Barbara H. Wasik

Early Intervention and Mediating Processes in Cognitive Performance of Children of Low-Income African American Families

This longitudinal study of 161 African American children from low-income families examined multiple influences, including early childhood interventions and characteristics of the child and family, on longitudinal patterns of childrens cognitive performance measured between 6 months and 8 years of age. Results indicate that more optimal patterns of cognitive development were associated with intensive early educational child care, responsive stimulating care at home, and higher maternal IQ. In accordance with a general systems model, analyses also suggested that child care experiences were related to better cognitive performance in part through enhancing the infants responsiveness to his or her environment. Maternal IQ had both a direct effect on cognitive performance during early childhood and, also, an indirect effect through its influence on the family environment.

Adult Outcomes as a Function of an Early Childhood Educational Program: An Abecedarian Project Follow-Up

Adult (age 30) educational, economic, and social-emotional adjustment outcomes were investigated for participants in the Abecedarian Project, a randomized controlled trial of early childhood education for children from low-income families. Of the original 111 infants enrolled (98% African American), 101 took part in the age 30 follow-up. Primary indicators of educational level, economic status, and social adjustment were examined as a function of early childhood treatment. Treated individuals attained significantly more years of education, but income-to-needs ratios and criminal involvement did not vary significantly as a function of early treatment. A number of other indicators were described for each domain. Overall, the findings provide strong evidence for educational benefits, mixed evidence for economic benefits, and little evidence for treatment-related social adjustment outcomes. Implications for public policy are discussed.

Early Educational Intervention, Early Cumulative Risk, and the Early Home Environment as Predictors of Young Adult Outcomes Within a High‐Risk Sample

The extent to which early educational intervention, early cumulative risk, and the early home environment were associated with young adult outcomes was investigated in a sample of 139 young adults (age 21) from high-risk families enrolled in randomized trials of early intervention. Positive effects of treatment were found for education attainment, attending college, and skilled employment; negative effects of risk were found for education attainment, graduating high school, being employed, and avoiding teen parenthood. The home mediated the effects of risk for graduating high school, but not being employed for teen parenthood. Evidence for moderated mediation was found for educational attainment; the home mediated the association between risk and educational attainment for the control group, but not the treated group.

Staffing Issues for Home Visiting Programs.

The key to a successful home visiting program is the relationship established between home visitor and client. In this paper, Barbara Wasik employs research and her clinical experience as a designer of home visiting programs to discuss the critical considerations that must enter into the staffing of any home visiting program. She traces the changing roles of home visitors over time to conclude that todays visitors need more skills, knowledge, and flexibility than ever before in order to tailor services to the needs of the families they serve. Hiring decisions must be based on program goals and populations served, rather than on the possession of a particular educational degree. Nevertheless, to create and maintain a high-quality program, program administrators need to consider a range of issues including the skills and qualities of home visitors; the preservice and in-service training needs of home visitors; the supervision and support in addition to training that home visitors need after they are hired; and the implications of sometimes stressful working conditions for staff turnover. The article ends with recommendations for policymakers concerning staffing qualifications and preservice and in-service training for home visitors. ome visiting is possibly the most personal way of delivering human services in society. It is the process by which a professional or paraprofessional enters the home of a client to provide information, health or psychological care, or other support services over a sustained period of time.1 At the heart of the home visiting process and essential for its success is the helping relationship established between the home visitor and the client. Visiting in the home offers many benefits that can increase the ability of program staff to help families. The home visitor gains access to information not available in other helping situations, including information about the conditions in which the client lives, family interaction patterns, family values and beliefs, and the social and material resources that are available to support the family. Information gained while visiting in the home can prompt intervention efforts that are more familycentered and sensitive to a familys environment than are interventions based in a center or clinic. Even one home visit can provide extremely valuable information for assisting a family. These benefits can be realized, however, only if program staff meet high initial standards and receive sufficient training and support after hiring. Procedures from other helping professions are relevant and useful, but they frequently need modification and expansion to address the needs of The Future of Children HOME VISITING Vol. 3 * No. 3 Winter 1993 This content downloaded from 207.46.13.172 on Tue, 23 Aug 2016 05:45:09 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms

Family support in the home: Programs, policy, and social change.

The need for a coordinated national policy on family support in the home is discussed. First, the history of home visiting programs is reviewed. Then, recommendations for practice, training, and research in family support programs are presented. A discussion of the impact of new federal initiatives on family support programs and research demonstration efforts follows.

