Impact of intensive family support programs:: a synthesis of evaluation studies

The objective of this review was to use meta-analysis to calculate the mean effect of programs designed for families whose children are at risk of out-of-home placement. We attempted to find answers to two questions. First, what was the net effect of the intervention on placement? Sixteen of the 27 programs included in our review reported placement rates. The results show that, in most cases, children who received program services were placed almost as often as the children in the control groups. Programs that targeted a specific clientele, however, obtained much more significant results. Second, what was the impact of the program on the children and their families? Seventeen of the 27 programs included reported measurements focussed on families and children. After examining the data at our disposal, we were forced to abandon our intention of calculating the global effectiveness score for the evaluated programs. Consequently, we rather compiled all the information in an integrative table. This table shows that regardless of format, the programs did indeed have an effect on the children and their families. The conclusion focused on conditions to consider for promoters and evaluators who implement or evaluate programs of this type. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.