College of Professional Studies, Northeastern University Boston, MA, USA.
Eval Program Plann. 2024 Jun;104:102428. doi: 10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2024.102428. Epub 2024 Mar 23.
Child abuse, particularly neglect, is often preventable because many causes of harm stem from poverty, lack of social connections, substance use disorders, mental illness, lack of childcare, and other family support shortages. Prevention of child abuse and neglect starts with family support in these areas. The federal government recognized this need for prevention, and through considerable bipartisan support, passed the Family First Prevention Services Act on February 9, 2018. The Family First Prevention Services Act was designed to divert investment away from long-term foster care and toward programs that prevent unnecessary placement and child protective services interventions. The Family First Prevention Services Act restricts the state's use of federal funds for institutional foster care placements and uses those savings to fund reimbursements for evidence-based family preservation. The requirement for evidence-based prevention is a first in child-welfare federal law, and compliance with this requirement requires public-private partnership with agencies implementing the models, infrastructure, and evaluation standards that most states must build to be eligible for the new funding. This evaluation research analyzed how the stringent guidelines for prevention funding and the requirement of federally approved evidence-based practice programming affect the implementation of the Family First Prevention Services Act in Nebraska and Colorado.
儿童虐待，尤其是忽视，往往是可以预防的，因为许多伤害的原因都源于贫困、缺乏社会联系、药物使用障碍、精神疾病、缺乏儿童保育以及其他家庭支持的短缺。预防儿童虐待和忽视首先要从家庭支持这些方面入手。联邦政府认识到这一预防需求，通过两党相当大的支持，于 2018 年 2 月 9 日通过了《家庭第一预防服务法案》。《家庭第一预防服务法案》旨在将投资从长期寄养转向预防不必要安置和儿童保护服务干预的项目。《家庭第一预防服务法案》限制了州政府对机构寄养安置的联邦资金使用，并利用这些储蓄为基于证据的家庭保护提供报销资金。基于证据的预防要求是儿童福利联邦法律中的首创，而遵守这一要求需要与实施这些模式、基础设施和评估标准的机构建立公私合作伙伴关系，大多数州必须建立这些以符合新的资金要求。这项评估研究分析了预防资金的严格指导方针以及联邦批准的基于证据的实践方案的要求如何影响《家庭第一预防服务法案》在内布拉斯加州和科罗拉多州的实施。
