Van Camp, C. M., Vollmer, T. R., Goh, H. L., Reyes, J., Montgomery, J. L. (2008). Behavioral parent training in child welfare: Evaluations of skills acquisition. Research on Social Work Practice, 18, 377-391.

Type of Study: One group pretest-posttest design
Number of Participants: 163 in Study 1, 4 in Study 2

Population:

• Age range — Not specified in Study 1; 43-57 years in Study 2
• Race/Ethnicity — Not specified in Study 1; 2 Caucasians, 2 African Americans in Study 2 Status (e.g., foster care
• Gender — Not specified in Study 1; 2 Males, 2 Females in Study 2
• Status — Foster parents, staff of residential settings and agencies, adoptive parents, biological parents, relatives of foster children.

Location / Institution: 3 of 8 districts specified by the Florida Department of Children & Families

Summary: (To include comparison groups, outcomes, measures, notable limitations)
The study evaluated the effectiveness of the Behavior Analysis Services Program (BASP) in increasing skill acquisition on the part of caregivers who were trained in 2001 and 2002. In Study 1, skill acquisition was evaluated via a large scale analysis of pretests and posttests and observations of skill implementation in the home with foster children. Parenting skills training consisted of a 30-hour course, taught in 3-hour classes, once per week for 10 weeks, and were also provided the opportunity to have a behavior analyst work with them in the home, typically during 1-hour weekly home visits, for up to 20 weeks. In Districts 3, 12, and 13, the posttest scores were higher than the pretest scores. The average percentage agreement was 75% for the pretests and 84% for the posttests. In Study 2, skill acquisition was assessed through more controlled evaluations using repeated measures and multiple baseline designs. Results indicated that individualized training of 4 caregivers similarly yielded high levels of accuracy. Limitations include lack of a control group, insufficient means of determining whether actual improvements in child behavior versus effective parental skill acquisition, and the small sample in Study 2, which may limit generalizability.

Length of post-intervention follow-up: No controlled follow up; post-intervention home visits were optional.

Van Camp, C. M., Montgomery, J. L., Vollmer, T. R., Kosarek, J. A., Happe, S., Burgos, V., & Manzolillo, A. (2008). Behavioral parent training in child welfare: Maintenance and booster training. Research on Social Work Practice, 18, 392-400.

Type of Study: One group pretest-posttest design
Number of Participants: 8

Population:

• Age range — 36-72 years
• Race/Ethnicity — 3 Caucasian, 5 African American
• Gender — Females
• Status — Participants were foster parents initially referred by the Florida Department of Children and Families.

Location / Institution: Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF)

Summary: (To include comparison groups, outcomes, measures, notable limitations)
The purpose of the study was twofold: (a) to assess skill maintenance 8 to 35.5 months following the initial 10-week 30-hourr Behavior Analysis Services Program (BASP) training and (b) to evaluate whether a 6-hour booster training would raise caregivers’ skill performance to levels similar to those observed during posttests of the initial training. Skills assessments were conducted for all participants on the first and last days of the 30-hour course and again immediately before and after the booster training. Overall results showed partial maintenance of skills over time and positive effects of booster training for skills that had not been maintained. Results also show variability in individual participant and individual skill scores during various phases of the analysis. The major study limitations are the small sample size of foster parents who completed both the initial training and the booster session, as well as the range of follow-up length.

Length of post-intervention follow-up: 8 to 35.5 months.

Crosland, K. A., Cigales, M., Dunlap, G., Neff, B., Clark, H. B., Giddings, T., & Blanco, A. (2008). Using staff training to decrease the use of restrictive procedures at two facilities for foster care children. Research on Social Work Practice, 18, 401-409.

Type of Study: One group pretest-posttest design
Number of Participants: 44

Population:

• Age range — Not Specified
• Race/Ethnicity — Not Specified
• Gender — 12 Males, 32 Females
• Status — Participants were employees from two different facilities, a locked residential treatment facility and a short-term children’s shelter.

Location / Institution: Two facilities in suburban and metropolitan Florida areas

Summary: (To include comparison groups, outcomes, measures, notable limitations)
The study evaluated the specific effects of a behavioral staff training program designed to promote positive staff–child interactions, and, in particular, the effect of the training program on the use of restrictive procedures in two different facilities for foster children. It was hypothesized that the Behavior Analysis Services Program (BASP) would be associated with reductions in the use of restrictive procedures. Training for staff members at both facilities consisted of 15 hours of classroom-based instruction on the Essential Tools for Positive Behavior Change curriculum by certified behavior analysts. A coaching procedure was used for 7 of the direct care staff of the locked residential facility. The primary dependent measure was the number of restrictive procedures performed prior to and after training. As an ongoing requirement at both facilities, staff were required to record on either an incident report form (children’s shelter) or an emergency procedure form (locked residential treatment facility) when a restrictive procedure was implemented. All staff members were required to attend Techniques for Effective Aggression Management (T.E.A.M.) training. A non-concurrent multiple baseline across facilities was implemented to assess the effects of the training on the frequency of restrictive procedures. The locked residential treatment facility showed a 70% reduction in reported restrictive procedures, while the children’s shelter showed a 47% reduction in reported restrictive procedures and injuries were reported to have decreased by 50%. The number of incidents of noncompliance, aggression, and “verbal junk/non-harmful” behavior decreased after the training.  The greatest reductions were also observed in those procedures that might be considered more restrictive than others, including mechanical restraint (82% decrease) at the locked residential treatment facility and take-downs (95% decrease) at the children’s shelter.  Limitations included increased training for direct care staff on restrictive procedures which may have influenced the decrease, staff was told prior to the intervention that rates of restrictive procedures at their facilities were high, and the study only had a 3-month follow-up.

