Following assessment, families meeting Healthy Families Arizona criteria were randomly assigned to the experimental group or the Child Development control group. A total of 195 families enrolled in the study and completed baseline interviews (98 in the experimental group and 97 in the control group). Eighty-five families in the experimental group and 86 families in the control group completed one-year interviews. Twenty-five percent of the mothers in the study were white and 74 percent were Hispanic.
The study took place in a single Healthy Families Arizona site in a large metropolitan area in the state.
The Healthy Families Arizona program provides home visiting services to prenatal and new parents. The home visitor first establishes a trusting relationship with the family, then assists parents with their life circumstances, personal issues, parenting needs, and successful adaptation to new infants. Home visitors model good parenting behavior, review the child’s developmental progress, promote safety in the home, establish a medical home for the child, and provide emotional support to parents. They also address substance abuse, domestic violence, and mental health issues.
Families assigned to the Child Development control group received assessment information about their child’s developmental progress in the context of a consistent and long-term positive relationship. Control group families were also offered opportunities to access services if desired.
The home visitors in this study were all female and had either a baccalaureate degree or an equivalent number of years of experience. Many had worked with the program for several years and all received the national core HFA training.
Arizona Department of Economic Security