Family Check-Up® For Children Meets HHS Criteria

Model effectiveness research report last updated: 2017

In brief

Evidence of model effectiveness

This model meets the criteria established by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for an “evidence-based early childhood home visiting service delivery model” for the general population, but does not meet the criteria for tribal populations.

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Model description

Family Check-Up is a strengths-based, family-centered intervention designed to support parents’ efforts to promote children’s competence, mental health, and risk reduction. It can be integrated into a variety of service settings, including home visiting. The model focuses on families with risk factors including socioeconomic disadvantage, maternal depression, family and child risk factors for child conduct problems, and academic failure. Families with children ages 2 through 17 years are eligible for Family Check-Up. A version of this model called Family Check-Up for Children is appropriate for families with children ages 2 through 5, and is the focus of HomVEE’s review due to that age range. Family Check-Up seeks to reduce children’s conduct, academic, and internalizing problems, and to improve maternal depression, parental involvement, and positive parenting. Family Check-Up is made up of three home visits with a Family Check-Up provider who has been trained in the model. After the three home visits, the provider makes recommendations for additional services, as needed, that are tailored to the needs of the family. Services could include the Everyday Parenting family management training program, preschool consultation, or community referrals. For the purpose of the HomVEE review, only studies of sites that used home visiting as the primary service delivery method and that included families with children ages 2 through 5 were included. For more information, please read the Model Overview.

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Extent of evidence

Results of search and review
Number of manuscripts
At least one finding was eligible for review…
28
  …and at least one finding rated high
10
  …and at least one finding rated moderate (but none rated high)
4
  …and all findings that were eligible for review rated low
12
  …but manuscript is additional source2
2

1When an individual manuscript reports findings from multiple studies, HomVEE reviews each study as a distinct manuscript. In these rare instances, HomVEE counts that manuscript multiple times in this table, once for each study identified, screened, and reviewed by HomVEE.

2Additional sources have findings or details that perfectly overlap with another manuscript and are not rated.

For more information, see the research database. For more information on the criteria used to rate research, please see details of HomVEE’s methods and standards.

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Summary of findings

To see details on each finding HomVEE reviewed in well-designed research, click on the name of an outcome domain in the tables below. Findings rated low quality by HomVEE are not summarized here.

Outcomes
Findings

Outcome Child Development and School Readiness

Findings:
Favorable: 10
No effect: 27
Unfavorable or ambiguous: 0

Outcome Child Health

Not measured

Outcome Family Economic Self-Sufficiency

Not measured

Outcome Linkages and Referrals

Not measured

Outcome Maternal Health

Findings:
Favorable: 7
No effect: 2
Unfavorable or ambiguous: 0

Outcome Positive Parenting Practices

Findings:
Favorable: 18
No effect: 8
Unfavorable or ambiguous: 1

Outcome Reductions in Child Maltreatment

Not measured

Outcome Reductions in Juvenile Delinquency, Family Violence, and Crime

Not measured

The section above focuses on findings from the full sample in a study. Subgroups that have been replicated in distinct samples also have findings reported above. HomVEE does not report the findings of non-replicated subgroups. Beginning with research reviewed in 2021, however, HomVEE, lists those subgroups on the details page of each manuscript that had at least one finding that rated moderate or high.

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Criteria established by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Information based on comprehensive review of all high- and moderate-rated manuscripts
CriterionCriterion descriptionCriterion met?
1High- or moderate-quality impact study?Yes
2Across high- or moderate-quality studies, favorable impacts in at least two outcome domains within one sample OR the same domain for at least two non-overlapping samples?Yes
3Favorable impacts on full sample?Yes
4Any favorable impacts on outcome measures sustained at least 12 months after model enrollment?
Reported for all research but only required for RCTs.		Yes
5One or more favorable, statistically significant impact reported in a peer-reviewed journal?
Reported for all research but only required for RCTs.		Yes

Notes: If the model does not meet criterion 3 but meets criteria 1 and 2 based on findings from subgroups, the impacts must be replicated in the same domain in two or more studies using non-overlapping analytic study samples. HomVEE assesses and reports criteria 4 and 5 for all models that have well-designed research, but meeting those two criteria is only required of models for which all findings are from randomized controlled trials. Please read the HHS criteria for evidence-based models for more information.

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