Evaluating a One-Year Version of the Parent-Child Assistance Program

Plain-language summary

The proposed project seeks to achieve three objectives that will, collectively, evaluate the effectiveness of a one-year version of the Parent-Child Assistance Program (PCAP-1) -a model for a home visitation and case management program for parents who used substances. First, the proposed project aims to estimate the causal impact of PCAP-1 on preventing the need for foster care and promoting reunification. Second, the project will estimate PCAP-1's effectiveness in achieving other program goals: parent recovery, parent's connection with needed comprehensive community resources, and preventing future children from being exposed to drugs and alcohol. Finally, causal evidence of program effectiveness across the prior two objectives would enable PCAP-1 to be rated according to strength of evidence on relevant federal registries (i.e., FFPSA and HOMEVEE). All objectives will be pursued with substantial backing from public and private partners, including the Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OK's Title IV-E agency). This quasi-experimental project will recruit 40 new participants to receive one year of PCAP-1 services. It will use administrative data on participants from the Oklahoma Department of Human Services for the control group. Given that the population PCAP serves are disproportionately poor and low-income and PCAP is designed to be culturally competent and relevant, PCAP-1 harbors the potential to address inequities in child welfare outcomes, substance use disorder treatment services, and child and family well- being by improving outcomes for these families. With a strong backing by state agencies and community partners, the evaluation of PCAP-1 will contribute to a knowledge gap in the field for in-home program models serving a highly vulnerable population with high rates of child welfare involvement and use of foster care.

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