Project CARE A Comparison of Two Early Intervention Strategies to Prevent Retarded Development

This study sought to determine whether variations in intensity of early educational intervention are related to different patterns of mental development during the first three years of life. Sixty-four high risk children were randomly assigned at birth to a more intense treatment condition (Educational Daycare Plus Family Education) or a less intense treatment condition (Family Education Alone). Both groups were compared to similar high risk children who did not receive educational intervention from our project. Standardized tests of mental development were administered at regular intervals. Gains in IQ scores at 36 months were greater for the more intensely treated group than for the other two groups, which did not differ significantly from one another. The observed differences were due primarily to the decline of mental performance over time in the Control and Family Education Alone groups, suggesting that early education prevents intellectual decline in high risk children whereas less intense treatments may not. Developmental trends and policy implications of these results are noted.

Home Visiting Programs for Families with Children Birth to Three: Results of a National Survey.

This article presents the data from a national swvey of 643 home uisiting programs exclusively serving families with children ages birth to 3. Private and public programs affiliated with health, education, and social service domains are represented in the survey results. Information is presented on family characteristics, purpose of home visits, services provided, organizational structure, the conduct of home visits, home visitor employment and training, and program evaluation efforts.

Survey of home visiting programs for abused and neglected children and their families.

This study reports on home visitation programs that provide services for abused and neglected children and their families. Data were collected as part of a national survey of home visiting programs. Of the 1,904 programs participating in the survey, 224 had as their primary focus services for children who were abused or neglected. For this group, data are presented on program characteristics, characteristics of home visits, credentials of home visitors, and program documentation procedures. The survey data showed that over 70% of the 224 programs identified social service as their organization affiliation which, in contrast to other providers, offered a broad range of services for the abused or neglected children and their families. The most frequently identified purpose for providing services was the social and emotional development of the child. Parenting skills and parent coping were considered the most important services. Stress management was considered more important by respondents of programs for maltreating families than by those providing services to nonmaltreating families. Approximately half the respondents reported that they required a bachelors or masters degree for employment. Results are discussed in relation to research and practice implications.

Partners: A Curriculum to Help Premature, Low Birthweight Infants Get Off to a Good Start.

Partners, a curriculum emphasizing adult-child interactions, or partnering, was developed in the mid-1980s at the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Center and was first used in the Infant Healt...

Home Visitor Characteristics, Training, and Supervision: Results of a National Survey.

The provision of home-based services for individuals or families in the United States dates from colonial times and remains prevalent in education, social service, and health agencies. These services are offered by a professional or paraprofessional who enters the home of a client to provide information, health care, psychological counseling, or other support services over a sustained period of time Wasik, Bryant, & Lyons, 1990). As long ago as the 1860s, issues were raised about the qualifications, training, and supervision of those who would provide home visiting services. Florence Nightingale, one of the pioneers of home visiting, devoted considerable attention to the importance of training (Monteiro, 1985). The hiring and training of home visitors was also addressed in the classic book, Friendly Visiting Among the Poor, by Richmond (1899). From the late 1800s into the early 1900s, home visiting services were developed to address conditions associated with urbanization and immigration, including poverty, contagious diseases, high infant mortality, and poor school attendance. These efforts, part of the general social reform movement of the time, received less attention in the 1920s (Levine & Levine, 1970). By mid-century, several events converged to generate renewed attention to home visiting as a service delivery procedure (Wasik, 1993). These events included a recognition that the home was often a more desirable setting for the care of children with disabilities than was an institution, that parents of children with special needs have an important role in their childrens social and cognitive development, and that at times parents need help in caring for their children with special needs. Since the 1970s, a rapid expansion has occurred in the provision of home visiting services. Both Hawaii and Missouri have statewide home visiting programs (Gomby, Larson, Lewitt, & Behrman, 1993). The U.S. General Accounting Office (1990), based on its analysis of home visiting programs, has recommended home visiting as a service delivery program, especially for infants and mothers. The National Commission to Prevent Infant Mortality (1989) is promoting home visiting through its Resource Mothers program, which employs mothers as lay home visitors. The U.S. Advisory Board on Child Abuse and Neglect 1991) has strongly recommended a universal voluntary neonatal home visiting system for the prevention of child abuse and neglect. In 1992 and 1993, the Bureau of Maternal and Child Health funded a total of 41 community integrated service system projects to help reduce infant mortality and improve maternal health. In 1992, over 80% of the funded programs included home visiting services. In 1933, legislation was passed authorizing the expenditure of