Transporting and Implementing the SafeCare^® Home‐Based Programme for Parents, Designed to Reduce and Mitigate the Effects of Child Neglect: An Initial Progress Report

Abstract

KEY PRACTITIONER MESSAGES• SafeCare is a structured training programme for parents, developed in America for families where there were concerns about possible neglect or abuse.• SafeCare has been implemented in six NSPCC sites. An evaluation is considering whether and how it can contribute to the prevention and amelioration of child neglect in the UK.• The service development and early implementation experiences are outlined, including the varying practitioner responses to the implementation of a structured, manualised programme.KEY WORDS: Neglect; Evaluation; Parenting programme; Prevention 'The key aim for the practitioner working with neglect is to ensure a healthy living environment and healthy relationships for children ' (Brandon et al., 2013, p. 8).T his report gives a brief account of the SafeCare parenting programme and the rationale for its transportation to the UK and implementation here by the NSPCC, as well as a progress report on implementation. Relevant challenges and gaps in the field of neglect are outlined and we describe some of the ways in which SafeCare seeks to address them. These implementation issues will be relevant to organisations in the process of introducing and

Contracting as a bridging factor linking outer and inner contexts during EBP implementation and sustainment: a prospective study across multiple U.S. public sector service systems

“…The present study examined the implementation and sustainment of SafeCare®, a well-established EBP aimed at reducing and preventing child neglect [44,45]. Safe-Care is highly structured yet flexible, focusing on three content modules for improving parent skills in parentchild/infant interactions, home safety, and child health [46].…”

Incorporators, Early Investors, and Learners: a longitudinal study of organizational adaptation during EBP implementation and sustainment

“…SafeCare® is a well-established, behaviorally prescriptive, and flexible home visitation EBP designed to prevent child neglect and improve outcomes for children at risk of abuse and neglect [ 30 , 31 ]. SafeCare home visitors work in families’ homes to improve parent skills in parent-infant and child interactions, home safety, and health [ 32 ].…”

The Child at the Centre of Care

“…Drawing on her research experience, she argues that existing evidence around the impact of neglect is not being used to best effect and that current protective systems ‘are still struggling to provide an effective response to neglected children’ (p. 82). Indeed, our special issue in 2014, guest edited by Danielle Turney and Julie Taylor, ‘Interventions in chronic and severe neglect: what works?’, drew attention to a range of intervention responses, some used to engage families when neglect has just been identified and others where neglect is a more entrenched feature of family dynamics (Daniel et al ., 2015; Gardner et al ., ; Lacharité, 2014). Brandon et al .…”