This document was printed from the website of the California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare (CEBC), which you can access at http://www.cebc4cw.org/
This document was printed from the website of the California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare (CEBC), which you can access at http://www.cebc4cw.org/
Note: The PACT program was not responsive to the CEBC's request for information about their program. The following information was obtained from publicly available sources(websites, articles, etc.).
Scientific Rating:
NR
Not able to be Rated
See scale of 1-5
Relevance to Child Welfare Rating:
NR
Not able to be Rated
See scale of 1-3
Brief Description:
The Parent and Child Together (PACT) Project has been reviewed by the CEBC in the area of Interventions for Neglect, but lacks the necessary research evidence to be given either a Scientific Rating or a Child Welfare Relevance Rating. The PACT program serves young mothers referred by Social Services. Priority is given to mothers who are 16 to 24 years old with children 0 to 3 and who have risk factors associated with neglect. The program is provided in a residential setting of 6 mothers to a unit. The residential portion of the program can last from 12 weeks to 18 months. Follow-up care is provided for 9 months. During the residential portion of the program, mothers are provided training and assessment on basic infant and childcare skills. Other services address partner relationships, household management, and preparation for life in the community. Aftercare services include ongoing childcare assessments, establishing social and community support, and assisting them explore opportunities for education and employment. PACT also provides support for those mothers who have been separated from their children.
Manual and Training section:
The publicly available information indicates that there is some training available for PACT, please refer to their website at www.barnardos.org.uk/pact/microsite_ni_pact_what_we_do.htm.
Relevant Published, Peer-Reviewed Research:
PACT has been reviewed and it was determined that this program lacks the type of published, peer-reviewed research that meets the CEBC criteria for a scientific rating of 1 - 5. Therefore, the program has been given the classification of "NR - Not able to be Rated." It was reviewed because it was identified by the topic expert as a program being used in the field, or it is being marketed and/or used in California with children receiving services from child welfare or related systems and their parents/caregivers. Some programs that are not rated may have published, peer-reviewed research that does not meet the above stated criteria or may have eligible studies that have not yet been published in the peer-reviewed literature. For more information on the "NR - Not able to be Rated" classification, please see the Scientific Rating Scale.
McDaniel, B., & Dillenburger, K. (2007). Can childhood neglect be assessed and prevented through childcare skills training? Child Abuse Review, 16, 120-129.
Type of Study: Pretest/Posttest
Number of participants: 4
Population:
Location/Institution: Northern Ireland
Summary: (To include comparison groups, outcomes, measures, notable limitations) Young mothers referred to the PACT program received training in basic infant care, in a residential setting, with a particular emphasis on feeding and bathing. Mothers were given step-by-step instructions based on the Step by Step Childcare Manual (Feldman and Case, 2007). They were evaluated at baseline and training continued until all had reached 80% on the task criteria without prompts. Follow-up observations were taken twice at one-week intervals for bathing and 3 to 4 days for feeding. All mothers reached and maintained criterion levels for bathing. Two mothers maintained criterion levels for feeding, while the other two eventually had their children removed from their care. The authors conclude that neglect can be both assessed and potentially prevented through childcare skills training.
Length of post-intervention follow-up: 2 weeks for bathing, 3 weeks for feeding.
References:
Newman, T., & McDaniel, B. (2005). Getting research into practice: Healing damaged attachment processes in infancy. Child Care in Practice, 11(1), 81-90.
Contact Information:
Name: Benny McDaniel
Affiliation/Agency: Barnardo's located in Northern Ireland
Phone: 011+44+02890 682286
Website: www.barnardos.org.uk/pact/microsite_ni_pact_what_we_do.htm
Date review compiled: April 2008