School of Social Work at Michigan State University. She earned her M.S.W. from the University of Michigan in 1984, and PhD in Social Welfare at the University of Washington. Ellen has served on faculty at the M.S.U School of Social Work since 1990, during which time she completed two post-doctoral fellowships, the first with Zero to Three/National Center for Infants, Toddlers and Their Families in 1993, and the second as part of the Child Welfare Fellows Program at the University of California at Berkeley in 1998. Her research and clinical work focuses on parent-child interactions, especially in examining the effectiveness of service delivery systems in addressing the needs of maltreating families through prevention and early intervention. Dr. Whipple has served as a research consultant in both the practice and policy arenas. She has conducted numerous program evaluations of early intervention models, most recently focusing on the Healthy Families America Program. Ellen's areas of teaching include clinical practice methods, research, and child welfare.
Correspondence to Ellen E. Whipple, Ph.D., ACSW, Associate Professor, School of Social Work, 244 Baker Hall, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA. E-mail: whipple{at}msu.edu
 |
Abstract |
|---|
Objectives: To assess the effectiveness of a Healthy Families America (HFA) programme in meeting its goals and better understand the role of therapeutic alliance. Methods: One hundred and sixty-three families and their Family Support Worker (FSW) enrolled in an HFA programme completed five sets of measures over a five-year time frame. Results: Descriptive statistics provide a socio-demographic and programme involvement profile. Families demonstrated positive health and child development-related outcomes. Families improved in their ability to provide a positive home environment; children successfully met developmental milestones; and FSWs were highly effective in engaging families and creating a working alliance. Conclusions: Programme strengths and weaknesses are discussed within an international context with implications for future research in this area.
Keywords: Child abuse, evaluation, early intervention, prevention, home visiting, alliance