Length of post-intervention follow-up: 3 months.

Crosland, K. A., Dunlap, G., Sager, W., Neff, B., Wilcox, C., Blanco, A., & Giddings, T. (2008). The effects of staff training on the types of interactions observed at two group homes for foster care children.  Research on Social Work Practice, 18, 410-420.

Type of Study: Pretest-posttest comparison group design
Number of Participants: 15

Population:

• Age range — Early 20s to late 50s
• Race/Ethnicity — Not Specified
• Gender — 5 Males, 10 Females
• Status — Participants were direct care staff at two group homes for adolescent males and females ages 12-17 in foster care.

Location / Institution: Two group homes in a metropolitan U.S. city

Summary: (To include comparison groups, outcomes, measures, notable limitations)
The study was conducted to determine whether the Behavior Analysis Services Program (BASP) intervention consisting of classroom training and in-home feedback would improve staff interactions with children at two group foster care homes. Two levels of analysis were conducted within the context of a multiple-baseline design. The first employed all staff interactions in the home as the unit of analysis, while the second used the interactions of individual staff members as the unit of analysis. Staff members at both homes were trained for 15 hours over a 5-week period using the Techniques for Effective Aggression Management (T.E.A.M.), the Essential Tools for Positive Behavior Change curriculum based on the book The Power of Positive Parenting, and direct observation measures were obtained on positive and negative interactions and lack of interactions. Baseline data were collected simultaneously in the two group homes. The total length of the study for both group homes was 48 weeks. Staff members were evaluated using a pretest/posttest design during role-play scenarios during the first and last weeks of the intervention. Increases in both positive interactions and tool use were observed in the treatment phase, as were decreases in negative interactions for both group homes. Limitations included the difficulty of defining a positive or negative interaction, the lack of research on the appropriate or ideal levels of each type of interaction from caregivers, small sample size, and no follow-up.

Length of post-intervention follow-up: None.

Clark, H. B., Crosland, K. A., Geller, D., Cripe, M., Kenney, T., Neff, B., & Dunlap, G. (2008). A functional approach to reducing runaways and stabilizing placements for adolescents in foster care. Research on Social Work Practice, 18, 429-441.  

Type of Study: Quasi-experimental matched comparison group design
Number of Participants: 13

Population:

• Age range — 12-17 years
• Race/Ethnicity — 9 Caucasian, 2 African American, 1 Hispanic, and 1 biracial
• Gender — 11 Female, 2 Male
• Status — Youth in the child welfare system with at least 3 prior runaways were referred to BASP, data was secured from two state databases maintained by the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF).  Youth were excluded if they had been previously incarcerated.

Location / Institution: Two metropolitan counties in Florida

Summary: (To include comparison groups, outcomes, measures, notable limitations)
The article examined the impact of the Behavior Analysis Services Program (BASP) interventions on the percentage of days on runaway status, rate of runs, and rate of placement changes for 13 youth who met the criteria of habitually running away. Baseline, or pre-intervention data, and post-intervention data were gathered from state administrative databases and were examined for each youth across the dependent variables of: (a) percentage of days on runaway status; (b) annualized rate of running away; and (c) annualized rate of placement change. For treatment youth, baseline began with their first run episode and ended at the start of the BASP involvement. The post-period began with the BASP involvement and was arbitrarily defined as lasting 365 days. For comparison youth, baseline began with their first run episode and was defined as having the same duration as the matched treatment youth. For each of the dependent variables, three statistical comparisons were conducted. Results showed a statistically significant decrease in percentage of days on runaway status for the BASP group and a slight increase in the comparison group. There was a statistically significant decrease in the annualized rate of runs for both the BASP group and comparison group. The difference between the baseline and post-period was significantly larger for the BASP group in contrast to the matched comparison group. The rate of placement change reduced significantly for the BASP group from baseline to post-period and for the comparison group.  The main limitation of the study was the lack of a randomized experimental design.

Length of post-intervention follow-up: 1 year after start of intervention in treatment group.

Berard, K. P., & Smith, R. G. (2008). Evaluating a Positive Parenting Curriculum package: An analysis of the acquisition of key skills. Research on Social Work Practice, 18, 442-452.

Type of Study: One group pretest-posttest design
Number of Participants: 10

Population:

• Age range — 22-49 years
• Race/Ethnicity — Participants were parents previously identified by Child Protective services as at risk for maltreatment.
• Gender — 3 Males, 7 Females
• Status — Participants were parents previously identified by Child Protective services as at risk for maltreatment.

Location / Institution: University of North Texas classroom

Summary: (To include comparison groups, outcomes, measures, notable limitations)
The study evaluated the effectiveness of the Behavior Analysis Services Program (BASP). Six skills were taught during a 5-week series of 3-hour classes that met 1 day per week. A written quiz containing questions corresponding to skills taught in each class was administered to participants before the series of classes, following each class session, and after completion of the course between 0 (same day) and 26 days post-intervention. Repeated administration of the quiz permitted an analysis of skill acquisition. A role-play assessment was conducted prior to and following the series of classes. Results demonstrate an improvement in the participants’ ability to recognize correct answers in a multiple-choice format and demonstrate the behavioral skills taught in class within a role-play context. Major limitations included small sample size and limited follow-up.

Length of post-intervention follow-up: Less than 1 month.